Setting Up Your First Supply Vault

Before You Begin

You need a Supply Vault before you can compile your first consumable project. The vault is the secure container that holds your projects and authentication records. Think of it as the first thing on your checklist — everything else follows from it. If you want an overview before diving in, see the Supply Vault page.

The setup process is short. Most people complete it in under a minute. You will need:

• Access to the SmartSupplySystem MCP toolset (via your connected AI assistant)
• A name for your vault — typically your organization name, a product line, or a facility identifier
• Something to write on, or a secure place to store twelve words

That last item is the most important. Read it carefully before you start.

Step 1: Have Something to Write With

When your vault is created, you will receive an Immutable Vault Passphrase — twelve words that are the sole key to your vault. You need to record this passphrase the moment it appears.

Write it on paper. Store the paper somewhere physically secure — a locked cabinet, a safe, anywhere that matches the physical security level of your other sensitive business credentials.

Do not type it into a notes app, email it to yourself, or photograph it with your phone unless you are confident that storage is as secure as the vault it protects. During the current pilot phase, encrypted recovery support may be available — but as the platform moves toward full non-custodial operation, the passphrase will become the sole means of access. Treat it accordingly from day one.

You do not need to enter the passphrase to complete the setup — you just need to capture it. Once it is recorded somewhere safe, you can continue.

Step 2: Connect Your AI Assistant

Open your AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, or any other client configured to use the SmartSupplySystem MCP server). If you have not connected your AI client yet, visit the Connect AI page to get your API key and configuration instructions.

Once connected, your AI assistant has access to the full set of SmartSupplySystem tools, including vault creation.

Step 3: Ask Your AI to Create Your Vault

You do not need to know any commands or tool names. Simply tell your AI assistant what you want to do:

"I want to set up my Supply Vault. My organization is [your name or product line]."

Your assistant will confirm the vault name and proceed with creation. The underlying tool call looks like this:

{
  "tool": "create_vault",
  "arguments": {
    "owner": "acme-inks",
    "label": "ACME Production Vault"
  }
}

But you do not need to write that yourself — your AI handles it from your plain-language instruction.

Step 4: Record Your Immutable Vault Passphrase

Once the vault is created, your AI assistant will present your Immutable Vault Passphrase — twelve words in a specific order. This is the only time they will be shown.

Write them down immediately, in order, exactly as shown. Double-check your transcription before moving on.

Your AI assistant will also confirm your Vault ID — a shorter identifier derived from the passphrase. The Vault ID appears in reports and integration configurations. You can retrieve it anytime. The passphrase, however, is shown only once.

Once you have confirmed your passphrase is recorded, store it somewhere secure and acknowledge to your assistant that you have done so.

Step 5: Confirm Your Vault Is Ready

Ask your assistant to confirm the vault status:

"Can you confirm my Supply Vault is set up and ready?"

A healthy vault will show as active, with your vault name, your Vault ID, and zero projects (since you have not compiled anything yet).

You are now ready to compile your first consumable project.

What Comes Next

With your Supply Vault in place, your AI assistant can help you:

• Compile a product definition from a Technical Data Sheet — describe your consumable and provide the PDF, and the Definition Compiler transforms it into a machine-readable project inside your vault
• Generate labels with QR codes for your first authenticated consumable batch
• Review your vault status at any time — project count, authentication activity, settlement records

The vault creation step is intentionally simple so that it does not slow you down before the more substantive work of defining your products. The AI toolset is designed to make the first step fast and the subsequent steps progressively more powerful as your program matures.

For Printer OEMs: Vault setup is the foundation of your authentication program. Once your vault is active, every project you compile and every label you generate is anchored to it — making your consumables uniquely identifiable and your authentication records exclusively yours.