domain-watch

name	domain-watch
description	Autonomous perception layer - scans KB for new notes matching domain watch configs, checks gap resonance with the Thinking Registry, probes external signals via web search, and auto-activates HIGH/MEDIUM signals into the Thinking Registry for the incubation loop.
automation	autonomous
schedule	0 7 * * *
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Grep, Glob, Bash, WebSearch
user-invocable	true
argument-hint	[domain-slug] (optional - scans all active domains if omitted)

Domain Watch

Autonomous perception layer. Each scheduled run scans configured domains for new KB notes, checks gap resonance with the Thinking Registry, probes external signals via web search, and auto-activates HIGH/MEDIUM proposals directly into the Thinking Registry. LOW/NONE signals are logged only.

Design principle: Perceive, score, activate. Human reviews the Watch Log post-run.

State Dependencies

Source	Location	Read	Write	Description
Watching Registry	Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCHING-REGISTRY.md	✓	✓	Active domain list + last scan dates
Domain Configs	Brain/05-Meta/Watching/[domain-slug].md	✓	✓	Per-domain PIRs, queries, baseline counts
Watch Log	Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCH-LOG.md	✓	✓	Append-only proposals and scan history
Thinking Registry	Brain/05-Meta/Thinking/THINKING-REGISTRY.md	✓		Gap resonance check (read-only)
Local Brain Search	resources/local-brain-search/	✓		Semantic search for KB notes
Session Changelogs	Brain/05-Meta/Changelogs/		✓	Run log

Prerequisites

• Watching Registry exists at Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCHING-REGISTRY.md
• At least one active domain seeded (see Seeding section below)
• Local Brain Search index up-to-date

---

Process

Step 1: Get Date and Load Registry

date '+%Y-%m-%d'

Read Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCHING-REGISTRY.md. Parse all domains with status: active.

If registry does not exist, create it:

---
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
created_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
updated_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
agent_version: 01.25
---

# Watching Registry

Domains under active surveillance.

| Domain Slug | Label | Mode | Last Scan | Status |
|-------------|-------|------|-----------|--------|

If no active domains found, log to changelog and exit cleanly.

If a specific [domain-slug] was passed as argument, process only that domain.

Step 2: For Each Active Domain - Load Config

Read Brain/05-Meta/Watching/[domain-slug].md.

Parse:

• watch_queries - semantic search terms for LBS
• priority_intelligence_requirements - specific questions to check incoming notes against
• last_scan - ISO date of previous run (null on first run)
• notes_at_scan - note count baseline at last scan (0 on first run)
• spawn_threshold - delta required before a proposal is flagged (default 3)
• mode - surveillance (watch for accumulation) or hypothesis (track specific claims)

Step 3: Scan KB for New Notes

Run LBS search for each watch_query:

cd "$(git rev-parse --show-toplevel)"
python3 resources/local-brain-search/search.py "[watch_query]" --limit 20 --mode spreading 2>/dev/null

Then find notes modified since the last scan date:

# If last_scan is set, find files newer than the domain config's last_scan date
find Brain/02-Permanent "Brain/AI Extracted Notes" "Brain/Document Insights" \
  -name "*.md" -newer Brain/05-Meta/Watching/[domain-slug].md \
  -type f 2>/dev/null | head -50

On first run (last_scan: null), treat all notes returned by LBS search as the baseline - record count but do not generate a proposal.

Compute:

• current_note_count - notes returned by LBS search matching domain queries (relevance score > 0.70)
• delta - current_note_count - notes_at_scan

Step 4: Gap Resonance Check

Read Brain/05-Meta/Thinking/THINKING-REGISTRY.md.

For each active or converged thinking topic, check: do any new KB notes from Step 3 address the topic's central question or the "Open Questions" section from its last incubation run?

Read the last run's "Open Questions for Next Run" from the thinking file if needed - this is the highest-value resonance target.

A resonance hit = a new note substantively addresses something the incubation loop explicitly flagged as unresolved.

Record resonance hits as HIGH-priority signals.

Step 5: PIR Check

For each priority_intelligence_requirements entry, assess whether any new notes from Step 3 constitute a direct answer, partial answer, or contradiction.

