curate

name	curate
description	Add, update, or manage content in a knowledge base — triggered by command or natural-language curation intent like "save this to my knowledge base"

Single entry point for all knowledge base operations: discovering domains, scaffolding structure, adding topics, ingesting URLs, managing proposals, and maintaining the curation plan. Replaces the previous explore, init, and curate skills with one unified flow.

<quick_start> Invoke /dewey:curate and describe what you want. Examples:

• "add a topic about bid strategies"
• "ingest this URL into the knowledge base"
• "show the curation plan"
• "help me set up a knowledge base"

Also triggers on natural-language curation intent mid-conversation: "save this to my knowledge base", "capture this as a topic", etc. </quick_start>

1. **Understand intent** -- The user expresses what they want in natural language. Claude classifies and routes. 2. **Assess knowledge-base state** -- Is there a knowledge base? A curation plan? Existing domain areas? 3. **Route to workflow** -- Based on intent + state, route to the right workflow. No menus. - **Free text first** -- The user says what they want. Claude figures out how. - **One skill, one entry point** -- No explore/init/curate distinction for the user. - **Curation plan as prerequisite** -- Created after understanding intent, seeded with the user's goal. - **New domains inline** -- If a topic doesn't fit, offer to create the area on the spot. - **Collaborative curation** -- Both humans and agents can propose, review, and add content. - **Source primacy** -- Every topic should trace back to authoritative sources. - `$ARGUMENTS` -- Optional free-text context passed to this skill - `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}` -- Root directory of the Dewey plugin This skill activates on `/dewey:curate` or when the user expresses curation intent in conversation: "add this to the knowledge base", "capture this as a topic", "save this to my knowledge base", "let's put this in the knowledge base", "I want to add a new domain area", or similar phrases.

<gather_intent> If the user provided clear intent (via arguments, conversational context, or a natural-language trigger), use it directly. Do not re-ask.

If the user invoked /dewey:curate with no arguments and no prior conversational context, ask one open-ended question:

"What would you like to add or change in your knowledge base?" </gather_intent>

<assess_state> Check for:

1. Does a knowledge base exist? (Look for AGENTS.md and a knowledge base directory configured in .dewey/config.json, defaulting to docs/)
2. Does .dewey/curation-plan.md exist?
3. What domain areas exist? </assess_state>

- **Vague or exploratory intent** ("help me set up", "I don't know where to start", no specific topic) -> Route to `workflows/curate-discover.md` - **Clear intent with goals** ("I want a knowledge base for marketing analytics", "build a knowledge base for my team") -> Route to `workflows/curate-setup.md` - **Very specific intent** ("add a topic about bid strategies") -> Route to `workflows/curate-setup.md` with a note to resume into the specific curation action after scaffolding

<no_curation_plan> Before routing to any workflow, build the curation plan:

1. Read AGENTS.md to understand the role and domain areas
2. Read the knowledge base directory structure to see what topics exist
3. Tell the user: "Before we proceed, let me build a curation plan so we have a map of what's covered."
4. Propose 2-4 starter topics per domain area. Seed with the user's stated intent as the first item if it maps to a specific topic.
5. Ask the user to confirm or adjust
6. Write .dewey/curation-plan.md
7. Then resume routing based on the user's original intent </no_curation_plan>

<plan_exists> Classify the user's intent and route:

Intent	Signal patterns	Routes to
New topic	Topic name, "add X", "capture Y", "I learned about Z" -- no URL	workflows/curate-add.md
Ingest URL	Message contains a URL	workflows/curate-ingest.md
Propose for review	"propose", "submit for review", "not sure if this fits"	workflows/curate-propose.md
Promote proposal	"promote", "move proposal", "approve", references _proposals/	workflows/curate-promote.md
Manage plan	"what's planned", "show the plan", "add to plan", "remove from plan"	workflows/curate-plan.md
Update existing	"update X", "revise", "add to the existing topic about Y"	workflows/curate-add.md with mode=update
Add domain area	"new area", "add a domain", "create an area for X"	workflows/curate-setup.md (re-init path for adding areas)

If intent is ambiguous, ask one clarifying question -- not a menu of options. </plan_exists>

<new_domain_needed> During classification, if the user's topic doesn't fit any existing domain area:

1. Tell the user: "This doesn't fit your existing areas ([list areas]). Want me to create a new domain area for it?"
2. If yes: route to workflows/curate-setup.md (which handles adding areas to an existing knowledge base via its re-init path), then resume into the original curation action
3. If no: ask where they'd like to put it, or whether to skip </new_domain_needed>

<workflows_index> All workflows in workflows/:

Workflow	Purpose
curate-discover.md	Guided conversation to discover role, domains, scaffold knowledge base, and build curation plan
curate-setup.md	Evaluate repo, scaffold knowledge-base structure (or add areas to existing knowledge base), build plan
curate-add.md	Create a new topic or update an existing one in a domain area
curate-propose.md	Submit a topic proposal for review
curate-promote.md	Promote a validated proposal into a domain area
curate-ingest.md	Ingest an external URL -- evaluate against knowledge base, then propose or update
curate-plan.md	View, add to, or remove items from the curation plan
</workflows_index>

<scripts_integration> Curate scripts in scripts/:

create_topic.py -- Create topic files in a domain area

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/curate/scripts/create_topic.py --knowledge-base-root <root> --area <area> --topic "<name>" --relevance "<relevance>"

propose.py -- Create a proposal file

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/curate/scripts/propose.py --knowledge-base-root <root> --topic "<name>" --relevance "<relevance>" --proposed-by "<who>" --rationale "<why>"

promote.py -- Move a proposal into a domain area

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/curate/scripts/promote.py --knowledge-base-root <root> --proposal "<slug>" --target-area "<area>"

Scaffolding scripts in scripts/:

scaffold.py -- Create or extend knowledge-base directory structure

python3 ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/curate/scripts/scaffold.py --target <dir> --role "<persona>" --areas "<area1>,<area2>"

config.py -- Read knowledge base configuration

• read_knowledge_dir(knowledge_base_root) returns the configured knowledge directory (default: docs) </scripts_integration>

<success_criteria> Curation is successful when:

• Content follows the topic template structure
• Sources are referenced in frontmatter and cited inline
• Frontmatter is complete with title, relevance, and date
• Template sections are filled in (Why This Matters, In Practice, Key Guidance, Watch Out For, Go Deeper)
• AGENTS.md has linked table rows for each topic
• overview.md "How It's Organized" has linked table rows for each topic in the area
• overview.md "Key Sources" is populated with actual sources
• dewey-kb.md Domain Areas table lists the area </success_criteria>