| name | kb-query |
| description | Answer a question from the KB with citations, optionally filing the answer as a new page. Use when the user asks a physics question, wants to query the knowledge base, or asks about topics covered in the KB (theories, concepts, people, experiments, open questions). WHEN NOT: Ingesting new sources (use kb:ingest), fetching articles (use kb:fetch), or health-checking the KB (use kb:lint). |
| argument-hint | <your question> |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep |
| effort | medium |
| context | fork |
Answer a question against the knowledge base. The question is: $ARGUMENTS
Follow these steps exactly in order.
Step 1: Navigate the KB
- Read
kb/index.md (master hub) to identify which sections are relevant to the question.
- Read the relevant section index(es) (e.g.,
kb/index-concepts.md, kb/index-theories.md) to find specific pages.
- When the question targets a specific domain, use
tags in page frontmatter to narrow your search (e.g., for a cosmology question, prioritize pages tagged cosmology).
- Read the relevant pages. If they reference other pages that seem relevant, read those too.
- Do NOT read raw sources unless the compiled pages are insufficient.
Step 2: Synthesize an answer
- Answer the question using information from the compiled wiki pages.
- Cite specific pages for every claim:
[Page Title](kb/path/to/page.md).
- Weight claims by evidence tier: Prefer
primary over secondary over community. If the only support for a claim comes from community-tier pages, note that explicitly (e.g., "per community discussion (unverified)...").
- If the KB doesn't have enough information to answer, say so explicitly and list what's missing.
- If pages contradict each other, flag the contradiction rather than picking a side.
Step 3: File the answer (if substantial)
If the answer is substantial, reusable, and not already covered by an existing page:
- Create a new page in the most appropriate location (
kb/theories/, kb/concepts/, kb/people/, kb/experiments/, or kb/open-questions/).
- Use standard page format from kb/CLAUDE.md.
- Set
type: summary or type: concept as appropriate.
- Add relevant
tags from the controlled vocabulary in kb/CLAUDE.md. Use 1-4 tags per page.
- Link to the pages that informed the answer in the Sources section.
- Update the relevant section index (
kb/index-theories.md, kb/index-concepts.md, etc.) and the page counts in kb/index.md.
- Prepend to
kb/log.md:
## [YYYY-MM-DD] query | <Short question summary>
Question: <the question>
Answer filed: <path to new page, or "not filed — too narrow/already covered">
Pages consulted: <list of pages read>
If the answer is narrow or already covered, still log it but skip creating a page.
