query

name

query

description

Read the research wiki and answer the user's substantive question with a prose synthesis plus a bottom citation list. Use for definitional / comparative / causal / explanatory questions while working in research/ — "what is X", "how does Y compare to Z", "why W", "explain ABC". This is the default behavior for any non-operational question in research/. Skip for operational requests (ingest/lint/triage), chit-chat, or meta on the previous turn.

Query

Single-question wiki retrieval and synthesis. One query = read index + drill candidates → synthesize prose answer → optionally fold back at session boundary.

Pattern: index-first retrieval → adaptive drill-down → prose answer + bottom citations → fold-back at session boundary.

User-facing output defaults to the language the user writes in — mirror the user's input language. To pin a fixed language instead, tell the LLM at the start of the session, or edit this line.

Preconditions

• Working directory is research/ (skill assumes the schema in research/CLAUDE.md).
• The user's message is a substantive question (see §1).

Steps

1. Decide whether to fire

Fire when the user's message is a substantive question plausibly within the wiki's domain — definitional / comparative / causal / synthesis-type ("what is X", "how does Y differ from Z", "why did W happen", "explain ABC").

Do NOT fire when:

• Operational ("ingest this", "run lint", "create a page", "edit X")
• Meta / chit-chat ("what did you just say", "再说一遍", "thanks", "好的下一个")
• Cross-subdomain (interview-prep / life) — wiki is research-only
• Trivial knowledge wiki obviously won't have ("今天几号", "2+2 等于几")

If unsure, fire. Over-firing costs one index.md read; under-firing is the failure mode that made this skill exist.

2. Read index.md

Use the Read tool. index.md is the catalog of all wiki pages with one-line summaries — the designed entry point for any query (per Karpathy gist's "read index first, then drill in").

3. Pick candidate pages and decide depth

Match the question against index.md page names and one-liners. Adapt depth to question shape:

Question type	Behavior
Navigation / overview ("what's in the wiki about X", "list pages on Y")	index.md alone may suffice — only drill if user wants depth
Definitional / comparative / causal (most cases)	Drill into 2–7 candidate pages

Aim for breadth, not exhaustion — if 10+ pages look relevant, the question is too broad; ask user to narrow first.

4. Read candidates in parallel

Call the Read tool in parallel for all candidates in one assistant turn. Do not serialize.

5. Follow one hop on [[link]]

While reading candidates, note [[link]] pointers to unread but clearly relevant pages (judged from anchor + surrounding sentence). Read those in a second parallel batch. One hop only — do not chain further.

If after one hop the picture is still thin, fall back to:

grep -ril "<keyword>" wiki/

This is exceptional, not routine — well-summarized index.md should handle most cases.

6. Synthesize the answer

Write prose in natural language — read like a teacher explaining, not a footnoted document.

Format rules:

• No inline [[link]] in the body. All citations go to the bottom list.
• No [wiki] / [parametric] tags. Absence of citation = parametric or general knowledge; presence in citation list = informed by wiki. The user can tell from context.
• Surface contradictions and non-consensus: when wiki pages disagree with each other or with conventional wisdom, say so in the body using natural-language hedging ("本 vault 的整理认为 X，这和通常说法 Y 有出入" / "wiki 内部对这点的判断不一致"). The user explicitly wants to absorb these tensions, not have them smoothed away.
• Wiki gaps: if part of the question isn't covered, fill from parametric knowledge naturally — no special tag, the missing citation signals it.
• Length matches the question: short question → one paragraph; multi-part question → may run longer. Default to ≤ one screen.

After the prose, append the citation list:

---
**引用**
- [[wiki/<dir>/<slug>]]
- [[wiki/<dir>/<slug>]]

Citation rules:

• Only list pages that were read and meaningfully informed the answer.
• Order by centrality to the answer, not by directory.
• Do not pad with adjacent-but-unread pages.
• If no wiki page meaningfully shaped the answer (rare; means wiki is silent), say so in the body and omit the citation block entirely — an empty **引用** heading is worse than none.

