switch

name	switch
description	Switch the ACTIVE UNIVERSE of this brain, or create a new one (ADR 0034). A universe is a soft retrieval scope (e.g. successive employers, clients, spheres): when you work one universe, searches default to its notes plus your cross-cutting ones. Use when the user wants to switch / change / set the current universe / context / scope, list their universes, or create / add a new universe / context (e.g. 'switch to the acme universe', 'change de contexte', 'crée un univers Blue Team', 'in which universe am I?', 'liste mes univers'). This is invisible until a second universe exists. It does NOT touch notes and needs no reindex — it only re-points which universe is active.
version	1.0.0

/switch — Change or create the active universe (opt-in, no reindex)

Brain-side skill. A universe (ADR 0034) is a soft, engine-enforced retrieval scope over the one shared vault: while a universe is active, search_vault returns that universe's notes plus your cross-cutting (default) notes, and nothing from the others, unless you explicitly ask for "all universes". It is a relevance feature, never an isolation wall (a bug, Obsidian, git or grep can cross it, and for a private brain that is fine).

⚠️ This is a thin conversational driver. All the real, testable logic lives in the deterministic core scripts/set-active-universe.mjs + scripts/lib/universes.mjs (ADR 0009). This skill only reads the current state, runs that core, and reports — it holds no logic and makes no scope decision of its own (the engine reads the active pointer itself, per search).

When to use it

Load this whenever the user wants to change context or manage universes, in plain language, any language:

• "switch to the acme universe" · "passe sur l'univers acme" · "change de contexte"
• "create a universe Blue Team" · "crée un univers Blue Team" · "add a new context"
• "which universe am I in?" · "dans quel univers je suis ?" · "liste mes univers"

🧭 Progressive disclosure. Below two universes there is nothing to manage: a brain with a single (default) universe behaves exactly as today. Do not volunteer universes to a single-universe user. But if they explicitly ask to create one, this skill is the way in.

Golden rules

• No writes to notes, no reindex. Switching only re-points the active-universe pointer under <brain>/.vault-rag/. The engine reads it live on the next search. Never offer a reindex here.
• The core is the single surface. Natural language ("create a universe X") and /switch X route to the same script, so there is never a diverging path (ADR 0009).
• Creating a universe is create-and-switch (git switch -c ergonomics): register the name and make it active in one move. The name is normalized to a safe kebab slug (e.g. "Blue Team" → blue-team); the reserved name default cannot be created.

Procedure

Fast path — /switch <name> or "switch to "

Run, from the brain folder:

node scripts/set-active-universe.mjs "<name>"

• exit 0 → relay the core's message verbatim (in the user's language), then remind, in one line, that searches now stay in that universe plus your cross-cutting notes (say "search all universes" to span them). When the switch lands in a named universe (not a return to the cross-cutting default), the core already appends a one-line reminder that the native connectors (Slack, Notion, Google, mail…) are single-account and do not follow the switch, so the user reconnects them if this universe uses different accounts. You do not decide when to show it and never reason about it yourself (ADR 0009): the deterministic core owns that call, you only surface what it prints.
• exit 1, "unknown universe" → the name is not registered. Show the available: list the core printed, and offer to create it (create-and-switch) or pick an existing one. Do not create silently.

No-argument menu — /switch alone

1. Read the state (no writes):

   node scripts/set-active-universe.mjs current   # the active universe
   node scripts/set-active-universe.mjs list      # all universes, * marks the active one
   

2. Present the menu in chat: remind the current universe, list the available ones, and offer
   • switch to one of them → fast path above,
   • ➕ create a new universe (create-and-switch) → create below,
   • ✖️ cancel (stay put) → do nothing.

Create a new universe — "create a universe "

Run:

node scripts/set-active-universe.mjs create "<name>"

• exit 0 → relay the core's message verbatim (in the user's language). When this create is the one that crosses the brain from one to two universes, the core already appends the one-time onboarding line ("You now have two universes. Searches stay in the active one plus your cross-cutting notes; say 'search all universes' to span them. New notes will file under vault/<slug>/."). You do not decide when to show it and never count universes yourself (ADR 0009): the deterministic core (openedGate) owns that call, you only surface what it prints.
• exit 1 → relay the reason as-is (reserved = default is not creatable; empty = the name had no usable characters), and ask for another name.

What it does NOT do

• It does not move or re-stamp existing notes (that is /import --universe at import time, or a future one-shot re-stamp). Switching is only about where new work and default searches point.
• It does not delete a universe. A created universe is a self-contained vault/<slug>/ subtree, so a future "delete this universe" stays a trivial rm -rf + prune + reindex — not built here.