Skip to content

CLI Quickstart

Get your first knowledge extraction running in 5 minutes using the terminal.

Prerequisites

Step 1: Configure API Key

Choose your deployment method and run the corresponding configuration command:

hk config init -p openai -k YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY

hk config init -p bailian -k YOUR_BAILIAN_API_KEY

hk config llm -p deepseek -k YOUR_DEEPSEEK_API_KEY
hk config embedder -p openai -k YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY

hk config llm -p vllm \
  -u http://localhost:8000/v1 \
  -k dummy \
  -m Qwen/Qwen3.5-9B

hk config embedder -p vllm \
  -u http://localhost:8001/v1 \
  -k dummy \
  -m BAAI/bge-m3

Anthropic provides LLM only — pair with an OpenAI-compatible embedder for search/chat:

hk config llm -p anthropic -k YOUR_ANTHROPIC_API_KEY
hk config embedder -p openai -k YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY

This creates a configuration file at ~/.hk/config.toml. You only need to do this once.

Note: Anthropic and DeepSeek provide LLM only. For search (hk search) and chat (hk talk) features, pair them with an OpenAI-compatible embedder as shown above.

Step 2: Download Sample Document

# Download a sample biography
curl -o tesla.md https://raw.githubusercontent.com/hanxiangmin/Hyper-Knowledge/main/examples/en/tesla.md

Or create a simple test file:

cat > sample.txt << 'EOF'
Nikola Tesla was a Serbian-American inventor, electrical engineer, 
mechanical engineer, and futurist. He is best known for his 
contributions to the design of the modern alternating current 
(AC) electricity supply system.

Born: July 10, 1856, Smiljan, Croatia
Died: January 7, 1943, New York City, NY

Tesla immigrated to the United States in 1884 and briefly worked 
with Thomas Edison before the two parted ways due to conflicting 
business and scientific interests. He later established his own 
laboratory and developed numerous revolutionary inventions, 
including the Tesla coil, induction motor, and wireless transmission 
technologies.

Despite his brilliance, Tesla struggled financially in his later years
and died impoverished in a New York hotel room. His legacy was 
largely overlooked during his lifetime but has since been recognized 
worldwide, with the Tesla unit of magnetic flux density named in his honor.
EOF

Step 3: Extract Knowledge

Run the parse command to extract knowledge:

hk parse tesla.md -t general/biography_graph -o ./output/ -l en

What this does: - -t general/biography_graph — Use the biography graph template - -o ./output/ — Save results to the output directory - -l en — Process in English

Output: 

Input: tesla.md
Output: ./output/
Template: general/biography_graph
Language: en
Build Index: Yes

Template resolved: Biography Graph Template
✓ Knowledge extracted to ./output/

What's next?
  hk show ./output/                    # Visualize knowledge graph
  hk feed ./output/ <new_document>     # Append more documents
  hk search ./output/ "keyword"        # Semantic search
  hk talk ./output/ -i                 # Interactive chat

Step 4: Visualize the Knowledge Graph

hk show ./output/

This opens an interactive visualization in your browser, showing: - Entities (people, places, events) as nodes - Relationships as edges connecting the nodes

Knowledge Graph Visualization

Step 5: Search Your Knowledge Abstract

hk search ./output/ "What were Tesla's major inventions?"

Output: 

Found 3 result(s):

Result 1:
{
  "name": "Nikola Tesla",
  "type": "person",
  "description": "Serbian-American inventor..."
}
...

Step 6: Chat with Your Knowledge

Interactive mode:

hk talk ./output/ -i

Or ask a single question:

hk talk ./output/ -q "Summarize Tesla's career in three sentences"

Step 7: Incrementally Add Knowledge

Got more documents? Add them without reprocessing:

hk feed ./output/ additional_document.md

Then visualize the updated knowledge:

hk show ./output/

Complete Workflow

Here's the typical workflow:

# 1. Extract knowledge
hk parse document.md -t general/biography_graph -o ./output/ -l en

# 2. Visualize
hk show ./output/

# 3. Search
hk search ./output/ "your query"

# 4. Chat
hk talk ./output/ -i

# 5. Add more documents
hk feed ./output/ another_document.md

# 6. Rebuild index if needed
hk build-index ./output/

What's Next?

Troubleshooting

"No API key found" → Run hk config init -p openai -k YOUR_OPENAI_API_KEY (or use -p bailian, -p deepseek, etc.)

"Template not found" → List available templates with hk list template

"Output directory already exists" → Add -f flag to force overwrite, or choose a different output path