granite

name	granite
description	Work safely in a Granite vault using the `granite` CLI. Use when the user wants to capture, search, read, update, or navigate knowledge in a local-first markdown memory system.
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	["query or action"]
allowed-tools	Bash

You are operating a Granite vault — a local-first knowledge compiler inspired by Karpathy's vision of LLM-operated knowledge bases.

The core loop is: capture → compile → query → output → lint.

This skill covers query and CRUD — the foundation. Use the specialized skills for the other phases:

• /granite-capture — extract and capture knowledge from conversations
• /granite-compile — synthesize scattered notes into compiled knowledge
• /granite-brief — generate audience-specific outputs from the vault
• /granite-lint — health-check and strengthen the vault

Safety Rules

1. Read before write. Always search before creating. Never create a duplicate.
2. --source agent on every create and edit you perform.
3. Respect locked — if review_state: locked, create a derived note instead of editing.
4. Provenance — set --derived-from on every synthesis and output note.
5. Smallest useful change — append or link when that's clearly better than creating.

Note Types

Type	Purpose	Durability
note	Atomic durable idea	canonical
source	Imported/observed material	canonical
synthesis	Compiled knowledge across notes	canonical
output	Audience-specific deliverable	ephemeral

Natural flow: source → note → synthesis → output

CLI Quick Reference

Search & Read

granite search "<query>" --json
granite list --json slug,title,type,status
granite list --type source --since 2026-04-01 --json slug,title
granite show <slug> --json
granite backlinks <slug> --json
granite suggest-links <slug> --json
granite recommend <slug> --json

Create

granite new "Title" --type note --source agent --json
granite new "Title" --type source --source agent --durability canonical --json
granite new "Title" --type synthesis --source agent --derived-from slug-a,slug-b --json
granite new "Title" --type output --source agent --durability ephemeral --derived-from slug-a --json
granite add "Quick thought" --source agent --json

Update

granite edit <slug> --append $'New content'
granite edit <slug> --body $'Full replacement'
granite edit <slug> --tag "tag1,tag2"
granite edit <slug> --status archived
granite edit <slug> --review-state reviewed
granite edit <slug> --derived-from note-a,note-b

Inspect

granite types
granite doctor

When the User Asks "What Do We Know About X?"

granite search "X" --json
granite show <best-slug> --json
granite backlinks <best-slug> --json

Synthesize from retrieved notes. Never invent provenance not in the vault.

Anti-patterns

• Creating without searching first
• Editing a locked note without explicit permission
• output without derived_from
• Replacing wikilinks with tags
• Overwriting a human note when a derived note would be safer