classify

name	classify
description	Classify knowledge entries by type and manage the manual review queue
allowed-tools	["mcp__*__distillery_status","mcp__*__distillery_classify","mcp__*__distillery_resolve_review","mcp__*__distillery_get","mcp__*__distillery_list","Read"]
effort	medium

Classify — Manual Classification & Review Queue

Classify runs the classification engine on knowledge entries and lets you triage the review queue for low-confidence predictions.

When to Use

• /classify <entry_id> — classify a specific entry by ID
• /classify --inbox — classify all unclassified inbox entries in batch (alias for --batch --entry-type inbox)
• /classify --batch <filters> — classify entries matching composable filters in batch
• /classify --review — triage entries awaiting human review
• /classify (no args) — show usage help

Process

Step 1: Check MCP

See CONVENTIONS.md — skip if already confirmed this conversation.

Step 2: Dispatch to Mode

Invocation	Mode
/classify <entry_id>	Classify by ID
/classify --inbox	Batch inbox classification (alias for --batch --entry-type inbox)
/classify --batch <filters>	Batch classification with composable filters
/classify --review	Review queue triage
/classify (no args)	Show help

Optional flags (all modes):

Flag	Parameter	Description
--project	<name>	Filter by project name

Batch filter flags (--batch mode only):

Flag	Parameter	Description
--source	<source>	Filter by entry source (e.g. claude-code, manual, import, inference, external)
--entry-type	<type>	Filter by entry type (e.g. inbox, github, feed, session, etc.)
--author	<name>	Filter by author name
--tag-prefix	<prefix>	Filter by tag namespace prefix (e.g. project/billing)
--project	<name>	Filter by project name
--unclassified	(none)	Filter to entries with no tags and verification=unverified

Filters are composable with AND semantics. At least one filter is required when using --batch (reject bare --batch with no filters).

---

Mode A: Classify by ID

Step A1: Retrieve and Classify

1. Call distillery_get to retrieve the entry. If not found, tell the user to check the ID or use /recall.
2. Analyse the content and determine:
   • entry_type: best fit from session, bookmark, minutes, meeting, reference, idea, inbox, person, project, digest, github, feed
   • confidence: 0.0–1.0 based on how clearly the content fits
   • reasoning: concise explanation
   • suggested_tags: 2–5 keywords
3. Call distillery_classify with those values.

• On MCP errors, see CONVENTIONS.md error handling — display and stop.

Step A2: Display Result

Show entry ID, type, confidence (as <n%> (<level>)), status, reasoning, and suggested tags. For reclassifications, show old and new classification side-by-side. If confidence is below threshold, note the entry was sent to the review queue.

---

Mode B: Batch Inbox Classification

--inbox is a convenience alias for --batch --entry-type inbox. It follows the same process as Mode B2 below with entry_type="inbox" pre-set.

Step B1: List Inbox Entries

Call distillery_list(entry_type="inbox", limit=50, output_mode="full", content_max_length=300). If --project was specified, also pass project=<name>. If empty, tell the user and stop.

Step B2: Classify Each Entry

For each entry (max 50), compute classification as in Mode A and call distillery_classify. Track counts: classified (active), review (pending_review), errors.

Step B3: Display Batch Summary

## Batch Classification Complete

| Entry ID | Preview | Type | Confidence | Status |
|----------|---------|------|------------|--------|
| <id>     | <first 60 chars>... | <type> | <n%> (<level>) | <active|review|error> |

Total: <N> processed — <classified> active, <review> review, <errors> errors

If any sent to review, suggest /classify --review.

---

Mode B2: Batch Classification with Filters

Step B2-1: Validate Filters

1. At least one filter flag must be present. If the user passed bare --batch with no filters, display an error: "At least one filter is required for --batch mode. See /classify for available filters." and stop.
2. Build the distillery_list arguments from the provided filters:

Flag	distillery_list parameter
--source	source=<value>
--entry-type	entry_type=<value>
--author	author=<value>
--tag-prefix	tag_prefix=<value>
--project	project=<value>
--unclassified	verification="unverified" (the empty-tags constraint is checked post-fetch in Step B2-2)

Step B2-2: List Matching Entries

Call distillery_list with the composed filters, plus limit=50, output_mode="full", content_max_length=300. If empty, tell the user no entries matched the filters and stop.

If --unclassified was specified, additionally filter the returned entries to only those with tags=[] (empty tags list). This is a post-fetch filter since the store does not support empty-tag queries directly.

Step B2-3: Classify Each Entry

For each entry (max 50), compute classification as in Mode A and call distillery_classify. Track counts: classified (active), review (pending_review), errors.

Step B2-4: Display Batch Summary

Use the same summary table format as Mode B Step B3.

---

Mode C: Review Queue Triage

Step C1: Fetch the Review Queue

Call distillery_list(status="pending_review", output_mode="review", limit=20). If --project was specified, also pass project=<name>. If empty, tell the user and stop.

Step C2: Determine Reviewer

Determine reviewer per CONVENTIONS.md author resolution.

Step C3: Triage Each Entry

For each entry, display: ID, type, confidence, author, date, reasoning, and a 200-char content preview. Prompt for action:

Key	Action	MCP Call
a	Approve — keep classification, set active	distillery_resolve_review(action="approve")
r	Reclassify — prompt for new type, validate against valid types (re-prompt once if invalid)	distillery_resolve_review(action="reclassify", new_entry_type=...)
x	Archive — remove from knowledge base	distillery_resolve_review(action="archive")
s	Skip — leave in queue	No MCP call

Always pass the reviewer name when calling distillery_resolve_review.

Step C4: Display Triage Summary

## Review Queue Summary

Entries reviewed: <total>
- Approved: <n>  |  Reclassified: <n>  |  Archived: <n>  |  Skipped: <n>

---

Mode D: Show Help (No Arguments)

Read references/modes.md for the help text to display.

---

Rules

• Always check MCP availability first — stop if unavailable
• Show help when invoked with no arguments
• Retrieve the entry with distillery_get before classifying by ID
• Display confidence as percentage with level label in all output (see references/modes.md for level thresholds)
• For reclassifications, show old and new classification together
• Batch mode: max 50 entries per invocation
• Review mode: one entry at a time, accept s to skip
• Validate reclassify type input; re-prompt once if invalid
• Always show a summary after batch or review operations
• On MCP errors, see CONVENTIONS.md error handling — display and stop
• No retry loops — if a tool fails, report and continue to the next entry