Catalogs

A catalog is the metadata directory where Ironclad keeps facts, indexes, and snapshots.

The catalog directory is .ironclad/.

The directory above it is the container directory.

That distinction matters:

• the catalog directory stores Ironclad data
• the container directory is the workspace your facts usually observe

For example:

project-root/
├── .ironclad/
├── app/
├── config/
└── README.md

Here:

• project-root/.ironclad/ is the catalog directory
• project-root/ is the container directory

Discovery

If you do not pass --catalog-dir, Ironclad searches upward from the current working directory until it finds .ironclad/.

If you do pass --catalog-dir, it must point to the catalog directory itself. Ironclad does not append .ironclad for you.

Catalog layout

.ironclad/
├── .gitignore
├── facts/
├── index.toml
└── snapshots/
    ├── actual.json
    └── canon.json

• facts/ holds fact files.
• index.toml maps labels to fact IDs.
• snapshots/actual.json stores the resolved snapshot.
• snapshots/canon.json stores the approved snapshot.