managing-kinds

name	managing-kinds
description	Registers and organizes custom artifact kinds in DNA. Use when the built-in template kinds do not cover a domain concept, or when setting up a new project with custom truth categories.

Managing Kinds

Kinds categorize truth artifacts. The intent template provides 11 kinds, the agentic template provides 5. You can register additional kinds for domain-specific needs.

Listing registered kinds

dna kind list

Registering a new kind

dna kind add <slug> "<description>"

The slug must be:

• 2-64 characters
• Lowercase letters, numbers, and hyphens only
• Not a reserved word (all, any, artifact, config, kind, kinds, none, search, system)

The description should follow the pattern of built-in kinds: state what this kind captures in one sentence, then give an example with Ex:.

dna kind add runbook \
  "Operational procedure for a specific failure mode. Ex: 'Database failover: promote read replica, update DNS, verify replication'"

When to create a new kind

Create a new kind when:

• Multiple artifacts share a category that does not fit existing kinds
• The category represents a distinct type of truth (not just a label value)
• You would search for this category specifically with --kind

Do NOT create a new kind when:

• A label would suffice (--label type=runbook on an existing kind)
• The category is a subcategory of an existing kind (use labels instead)
• Only one or two artifacts would use it

Kind naming

Use a singular noun that describes what the artifact IS:

• runbook (not runbooks or operational-procedures)
• sla (not service-level-agreements)
• decision (not architectural-decisions)

MCP integration

When kinds are registered, the MCP server automatically generates tools for each kind:

• dna_<kind>_search -- semantic search within this kind
• dna_<kind>_add -- store a new artifact of this kind
• dna_<kind>_list -- list all artifacts of this kind

Hyphens in slugs become underscores in tool names.