• Direct hit - new note directly addresses the PIR question with evidence or argument
• Partial hit - new note is relevant but incomplete
• Miss - no new notes bear on this PIR

Direct PIR hit = HIGH signal. Partial hit = MEDIUM signal.

Step 6: External Signal Check

For each watch_query, search for recent signals (last 7 days) from reputable sources.

Use targeted queries:

• [watch_query] site:arxiv.org OR site:nature.com OR site:pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
• [watch_query] site:hbr.org OR site:economist.com OR site:quantamagazine.org
• [watch_query] breakthrough OR new research OR published 2026

Extract per result: source name, headline, publication date, one-line summary of the finding.

Assess whether the external signal:

• Contradicts a leading hypothesis in the KB → HIGH signal
• Confirms an open question in the Thinking Registry → MEDIUM signal
• Is tangentially related → LOW, note without escalating

Limit: 2-3 searches per domain. This is signal detection, not a research sprint.

Step 7: Score Signal Level

Combine inputs from Steps 3-6:

Signal Level	Criteria
HIGH	Gap resonance hit, OR PIR direct hit, OR external signal contradicts KB
MEDIUM	PIR partial hit, OR delta ≥ spawn_threshold, OR external signal confirms open question
LOW	delta > 0 but < spawn_threshold, no PIR hit, no resonance
NONE	No new notes, no PIR hits, no external signal

For HIGH and MEDIUM: compose an incubation proposal (Step 8). For LOW and NONE: log a brief entry and continue.

Step 8: Compose Incubation Proposal (HIGH/MEDIUM only)

Draft a precise incubation question - one that could become the "Central Question" in a thinking file. Precision matters: the incubation loop runs better with a sharp question.

Good: "Does Byzantine majority-vote coordination solve the reliability ceiling in multi-agent systems, or does it trade one failure mode for another?" Bad: "What about multi-agent reliability?"

Compose:

• Proposed central question (one precise sentence)
• Signal basis - which trigger (PIR hit, gap resonance, external signal, delta) and what it found
• Initial hypotheses (1-2, with rough starting confidence based on current KB evidence)
• Known evidence from this scan (note links + external source if found)
• Suggested slug for the thinking file (kebab-case, ≤ 5 words)

Create the thinking file at Brain/05-Meta/Thinking/[suggested-slug].md using the incubation-loop seeding template - fill in the central question, initial hypotheses, and known evidence from this scan. Then add to Brain/05-Meta/Thinking/THINKING-REGISTRY.md:

| [suggested-slug] | [central question] | active | 0 | null |

Write a summary entry to the Watch Log (Step 10) marking it Auto-activated.

Step 9: Update Domain Config

Update Brain/05-Meta/Watching/[domain-slug].md frontmatter:

• last_scan: YYYY-MM-DD (today)
• notes_at_scan: N (current_note_count from Step 3)
• updated: YYYY-MM-DD
• updated_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
• agent_version: 01.25

Step 10: Append to Watch Log

Append to Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCH-LOG.md. Create the file if it does not exist.

For HIGH/MEDIUM domains:

## Scan: YYYY-MM-DD

### [domain-slug] - [HIGH/MEDIUM]

**Delta:** +N notes since last scan ([previous-scan-date])
**PIR Hit:** [Direct: "PIR question text" | Partial: "PIR question text" | None]
**Gap Resonance:** [[Thinking-Topic-Slug]] - open question: "[question text]" | None
**External Signal:** [Source: "Headline" (YYYY-MM-DD) - one-line finding | None]

**Proposed Incubation Question:** "[precise central question]"

**Suggested Slug:** `[suggested-slug]`

**Initial Hypotheses:**
- H1: [statement] (~X% confidence) - basis: [note link or source]
- H2: [statement] (~Y% confidence) - basis: [note link or source]

**Known Evidence:**
- [[Note Name]] - [one line on relevance]
- [External source] - [one line on relevance]

**Auto-activated:** [[suggested-slug]] added to Thinking Registry.

For LOW/NONE domains:

### [domain-slug] - [LOW/NONE]
Delta: +N notes. [No PIR hits. No resonance. | Brief note if something mild found.] No proposal.

