wiki-domain

name	wiki-domain
description	Set up, list, rename, or merge research domains. Use when user says 'add a domain for X', 'set up a domain', 'what domains exist', 'change scope of X domain', 'merge X and Y domains'. Do NOT speculatively fire on ingest prompts — wiki-ingest hands off explicitly when no domain matches.

Wiki Domain

Create and manage research domains in the Obsidian vault. Domains are directory-based organizational units that group related source notes, with scope rules controlling cross-pollination.

Why Domains Matter

Every source note lives in a domain directory. Domain is inferred from the file path via .wiki/domains.json. Each domain has a scope (public or private) and an optional linkGroup.

Linking rules:

• Public domains can share concepts freely with all other public domains
• Private domains are isolated — no cross-linking outside the domain
• linkGroup overrides isolation: domains sharing a linkGroup can cross-link bidirectionally, regardless of scope. Use this for related private domains (e.g., worldbuilding subdomains that should see each other's concepts)
• A public domain in a linkGroup bridges the group to the outside — it can link globally AND within its group

Notes can override their domain's scope with scope: private in frontmatter (e.g., a sensitive note in a public domain).

Listing Existing Domains

First, run commonplace vault-path and commonplace config to get the vault path and structure. Use structure.sources and structure.mocs for all directory creation — never assume any specific path.

Read the domain registry from $VAULT_PATH/.wiki/domains.json.

Also show stats from the index:

commonplace index --incremental

Parse domain-index.jsonl from .wiki/ to show source and concept counts per domain.

Creating a New Domain

When the user wants a new domain:

1. Ask for name, scope, and linkGroup. Name should be kebab-case (e.g., home-automation, retro-consoles). Scope is public or private. If unsure, default to public for technical topics, private for personal/hobby topics. If the domain is related to other private domains, ask which linkGroup it belongs to.

2. Create the directory:

   $VAULT_PATH/{structure.sources}/{Domain Name}/
   

   Use the human-readable name with spaces for the directory (e.g., "Home Automation"), not the slug.

3. Update the domain registry in $VAULT_PATH/.wiki/domains.json: Add a new entry to the domains object:

   "new-domain-slug": { "path": "{structure.sources}/New Domain Name", "scope": "public", "linkGroup": "optional-group" }
   

4. Optionally create a starter MOC:

   $VAULT_PATH/{structure.mocs}/{Domain Name} MOC.md
   

   With appropriate frontmatter:

   ---
   tags: [moc, domain-slug]
   cssclasses: []
   created: YYYY-MM-DD
   ---
   

5. Rebuild indexes:

   commonplace index
   

Example

User: "I want to start tracking retro console restorations"

→ Create directory {structure.sources}/Retro Consoles/ → Add to .wiki/domains.json: "retro-consoles": { "path": "{structure.sources}/Retro Consoles", "scope": "private" } → Create {structure.mocs}/Retro Consoles MOC.md → Notes in this domain should have scope: private in frontmatter → Report: "Created Retro Consoles domain (private scope). It's isolated — concepts won't cross into your public research. If you later add related hobby domains, I can group them with a linkGroup so they share concepts."