7. Fold-back trigger (session boundary only)

After answering, do not immediately offer fold-back. Wait for one of:

Signal	Action
User explicitly says "save this" / "fold back" / "回填"	Enter fold-back flow (§8) immediately
User starts a query on a clearly different topic	Before answering the new query, one-line offer fold-back on the previous one
User signals wrap-up ("明白了" / "thanks" / "ok 下一个" / "够了" / "明天再聊")	One-line offer fold-back
User keeps drilling on the same topic	Do NOT offer — discussion is still live

Only offer fold-back if the discussion produced new synthesis — a comparison, a connection, a clarification not already in any read page. Pure retrieval / restatement → don't offer.

Offer format (one line, not a wall):

要不要把刚才关于 <topic> 的讨论回填进 wiki？候选：新建 wiki/<dir>/<slug> / 追加到 [[existing-page]] / 不回填

8. Fold-back execution (if user accepts)

Reuse ingest skill's plan → confirm → execute → verify pattern, adapted:

1. Propose: specific new slug + body draft, OR specific edits to listed existing pages. Be concrete (give the actual prose, not "I'll add a paragraph about X").
2. Wait for go. Ambiguous → ask again.
3. Execute writes in parallel where possible.
4. Verify per ingest §8.5 — for each change, grep that it landed.
5. Update index.md ONLY if a new page was created. Pure updates to existing pages don't change the catalog.
6. Append to log.md:

   ## [YYYY-MM-DD] query-foldback | <topic> → <K> pages
   - New: wiki/<dir>/<slug>
   - Updated: wiki/<dir>/<slug>
   

7. Report concisely: what was created / updated, total pages touched.

Style

• Prose, not lists, in the body. Bullets are for skills and catalogs, not for explanations.
• Teacher tone: explain mechanisms and the why, not just facts.
• Surface wiki's voice: where the wiki makes a specific judgment ("本 vault 把这条标 alpha", "wiki 内部对 X 有矛盾"), let that voice through — don't launder it into generic statement.
• One screen per answer by default. Longer questions probably should be split.
• Don't pretend coverage you don't have: when wiki is silent on part of the question, say so in natural language.

Edge cases

• Empty wiki / no candidate pages from index.md: state explicitly that wiki has no page on this, answer from parametric knowledge like a teacher would, then end the response with: "wiki 里目前没这个主题的页，要不要 ingest 一个源建一页？"
• Question crosses subdomains: only answer the research portion via wiki; for non-research portion say "这部分属于另一个 subdomain，wiki 这边不处理"。 Do not link across.
• Wiki self-contradiction discovered: surface both claims in the body — do not silently pick one. After answering, mention "这是 lint 该看的，要不要顺便记下" — but do not auto-trigger lint.
• Page is stale (last-updated is old + claims look superseded by newer sources also in wiki): mention in the body ("wiki 这页 last-updated 是 YYYY-MM-DD，下面的数字可能已经被更新的源推翻"). Do not silently use stale claims.
• Operational vs substantive ambiguity ("how does ingest work" — skill mechanics or concept?): pick the more likely reading; if truly ambiguous, ask one clarifying question before firing.
• Question too broad ("tell me everything about agents"): ask user to narrow before firing. Do not dump the index.
• User explicitly asks for parametric / non-wiki answer ("just tell me, don't look it up"): skip steps 2–5, answer directly, no citation block. Respect the override.

Do not

• Do not embed [[link]] in the prose body. Citations go to the bottom list only.
• Do not tag sentences with [wiki] / [parametric]. Let context signal.
• Do not pad the citation list with pages you didn't actually read or that didn't shape the answer.
• Do not offer fold-back after every query — only at session boundaries (§7).
• Do not modify any file during query — query is read-only. Writes happen only in fold-back execution (§8).
• Do not dispatch subagents — synthesis must stay in one context (same nail as ingest).
• Do not invent wiki claims to fill gaps — if wiki is silent, say so.
• Do not silently smooth over contradictions in the wiki — the user wants to see them.
• Do not write to raw/. Ever.