ingest

name

ingest

description

Use when extracting knowledge from .lore/ artifacts into the reference wiki. Converts work artifacts (retros, specs, plans, research, notes) into structured wiki pages grouped by knowledge type. Reads Markdown or HTML sources and writes Markdown by default. Triggers include "ingest this", "extract knowledge from", "add this to the wiki", "update the reference from", and "populate the field guide".

Ingest

Read source artifacts, extract the durable knowledge they contain, and write it into .lore/reference/ as searchable wiki pages.

The goal is not to archive artifacts or summarize them exhaustively. Ingest exists to build reference material that cannot be recovered just by reading the associated source code: intent, rationale, constraints, rejected alternatives, operating lessons, domain vocabulary, and system context.

Sources

Accept one or more paths from the user. Each may be a file or a directory. For directories, walk them and read every .md and .html file found. If a directory walk finds zero supported files, report this clearly to the user ("No .md or .html files found in [path] — nothing ingested") and move on to the next source path. Sources should live under .lore/ — warn and skip anything that doesn't.

Treat Markdown and HTML sources as equivalent knowledge inputs:

• Markdown files use YAML frontmatter when present, followed by Markdown body content.
• HTML files use <meta name="..."> fields when present, <title> as the title, and visible document body content as the source text. Ignore scripts, styles, and generated chrome that does not carry project knowledge.

Extraction

Read each source file in full. Use judgment to identify distinct knowledge units within it. A knowledge unit is a claim that stands on its own, would be useful without the source document's context, and belongs in long-lived project reference. One source typically yields one to several units; a retro might yield three, a plan might yield one, a research document might yield ten.

Before writing a unit, apply this reference-worthiness gate:

• Keep knowledge that explains why the system is shaped the way it is: goals, tradeoffs, constraints, dependencies, domain rules, stakeholder intent, rejected alternatives, migration context, and lessons learned from incidents or implementation attempts.
• Keep architecture only when the source adds context beyond the code's current structure, such as module boundaries, responsibility splits, data ownership, lifecycle expectations, or coupling that is not obvious from filenames and function bodies.
• Skip ordinary implementation details that can be rebuilt from the source code: file lists, function inventories, endpoint names, schema fields, control flow summaries, library usage that is already visible in manifests, and transient task checklists.
• Skip plan/spec content that did not survive into durable guidance. A planned step is not reference knowledge unless it records an enduring constraint, decision, rationale, or requirement that future work should honor.
• If a source contains no reference-worthy units, do not create a page for it. Count the source as processed and report that no durable knowledge was found.

When in doubt, ask: "Would a future maintainer lose this knowledge if they only had the current code?" If the answer is no, skip it.

Assign each unit an fg-type:

• decision — a resolved choice and its rationale ("we chose X over Y because Z")
• lesson — a generalized rule derived from experience, usually surfaced in retros or learned entries
• architecture — how a system, component, or data flow is structured
• concept — a recurring term, pattern, or abstraction used across the project
• entity — a named person, system, component, or external dependency

Do not assign synthesis — that type is reserved for query output.

When a unit is borderline between types, pick the type that best describes how someone would search for it. A lesson about an architectural decision is a lesson. A description of an architectural decision that is still the current approach is an architecture.

Writing pages

For each extracted knowledge unit, write or update a page in .lore/reference/. New pages should be Markdown files with kebab-case names and .md extensions.

If the wiki has been stratified into category directories (see the stratify skill — the index will have a "Layout" section), place each new page in the category, and subcategory if present, whose subject best fits the unit. Fall back to the wiki root only when no existing category fits, and say so in the summary so a future stratify pass can file it. Never invent new category directories during ingest. In an unstratified wiki, write pages directly in .lore/reference/ — no subdirectories unless they already exist.

Compatibility rule: before creating a new page, check for an existing page for the same knowledge unit in either .md or .html form. Prefer updating an existing Markdown page. If only an HTML page exists for that unit, update that HTML page in place unless the user has asked to migrate it to Markdown. Do not create duplicate .md and .html pages for the same unit.

New Markdown pages use YAML frontmatter:

---
title: Precise noun-first description of the knowledge unit
date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: current
tags: [kebab-case, terms, subject, domain, problem-type]
fg-type: decision|lesson|architecture|concept|entity
fg-sources: [relative/path/to/source.md]
fg-status: current
---

# Precise noun-first description of the knowledge unit

<!-- body in Markdown -->

fg-sources is a YAML list of relative paths. Include all source files that contributed to this page; paths may end in .md or .html.

The body must be self-contained. Write it in Markdown. Reach for embedded inline HTML only when a visual carries meaning Markdown cannot — a color-coded status badge, an inline <svg> diagram, a side-by-side comparison. When you do, write it raw and inline; never in a fenced code block.

Re-ingest (same source)

If a source path was previously ingested, some pages already exist. Before writing, read existing .md and .html pages whose source metadata includes the current source path. For Markdown, read the fg-sources frontmatter list. For HTML, read the fg-sources meta tag as a comma-separated or YAML-like list. Compare content against what the source now says.

Three outcomes per existing page:

• No change: source still supports the page content. Leave the page alone.
• Stale content: source has changed or superseded the claim. Update the page body and reset date to today.
• Contradiction: source now asserts something that directly conflicts with the page. Note it during processing but do not surface it immediately and do not overwrite the page. Leave the page unchanged. At the end of the run, report all contradictions together, each with the page path, the existing claim, and what the source now says. Let the user decide.

Reconciliation is content comparison only. No activity log, no change history in the page.

Index update

After all pages are written, update the field-guide index. Prefer .lore/reference/index.md. If only .lore/reference/index.html exists, update it in place unless the user asked to migrate the index to Markdown. If neither exists, create .lore/reference/index.md.

The index groups pages by fg-type. If the wiki is stratified and the index is organized by category instead, keep that structure: add each entry under its page's category (and subcategory) heading, with the link path relative to .lore/reference/. Within each group, each entry links to the page using the page's title as both the link text and a one-line description. Markdown indexes use Markdown links. HTML indexes use normal anchor links.

Add new pages to their group. Update link text and descriptions for modified pages. Do not remove entries for pages that weren't touched in this run. Preserve existing entries and groups that aren't affected.

If the index exists but has no group structure yet, build it from scratch using all supported pages currently in .lore/reference/, including both .md and .html pages.

Example index structure:

---
title: Field Guide Index
date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: current
tags: [index, field-guide]
---

# Field Guide Index

## decision

- [Auth token storage decision](auth-token-storage-decision.md) — we chose httpOnly cookies over localStorage because of XSS exposure

## lesson

- [Database migration lesson](db-migration-lesson.md) — always run migrations against a prod-schema clone before applying to prod

Summary

After all writes complete, tell the user:

• How many sources were processed
• How many pages were created, updated, or unchanged
• Any contradictions that need resolution, with enough context to act on each one