Step 11: Update Watching Registry

Update Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCHING-REGISTRY.md:

• Set last_scan to today for each processed domain
• Update updated frontmatter date

Step 12: Write Session Changelog

Write to Brain/05-Meta/Changelogs/CHANGELOG - Domain Watch YYYY-MM-DD.md:

---
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
created_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
updated_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
agent_version: 01.25
---

# Domain Watch Session: YYYY-MM-DD

## Summary

| Domain | Signal | Delta | PIR Hit | Resonance | Proposal |
|--------|--------|-------|---------|-----------|----------|
| [slug] | HIGH | +N | Direct - "PIR text" | [[Thinking Topic]] | Yes |
| [slug] | NONE | 0 | None | None | No |

## Proposals Awaiting Activation

[List domain slugs and proposed questions for HIGH/MEDIUM domains]

To review full proposals: `Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCH-LOG.md`

---

Seeding a New Domain

Create Brain/05-Meta/Watching/[domain-slug].md:

---
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
created_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
updated_by: claude-sonnet-4-6
agent_version: 01.25
slug: domain-slug
label: "Human-readable domain label"
mode: surveillance
watch_queries:
  - "primary search term"
  - "secondary search term"
priority_intelligence_requirements:
  - "PIR 1: specific question I want answered when it becomes answerable"
  - "PIR 2: specific question I want answered when it becomes answerable"
last_scan: null
notes_at_scan: 0
spawn_threshold: 3
---

# Watching: [Domain Label]

## Why This Domain

[1-2 sentences on why this domain warrants ongoing surveillance]

## What Would Trigger Incubation

[Concrete examples of the kind of signal that would warrant a thinking topic - be specific]

## Related Thinking Topics

[Links to any active/converged thinking files in this domain, if any]

Then add to Brain/05-Meta/Watching/WATCHING-REGISTRY.md:

| [domain-slug] | [label] | surveillance | null | active |

---

Activation

HIGH/MEDIUM proposals are auto-activated by Step 8 - thinking files are created and added to the Thinking Registry automatically. The Watch Log records each activation for review.

When the incubation loop marks a topic converged, review it manually via /synthesize-insights.

---

Error Handling

Error	Recovery
Watching Registry missing	Create empty registry, log, exit cleanly
No active domains	Log to changelog, exit cleanly
Domain config missing for registered entry	Log warning in registry, skip domain
LBS search returns empty	Try alternate watch_query terms; if still empty, note in scan log, continue
Web search fails or times out	Skip external signal step, note "external signal: unavailable" in log, continue
WATCH-LOG.md missing	Create file with header, proceed
First run (last_scan: null)	Record baseline count, write "first scan - baseline established" entry, no proposal

---

Completion Checklist

• Registry read - active domains identified
• Each domain: LBS search run on all watch_queries
• Each domain: new note delta computed against baseline
• Each domain: gap resonance checked against Thinking Registry
• Each domain: PIR check run against new notes
• Each domain: external signal search run (2-3 queries)
• Each domain: signal level scored (HIGH/MEDIUM/LOW/NONE)
• HIGH/MEDIUM domains: incubation proposal drafted and written to Watch Log
• HIGH/MEDIUM domains: thinking file created at Brain/05-Meta/Thinking/[slug].md
• HIGH/MEDIUM domains: topic added to THINKING-REGISTRY.md with status: active
• Each domain: config updated (last_scan, notes_at_scan)
• Watch Log updated with all domains
• Watching Registry updated
• Session changelog written

---

Self-Improvement

After completing this skill's primary task, consider tactical improvements:

• Review execution: Were there friction points, unclear steps, or inefficiencies?
• Identify improvements: Could signal scoring, PIR checking, or proposal drafting be sharper?
• Scope check: Only execution changes - NOT changes to the perceive-score-activate pipeline or signal scoring thresholds
• Apply improvement (if identified):
  • Edit this SKILL.md with the specific improvement
  • Keep changes minimal and focused
• Version control:
  • git add .claude/skills/domain-watch/SKILL.md
  • git commit -m "refactor(domain-watch): <brief improvement>"