wiki

name	wiki
license	MIT
description	Markdown-first knowledge base where the LLM acts as librarian. Ingests raw sources, compiles and interlinks topic files, self-maintains an index. No vector DB or embeddings required -- uses LLM-native navigation over structured markdown up to ~400K words.
user-invocable	true
auto-trigger	false
trigger_keywords	["wiki","knowledge base","llm wiki","project wiki","build a wiki","maintain knowledge","knowledge management","llm-wiki","karpathy wiki"]
last-updated	"2026-04-06T00:00:00.000Z"

/wiki -- LLM-Native Knowledge Base

Orientation

Use when: building and querying a markdown-first knowledge base -- ingests raw notes, deduplicates, surfaces answers. Don't use when: capturing session learnings into the evolve pipeline (use /learn); generating structured code documentation (use /doc-gen).

Directory Structure

wiki/
  index.md              # Master index
  raw/                  # Unprocessed sources (timestamped files)
  topics/               # Compiled topic files (one per topic, interlinked)
  .wiki-meta.json       # Stats: topic count, source count, last compaction

Commands

Command	Behavior
/wiki	Status overview: topic count, last update, pending raw sources
/wiki --add [source]	Ingest a new source into the wiki
/wiki --query [question]	Answer a question using wiki knowledge
/wiki --status	Detailed wiki health: topic count, staleness, orphan detection
/wiki --compact	Merge, deduplicate, and reorganize topics
/wiki --rebuild-index	Regenerate index.md from current topic files
/wiki init [path]	Initialize a new wiki at the specified path

Protocol

Command: /wiki init [path]

Create wiki/, wiki/raw/, wiki/topics/, an empty wiki/index.md, and wiki/.wiki-meta.json with fields: created, lastUpdated, topicCount: 0, sourceCount: 0, totalWords: 0, lastCompaction: null. Default path: wiki/ at project root.

Command: /wiki --add [source]

Ingest a new source into the wiki.

Step 1: Determine source type — URL (fetch with WebFetch), file path (read), raw text (use directly), no argument (ask user).

Step 2: Write raw content to wiki/raw/source-{timestamp}.md with header: title/URL, ingested date, type, original reference.

Step 3: Identify 1-5 topics. For each: check if a topic file already exists — append to existing or create wiki/topics/{slug}.md.

Step 4: Each topic file has: title, > Last updated, > Sources, compiled content, and ## Related Topics with [[slug]] cross-links. Scan existing topics for cross-links when writing.

Step 5: Regenerate wiki/index.md with stats header, Topics table ([[slug]] | summary | last updated), and Recent Sources table.

Step 6: Update wiki/.wiki-meta.json with new counts.

Step 7: Output: source description, topics created, topics updated, index counts.

Command: /wiki --query [question]

1. Read wiki/index.md, identify 1-5 relevant topic files, explain reasoning briefly
2. Read those topics; follow [[cross-links]] up to 2 hops if relevant
3. Produce a clear answer citing specific topic files used
4. If the wiki lacks enough information: state what it knows, list gaps, suggest /wiki --add for missing areas

Command: /wiki --status

Read meta, count topic files and raw sources, check for orphaned topics, broken cross-links, and stale topics (30+ days). Output: topic/source/word counts, last updated/compaction dates, and health issues with counts and lists.

Command: /wiki --compact

1. Read wiki/index.md and all topic files
2. Identify: merge candidates (overlapping subjects), split candidates (multiple distinct subjects), stale/outdated content, duplicates
3. For each change: describe what and why, make the change, update all affected cross-links
4. Rebuild wiki/index.md and update wiki/.wiki-meta.json with lastCompaction and new counts
5. Output: topics merged/split/removed/resolved, final count, estimated words

Command: /wiki --rebuild-index

Read all topic files, extract title/summary/date, write a fresh wiki/index.md. Output: "Index rebuilt with {count} topics."

Fringe Cases

• .planning/ does not exist: Run /do setup first to initialize the harness state directory.
• No wiki directory: Prompt to run /wiki init. Do not auto-create on query or status.
• Source >50K words: Split into sections, warn the user.
• Topic name collision: Merge into existing topic, do not overwrite.
• Empty wiki queried: "The wiki is empty. Add sources with /wiki --add."
• Broken cross-link: During compaction/rebuild — flag. During --add — create stub [[missing-topic]] (stub -- needs content) if no context.
• URL fetch fails: Report failure, suggest pasting content directly.
• Wiki >~400K words: Warn during --status, suggest archiving or /wiki --compact.

Contextual Gates

Disclosure: "Updating wiki at .planning/wiki/. Files will be created or modified." Reversibility: amber — creates and modifies .planning/wiki/ files; undo by deleting or reverting changed files. Trust gates:

• Any: all wiki commands (init, add, query, status, compact, rebuild-index).

Quality Gates

• Every topic file must have a title, last-updated date, and sources list
• Every topic file must have at least one cross-link to another topic (unless it is the only topic)
• The index must accurately reflect all topic files (no orphans after --add or --compact)
• No duplicate topic files (same slug = same file)
• Raw sources are preserved in wiki/raw/ and never deleted
• The --query command must cite specific topic files, not fabricate information

Exit Protocol

Output a summary appropriate to the command executed, then:

---HANDOFF---
- Wiki: {command executed} at {wiki path}
- Topics: {count} total, {new/updated/merged count} changed
- Status: {healthy | needs compaction | has orphans/broken links}
---