emerge

name	emerge
description	Surface unnamed patterns across vault themes. Use when: (1) /emerge for last 30 days, (2) /emerge 14d for custom window, (3) /emerge this week.
metadata	{"version":"2.0.0"}

Emerge — Discover Patterns Across Your Obsidian Vault Themes

Operates on themes (clustered by /consolidate), not raw notes, so it scales to large vaults within one sub-agent's context budget. Reads themes updated in a date window, ranks them by activation, and synthesizes cross-cutting patterns.

Tools needed: Bash, Agent, Write, Read

Procedure

Step 0 — Create task manifest

TaskCreate: subject="Collect themes in window", activeForm="Collecting themes"
TaskCreate: subject="Analyze patterns across themes", activeForm="Analyzing patterns"
TaskCreate: subject="Build emerge report", activeForm="Building report"
TaskCreate: subject="Write vault note", activeForm="Writing vault note"
TaskCreate: subject="Present results", activeForm="Presenting results"

Track task IDs. Set task #1 to in_progress.

Step 1 — Parse args + collect themes

Parse the arg as DAYS: no arg = 30, Nd/N days = N, this week = days since Monday. Bind it to $DAYS.

cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
python3 -c '
import glob, json, os, re, sys
def _ob_hooks():
    try:
        for _m in json.load(open(os.path.expanduser("~/.claude/plugins/known_marketplaces.json"))).values():
            _s = _m.get("source") if isinstance(_m, dict) else None
            if not (isinstance(_s, dict) and _s.get("source") == "directory"):
                continue
            _i = _m.get("installLocation") if isinstance(_m, dict) else None
            if not (isinstance(_i, str) and os.path.isabs(_i)):
                continue
            _h = os.path.join(_i, "hooks")
            if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(_h, "obsidian_utils.py")):
                return _h
    except Exception:
        pass
    _c = [_d for _d in glob.glob(os.path.expanduser("~/.claude/plugins/cache/*/obsidian-brain/*/hooks")) if re.fullmatch("[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)*", _d.split("/")[-2])]
    return max(_c, key=lambda _p: ([int(_n) for _n in _p.split("/")[-2].split(".")], _p), default="hooks")
sys.path.insert(0, _ob_hooks())
from emerge_cli import run_emerge_themes; run_emerge_themes(int(sys.argv[1]) if len(sys.argv) > 1 else 30)
' "$DAYS"

Parse the STATUS= line:

• STATUS=SPARSE:<n> → tell the user verbatim: "Only theme(s) were updated in this window. Run /consolidate to seed themes first, or widen the window: /emerge 90d." — then STOP (do not run Steps 2-4).
• STATUS=OK:<themes>:<unassigned> → proceed to Step 2.

If the command errors (config missing / non-zero exit), tell the user to run /obsidian-setup first and stop. Mark task #1 completed.

Step 2 — Pattern synthesis

Set task #2 to in_progress. Spawn one Agent:

Agent({
  description: "Analyze vault themes for cross-cutting patterns",
  prompt: "Read ~/.claude/obsidian-brain/emerge-themes.json. It contains `themes` (each with name, summary, note_count, activation, project, and a `members` array of {title, excerpt, similarity, surprise, project}) and `unassigned_candidates` ({title, excerpt, project, date}). Analyze and write to ~/.claude/obsidian-brain/emerge-analysis.md with EXACTLY these sections:\n\n## Growing Themes\nThemes with high activation / recent member growth — momentum.\n\n## Decaying Themes\nThemes with low activation / stale members — fading from focus.\n\n## Cross-Project Connections\nThemes whose members span multiple projects, or shared themes between projects. SKIP this section entirely if there is only 1 project.\n\n## Contradictions\nTensions or reversals across themes. Highlight members with high `surprise` values (they diverged from their theme centroid).\n\n## New Candidates\nProto-themes hinted by the `unassigned_candidates` — clusters of related unassigned notes not yet consolidated.\n\nFor each item: a descriptive name, 2-3 references (theme names or note titles), and a confidence (strong/moderate/tentative).\n\nIMPORTANT: Output ONLY the `##` section content as the note body — do NOT add YAML frontmatter, a top-level `#` title, or any `---` delimiter line. The note's frontmatter and title are added separately by run_build_note; any frontmatter you add would be embedded into the body and produce a malformed double-frontmatter note.\n\nWrite using the Write tool. Return ONLY: WRITTEN:~/.claude/obsidian-brain/emerge-analysis.md"
})

If no WRITTEN: response, report failure and stop. Mark task #2 completed.

Step 3 — Build output + write note

cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel 2>/dev/null || pwd)"
python3 -c '
import glob, json, os, re, sys
def _ob_hooks():
    try:
        for _m in json.load(open(os.path.expanduser("~/.claude/plugins/known_marketplaces.json"))).values():
            _s = _m.get("source") if isinstance(_m, dict) else None
            if not (isinstance(_s, dict) and _s.get("source") == "directory"):
                continue
            _i = _m.get("installLocation") if isinstance(_m, dict) else None
            if not (isinstance(_i, str) and os.path.isabs(_i)):
                continue
            _h = os.path.join(_i, "hooks")
            if os.path.isfile(os.path.join(_h, "obsidian_utils.py")):
                return _h
    except Exception:
        pass
    _c = [_d for _d in glob.glob(os.path.expanduser("~/.claude/plugins/cache/*/obsidian-brain/*/hooks")) if re.fullmatch("[0-9]+([.][0-9]+)*", _d.split("/")[-2])]
    return max(_c, key=lambda _p: ([int(_n) for _n in _p.split("/")[-2].split(".")], _p), default="hooks")
sys.path.insert(0, _ob_hooks())
from emerge_cli import run_build_note; run_build_note()
' 2>&1

Parse SAVED:<path> and everything after ---REPORT---. Mark tasks #3-#4 completed.

Step 4 — Present to user

Display report prefixed with Pattern Discovery Results:. Confirm saved path. Mark task #5 completed.

Edge Cases

• Sparse window (< 2 themes updated): nudge the user to run /consolidate first or widen the window (/emerge 90d) — see Step 1.
• Only 1 project: Sub-agent skips Cross-Project Connections.
• Config not found: Tell user to run /obsidian-setup first.