| name | open-knowledge-pack-knowledge-base |
| description | How to work in a Knowledge Base project (the `knowledge-base` starter pack). Read when the project has the three-layer source-grounded layout — `external-sources/` → `research/` → `articles/` — wired to the `workflow` MCP tool's ingest / research / consolidate kinds. Carries the pack's workflow, per-folder rules, status flows, and log discipline so this guidance does NOT live inside template bodies or log.md. Complements the platform `open-knowledge` skill; does not replace it. |
| compatibility | Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Cowork, Claude.ai web. Requires OpenKnowledge MCP server. Installed project-local by `ok seed --pack knowledge-base`. |
| metadata | {"pack":"knowledge-base","author":"Inkeep","repository":"https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge"} |
Knowledge Base pack — how to work here
This project uses the source-grounded knowledge-base layout. The whole point is a closed evidence loop: nothing canonical exists without a traceable chain back to a preserved source. This skill holds the workflow so the templates and log.md can stay clean — when you create a doc from a template you get structure, and the how lives here.
This skill is pack guidance. The platform open-knowledge skill (read/write/preview/grounding rules) still governs every markdown operation — this layers the KB workflow on top.
The three layers
external-sources/ raw sources, saved verbatim (produced by `ingest`)
↓ cite
research/ provisional analysis (produced by `research`)
↓ promote
articles/ canonical, decided knowledge (produced by `consolidate`)
The loop is ingest → research → consolidate — each a workflow({ kind }) guide you invoke (workflow({ kind: 'ingest' }), etc.). Every downstream claim traces upstream to a preserved source. Cite local paths in external-sources/, never bare web URLs — the KB must survive link rot.
Per-folder rules
external-sources/ — Raw sources saved verbatim, not just cited: the actual fetched text of URLs, extracted text of PDFs, copies of referenced files. Each file's frontmatter carries the original URL, access date, and any author/publisher metadata. Produced by ingest (applies whether the user shared the URL or you fetched it yourself to ground a claim). Immutable after capture — update only to refresh a stale fetch. No analysis here; that belongs in research/.
research/ — Provisional analysis synthesizing external sources. Produced by research. Every factual claim cites a specific doc in external-sources/ (or an inline URL if ingest was skipped); no unsourced assertions. Keep the sources: frontmatter list aligned with the docs actually linked in the body. Promote to articles/ via consolidate once the team decides the findings are stable.
articles/ — Canonical knowledge, committed after a team decision. Produced by consolidate. Carries a supersedes: chain tying back to the research/ docs it replaces (which in turn cite external-sources/) so the full evidence chain is traceable without leaving the repo. Source-of-truth for the domain; update only when a new decision supersedes it.
Status flow
| Layer | status | Set when |
|---|
research/ | provisional | created |
articles/ | canonical | promoted by consolidate after a decision |
When a new article supersedes an older one, add the older article's path to the new one's supersedes: list.
Log discipline (MUST)
There is a log.md at the project root. Append one dated entry after any turn that creates, edits, or restructures content — one entry per turn, not per file. Silent edits break the audit trail.
Log: ingest runs (new sources), research / consolidate runs (provisional or canonical articles), direct write / edit / move / delete outside the three loop tools, discover runs, folder restructures, and .ok/config.yml changes.
Reference docs as markdown links, not bare paths — [path/to/doc](./path/to/doc.md), so the entry shows up in links({ kind: "backlinks" }) for those docs. A bare path string does not register in the graph.
Entry shape:
## YYYY-MM-DD: <short title>
- <what was done>
- Files touched: [doc-a](./path/doc-a.md), [doc-b](./path/doc-b.md)
- Sources ingested: [source-slug](./external-sources/source-slug.md)
- Open follow-ups: <topic-1>, <topic-2>
Templates
Each folder has a starter template (clip, research-log, article). Create with write({ document: { path, template: "<name>" } }). Templates carry only structure (headings + frontmatter scaffold) — the meaning of each field and section is described above, not repeated inside the document body.
