> Markdown twin of https://adna.network/learn/tutorials/navigate-a-vault/
> Index: https://adna.network/llms.txt · Full corpus: https://adna.network/llms-full.txt
> State is a build-time snapshot generated 2026-08-30 (UTC); nothing here is live.

# Navigate an aDNA Vault — aDNA Tutorial

## What You'll Build

Nothing — this is a guided tour. By the end, you'll understand how an aDNA vault is organized and be able to find any piece of knowledge within it. You'll navigate the vault you're reading right now.

## Prerequisites

None. This is the starting point. If you're reading this, you're ready.

## Steps

### Step 1: Look at the Root

Open the root of this vault (`aDNA.aDNA/`). You'll see three directories and several files:

```
aDNA.aDNA/
├── CLAUDE.md       ← Agent instructions (the "brain" of the project)
├── AGENTS.md       ← Root navigation guide
├── MANIFEST.md     ← What this project IS
├── STATE.md        ← Where this project IS NOW
├── README.md       ← Human entry point
├── what/           ← Knowledge
├── how/            ← Operations
└── who/            ← People
```

Those three directories — `what/`, `how/`, `who/` — are the [triad](/learn/concepts/triad). Every piece of knowledge in this project lives in exactly one of them. This is the first thing to know: aDNA organizes everything by answering three questions.

### Step 2: Explore What the Project Knows

Enter `what/`. This is the knowledge leg — everything the project knows:

```
what/
├── context/       ← Curated knowledge for AI agents (~75K tokens)
├── concepts/      ← Core aDNA concepts (dual-audience — you can read them!)
├── tutorials/     ← You are here
├── patterns/      ← Reusable architectural patterns
├── comparisons/   ← aDNA vs. other systems (honest positioning)
├── glossary/      ← Canonical term definitions
├── use_cases/     ← Adoption stories by domain
├── decisions/     ← Architecture Decision Records
├── docs/          ← Specification documents
└── lattices/      ← Workflow definitions (YAML + tools)
```

Each directory has an `AGENTS.md` that tells AI agents whether to load it. Open `what/concepts/AGENTS.md` — it says "Load when creating or reviewing concept documentation. Skip when working on operational infrastructure." That's [AGENTS.md routing](/patterns/agents-md) in action.

### Step 3: Explore How the Project Works

Enter `how/`. This is the operations leg — how work gets done:

```
how/
├── campaigns/     ← Strategic initiatives (Operation Rosetta lives here)
├── missions/      ← Standalone task decompositions
├── sessions/      ← Session audit trail (active/ + history/)
├── templates/     ← Reusable file templates
├── skills/        ← Agent recipes and procedures
├── pipelines/     ← Content-as-code workflows
├── backlog/       ← Ideas and improvements
├── workshops/     ← Workshop kits + facilitation guides
├── publishing/    ← Vault-to-web publishing pipeline
└── quests/        ← Community validation experiments
```

Notice the pattern: every directory is named for what it contains, and each has its own `AGENTS.md`. The vault is self-describing.

### Step 4: Explore Who's Involved

Enter `who/`. This is the people leg:

```
who/
├── governance/    ← Roles, policies, vision
├── coordination/  ← Cross-agent notes
├── community/     ← Community roles + contribution paths
└── adopters/      ← Adopter personas + deployment profiles
```

Smaller than `what/` and `how/`, but critical. Governance policies, team coordination, and community structure all live here.

### Step 5: Read the Governance Files

Back at the root, open `STATE.md`. This tells you the project's current operational status — what phase it's in, what's working, what's blocked, and what to do next. An AI agent reads this on every startup to understand where things stand.

Now open `MANIFEST.md`. This tells you what the project IS — its identity, purpose, and scope. `STATE.md` changes every session; `MANIFEST.md` changes rarely.

Together with `CLAUDE.md` (agent instructions), `AGENTS.md` (navigation), and `README.md` (human entry point), these five files are the [governance files](/learn/concepts/governance-files) — the orientation layer for the entire vault.

### Step 6: Follow a Thread

Pick any concept file — say `what/concepts/concept_triad.md`. Open it. At the bottom, you'll see a "Related" section with wikilinks to other concepts. Follow one. Then follow another from that file. You're navigating the [knowledge graph](/learn/concepts/knowledge-graph) — the connected web of ideas that makes the vault more than a collection of files.

## What You Learned

- The [triad](/learn/concepts/triad) (`what/`, `how/`, `who/`) organizes all knowledge
- [Governance files](/learn/concepts/governance-files) orient agents and humans at the root
- [AGENTS.md](/patterns/agents-md) at every directory guides navigation
- The vault is self-describing — directory names, governance files, and wikilinks make everything findable

## Next Steps

- [Create Your First CLAUDE.md](/learn/tutorials/first-claude-md) — build the agent-orientation file
- [The Triad](/learn/concepts/triad) — deeper understanding of the organizing principle