> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/volcengine/OpenViking/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# overview

> Read L1 overview

Read the L1 overview of a directory. This provides a structured, medium-length summary of directory contents, more detailed than the abstract but more concise than full content.

## Python SDK

```python theme={null}
from openviking import OpenViking

client = OpenViking()

# Get overview of a directory
overview = client.overview("viking://resources/docs/")
print(f"Overview:\n{overview}")
```

## HTTP API

<CodeGroup>
  ```bash cURL theme={null}
  curl -X GET "http://localhost:1933/api/v1/content/overview?uri=viking://resources/docs/" \
    -H "X-API-Key: your-key"
  ```
</CodeGroup>

<RequestExample>
  ```http theme={null}
  GET /api/v1/content/overview?uri=viking://resources/docs/
  ```
</RequestExample>

## Parameters

<ParamField path="uri" type="string" required>
  Viking URI (must be a directory)
</ParamField>

## Response

<ResponseField name="status" type="string">
  Operation status (`ok` on success)
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="result" type="string">
  The L1 overview content (typically markdown-formatted)
</ResponseField>

<ResponseField name="time" type="number">
  Execution time in seconds
</ResponseField>

<ResponseExample>
  ```json theme={null}
  {
    "status": "ok",
    "result": "## docs/\n\nContains API documentation and guides:\n\n- **auth/**: Authentication and authorization\n- **api/**: REST API reference\n- **guides/**: Usage guides and tutorials\n\nSee individual sections for details.",
    "time": 0.1
  }
  ```
</ResponseExample>

## CLI

```bash theme={null}
openviking overview viking://resources/docs/
```

## Context Layers

OpenViking provides three hierarchical levels of content:

* **L0 (Abstract)**: \~100 token summary via [`abstract()`](/api/filesystem/abstract)
* **L1 (Overview)**: Structured overview via `overview()` (this method)
* **L2 (Full)**: Complete content via [`read()`](/api/filesystem/read)

The overview layer is ideal for:

* Understanding directory structure
* Getting a medium-detail summary without reading all files
* Agent context that needs more detail than abstract but less than full content

## Implementation Details

The overview is stored in a `.overview.md` file within the directory. If not present, it's generated automatically from the directory contents.

## Error Cases

* Returns error if the URI points to a file (use [`read()`](/api/filesystem/read) for files)
* Returns error if the directory doesn't exist