The entry point before working on any project: returns its Capsule (the compressed must-remember summary) plus the read-next list for deeper context, and lists any decisions or rules that are superseded or expired so you do not act on them. Query by project name, id, or a trigger word. Read-only; when nothing matches, the error lists the projects that exist.

Layer-aware text search across the vault. Capsule and Recall Map hits rank first so the cheapest sufficient note surfaces on top; hits inside superseded or expired sections carry a state and rank below every live hit. Read-only; prefer recall when you already know which project you need.

The routing table: every project with its status, summary, trigger words, and capsule path. Read-only, and the cheapest way to see what exists before calling recall or search.

Append a confirmed decision to a project's Decisions note, in the vault's Decision/Details format. Only record what the operator has actually confirmed. When it replaces an earlier decision, pass that decision's heading as supersedes: the new section records supersedes::, and the old one gains superseded-by:: and superseded-on:: under its heading but is otherwise left as history — never delete or rewrite the old decision yourself. Writes to disk: it adds to the end of the note, so calling it twice records the decision twice. Returns the note path and the heading written; errors when the project or its Decisions note is missing, or when supersedes names no live section (then nothing is written).

Replace one section of a project's Capsule — the compressed summary every recall reads first. Use it after the operator confirms something that makes the summary wrong or incomplete; never to record a guess. Read Next is generated and cannot be written here. Writes to disk and overwrites that section's previous contents, which are recoverable only from Git; every other section and the rest of the file are left untouched. Errors when the project or its Capsule is missing.

Add a durable rule to a project's Rules note. Rules are standing constraints the operator has confirmed — how to work on this project, what never to assume — not observations about one conversation. Use append_decision instead for a choice that was made, and update_capsule when the summary itself is now wrong. When it replaces an earlier rule, pass that rule's heading as supersedes; the old rule is marked superseded-by:: and kept as history. Writes to disk: it appends, so calling it twice records the rule twice. Errors when the project or its Rules note is missing, or when supersedes names no live rule (then nothing is written).

One-shot health summary: projects, note counts, doctor result, stale capsules, git state. Read-only — it inspects the working tree and reports, and writes nothing. Use doctor when you need every validation finding rather than the summary.

Run the full structural validation and return every finding: unresolved links, missing frontmatter, projects unreachable from the Recall Map, hubs that do not link what they own. Read-only — it reports and never repairs; repairing is vulcanus doctor --repair in a terminal. A finding is an error (structure the manifest requires is missing) or a warning (something added by hand that the manifest does not describe).