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The docbot init command bootstraps Docbot in your project by creating a configuration file, setting up the cache directory, and optionally launching a local Qdrant vector database instance.

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Basic usage

docbot init
This command will:
  1. Create a docbot.config.jsonc file in your project root
  2. Create a .docbot/ cache directory for vector database storage
  3. Add .docbot/ to your .gitignore
  4. Check for Docker and start a Qdrant container (if Docker is available)
The command must be run from within a project directory that contains a package.json file. Docbot will search for the project root automatically.

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Options

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--force
boolean
default:false
Overwrite existing configuration. Use this flag to reinitialize Docbot even if docbot.config.jsonc already exists.Alias: -f
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--skip-docker
boolean
default:false
Skip Docker setup instructions. Use this if you’re managing Qdrant separately or using a remote instance.

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Examples

docbot init

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What gets created

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Configuration file

The command creates docbot.config.jsonc with sensible defaults: 
{
  // project identifier used for qdrant collection naming
  "projectSlug": "your-project-name",

  // qdrant vector database settings
  "qdrant": {
    "url": "http://127.0.0.1:6333",
    "collections": {
      "docs": "your-project-docs",
      "code": "your-project-code"
    }
  }
}
The projectSlug is automatically derived from your package.json name field.

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Cache directory

A .docbot/ directory is created to store:
  • Qdrant vector database files
  • Embedding manifests
  • Indexing metadata
The .docbot/ directory can grow large depending on your documentation size. It’s automatically added to .gitignore and should not be committed to version control.

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Docker setup

By default, docbot init attempts to set up a local Qdrant instance using Docker:
  1. Checks if Docker is installed - Verifies docker is available in your PATH
  2. Looks for existing containers - Reuses the docbot-qdrant container if it exists
  3. Starts or creates the container - Runs qdrant/qdrant with port 6333 exposed
  4. Waits for readiness - Polls the health endpoint to confirm Qdrant is accessible

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Expected output

initializing docbot in /path/to/your/project
creating .docbot directory...
creating docbot.config.jsonc...
adding .docbot/ to .gitignore...

docbot initialized successfully!

checking docker setup...

starting qdrant container...
✓ qdrant container started
  waiting for qdrant to be ready...
✓ qdrant is ready at http://127.0.0.1:6333

configuration saved to docbot.config.jsonc
cache directory created at .docbot/

next: run docbot with your task:
   bunx @helmlabs/docbot run "your task" --docs ./docs --codebase ./src

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Manual Docker setup

If Docker is not installed or you prefer manual setup, the command provides instructions: 
warning: docker is not installed or not in PATH

to use docbot, you need qdrant running.
install docker and run:

   docker run -d -p 6333:6333 -v /absolute/path/.docbot/qdrant_storage:/qdrant/storage qdrant/qdrant

or use a remote qdrant instance in docbot.config.jsonc
If you’re using a remote Qdrant instance or managing Docker separately, run docbot init --skip-docker to avoid the Docker checks entirely.

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Common scenarios

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Reinitializing after config corruption

docbot init --force
This overwrites your existing configuration. Any custom settings will be lost.

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Using with remote Qdrant

docbot init --skip-docker
Then manually edit docbot.config.jsonc to point to your remote instance: 
{
  "qdrant": {
    "url": "https://your-qdrant-instance.com",
    "collections": {
      "docs": "your-project-docs",
      "code": "your-project-code"
    }
  }
}

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Monorepo setup

Run docbot init from the workspace root where your main package.json lives. The command will use that location as the project root.

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Troubleshooting

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Error: could not find package.json

error: could not find package.json in current directory or any parent
please run this command from within a project directory
Make sure you’re running the command from within a Node.js project that has a package.json file.

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Error: docbot.config.jsonc already exists

error: docbot.config.jsonc already exists
use --force to overwrite
Either remove the existing config manually or run with --force to overwrite it.

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Qdrant container not accessible

If the container starts but isn’t accessible: 
warning: qdrant may still be starting up
you can check status with: docker logs docbot-qdrant
Wait a few seconds and verify with: 
curl http://127.0.0.1:6333/health

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Next steps

After initialization:
  1. Index your documentation - Run docbot index --docs ./docs to create embeddings
  2. Configure paths - Edit docbot.config.jsonc to customize documentation and codebase paths
  3. Run tasks - Use docbot run "task description" to start the agent
See the Configuration guide for advanced setup options.

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