Import an existing project

Most projects aren't new. Veri seeds a knowledge base from the repo you already have: your connected agent reads the code, the git history, and the docs, and files what it finds as proposals — nothing binds until you approve it.

The division of labor is strict. Veri never reads your code — it's local-first and makes no model calls. Your own coding agent does the mining, in your terminal, with its own model; Veri hands it precise instructions over MCP and gives everything it files back a review surface.

1. Open your repo in Veri

Install Veri and create a project into your existing folder — New project… in the app pointed at the repo, or from a terminal:

cd your-repo
veri init

A repo with existing code is safe: veri init only adds a veri/ directory (plus AGENTS.md/CLAUDE.md pointer files, each skipped if you have one). Nothing is overwritten, and your code is never touched. The app's Home screen recognizes the situation — “This repo has a history. Veri can read it.” — and offers Import project knowledge as the first step. Prefer starting by hand? Start from scratch puts you on the ordinary path; import stays available from the command palette.

2. Connect your agent

The import runs through your agent, so the MCP connection comes first — one click in Veri's agent panel writes .mcp.json, and Verify connection proves it end to end. The connection guide covers Claude Code and other agents. The Import screen runs this preflight for you and links you to the panel if anything's missing.

3. Kick off the import

On the Import screen, Copy import kickoff puts a short prompt on your clipboard — paste it into your agent. From a terminal, the same prompt comes from:

veri import

The prompt tells the agent to call the get_import_instructions MCP tool. That returns the full instruction package: what to mine (code layout, git history, ADRs, READMEs, agent docs), how to file findings, and a census of documents already in your knowledge base so a re-run only adds what's missing.

4. Watch the documents land

The agent files, in order:

• an import manifest — one source document describing the session,
• evidence sources — concrete file paths, commit refs, and excerpts,
• requirements (born draft) and decisions (born proposed), each linked to the evidence it derives from.

Every file lands in veri/ as plain markdown — the Import screen shows them arriving live, and a receipt on the manifest marks the run complete. There's no import database and no hidden state: quit mid-import and you simply have fewer files, all of them valid.

5. Review and approve

Home's NEEDS REVIEW card groups the imported documents under their manifest, evidence first, with progress as you work through them. Each document's review banner names the evidence it was derived from — one click puts the source beside the claim. Approve what survives scrutiny (veri approve REQ-001 works too); edit or delete what doesn't. Until you stamp a document, agents see it labeled pending — not binding in every context package, and work orders that depend on it cannot start.

That's the whole path: the repo's implicit knowledge, made explicit, with you as the gate. From here the workflow guide covers how requirements, decisions, and work orders drive day-to-day agent sessions.