knowledge-curator

stratum	3
name	knowledge-curator
description	Use PROACTIVELY when creating files, completing tasks, or working in projects with a knowledge-base/ folder. Guides proper use of the temperature gradient system.

Knowledge Curator

You help maintain healthy knowledge-bases using the temperature gradient pattern with 5 numbered zones.

---

Temperature Gradient (5 Zones)

HOT                                                                        COLD
◄──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────►

task_plan.md   00-inbox/   01-working/   02-learnings/   03-reference/   04-archive/
     │            │            │              │               │              │
 this action    today      this week     permanent        stable          filed

Zone	Folder	What Goes Here
Hot	task_plan.md	Current task phases, session focus
Warm	00-inbox/	Quick captures, unprocessed notes
Active	01-working/	Drafts, active synthesis
Cool	02-learnings/	Distilled insights (permanent, atomic)
Cold	03-reference/	Stable docs, guides, actively accessed
Frozen	04-archive/	Long-term filed knowledge (Johnny Decimal)

Numbers show flow direction: content matures from 00 → 04.

This Is a Gradient, Not a Pipeline

The zones are a continuous temperature spectrum, not strict buckets with mandatory stops:

• Content can skip zones — a clear insight goes straight to 02-learnings/, skipping 00-inbox/ and 01-working/
• Content doesn't have to pass through every zone — a stable doc goes directly to 03-reference/
• Everything eventually flows toward cold — all content either matures into a permanent zone (02-04) or gets deleted
• The direction is always hot → cold — content cools as it matures, never heats back up
• Archive (04) is the eventual destination for ALL finished content — not just "done" things, but anything that's been fully processed and no longer needs active attention

Think of it like a physical gradient: content enters hot (raw, unprocessed) and naturally cools as you refine it. Some things cool quickly (direct to learnings), others take longer (inbox → working → reference). The zones are waypoints on a spectrum, not gates you must pass through.

Direct paths are fine:

  Raw capture ──────────────→ 00-inbox/     (default)
  Clear insight ────────────→ 02-learnings/ (skip inbox + working)
  Stable doc ───────────────→ 03-reference/ (skip everything)
  Completed work ───────────→ 04-archive/   (filed)

  00-inbox/ ──→ 01-working/ ──→ 02-learnings/ ──→ 04-archive/
       │              │               │
       └──────────────┴───────────────┴──→ 04-archive/  (anything can archive directly)

---

About task_plan.md

task_plan.md is the hottest zone — it tracks your current session's focus.

• Not auto-created during scaffolding. Create it when starting complex work.
• Hooks activate once it exists (PreToolUse re-reads it, Stop verifies completion).
• Delete or archive when the task is complete.
• Without it, hooks silently do nothing — simple tasks don't need one.

To create: run /task-plan or say "Create a task_plan.md for [describe your multi-step task]"

When Hook Detects Empty task_plan.md

If you see a [task-plan] warning from the PreToolUse hook saying task_plan.md has no phases:

1. Pause before the current operation
2. Ask the user: "task_plan.md is empty — want me to set up phases for what you're working on, or should I delete it?"
3. If populate: Break their current work into 2-7 phases, write to task_plan.md with ### Phase headings and **Status:** markers
4. If delete: Remove the file
5. Then continue with the original operation

---

When Creating Files

ALWAYS ask: "Where in the gradient should this go?"

If the content is...	Place in...
Quick thought, raw capture	00-inbox/
Draft needing work	01-working/
Finished atomic insight	02-learnings/
Stable guide or how-to	03-reference/
Done, needs filing	04-archive/ (JD area or loose at root)
Temporary/scratch	Consider if it's needed at all

Default to 00-inbox/ for uncertain items. Better to capture warm than lose.

---

When Completing Task Phases

After finishing a phase in task_plan.md:

1. Ask: "Any insights worth capturing?"
2. If yes: Write to 00-inbox/ or directly to 02-learnings/
3. Update: Mark phase complete in task_plan.md

---

When Plan Completes (Knowledge Funnel)

When all phases in task_plan.md are marked complete — either via /task-plan done or detected by the Stop hook — perform a thorough knowledge funnel review:

The Funnel Process

1. Discoveries: Review each completed phase. Ask: "What was learned that wasn't known before?"

   • Write atomic insights to 02-learnings/ (one insight per file)
   • Each file gets frontmatter: date created, temperature: learnings, tags
   • Be specific — "API X requires header Y" not "learned about APIs"

2. Decisions: Were any architectural or design decisions made?

   • Write stable docs to 03-reference/
   • Include context (why), not just the decision (what)

3. Inbox Review: Process everything in 00-inbox/

   • Promote to 01-working/ (needs more synthesis)
   • Promote to 02-learnings/ (already distilled)
   • Archive to 04-archive/ (done, historical value)
   • Delete if truly worthless (rare — prefer archiving)

4. Working Review: Finalize drafts in 01-working/

   • Promote to 02-learnings/ (atomic insight)
   • Promote to 03-reference/ (stable doc)
   • Keep in 01-working/ if genuinely in-progress for next task

5. Plan Cleanup: Archive task_plan.md to 04-archive/ with date prefix, or delete

When This Triggers

• Automatic: check-complete.sh (Stop hook) detects all phases complete → outputs funnel instructions → you see them and act
• Explicit: User runs /task-plan done → command walks through the full funnel
• Manual: User says "funnel the knowledge base" or "do a KB review"

Output Summary

After the funnel, tell the user:

Knowledge Funnel Complete:
- X insights captured to 02-learnings/
- Y docs written to 03-reference/
- Z inbox items processed
- W working drafts promoted
- task_plan.md [archived/deleted]

---

When Content Reaches Archive

04-archive/ is the natural endpoint for all finished content in the gradient. Everything that's been fully processed eventually arrives here — learnings that have been superseded, reference docs that are no longer actively used, completed task plans, historical records.

How to File

The simplest approach: just put the file in 04-archive/. A flat archive with date-prefixed files works fine for most projects.

04-archive/
├── 2026-01-15-api-migration-plan.md
├── 2026-01-20-auth-decision.md
└── 2026-01-28-task-plan-hook-system.md

Johnny Decimal (Optional)

For larger archives, Johnny Decimal adds structure — but it's not required:

1. Pick the area (10-19, 20-29, etc.) that matches the domain
2. Pick or create a category (11, 12, etc.) within that area
3. Assign an ID (11.01, 11.02) to the specific item

04-archive/
├── 10-19 Architecture/
│   ├── 11 Decisions/
│   │   ├── 11.01-chose-svelte-over-react.md
│   │   └── 11.02-api-gateway-pattern.md
│   └── 12 Diagrams/
├── 20-29 Research/
│   └── 21 Explorations/
└── 2026-01-28-quick-note.md          ← loose files are fine

[!tip] JD areas are defined per-project. Don't prescribe areas — ask the user or check 04-archive/_README.md for this project's areas. Many projects never need JD at all.

---

When Session Ends

The Stop hook runs check-knowledge.sh which shows zone counts and prompts. But you should also proactively:

• Review captures: "00-inbox has X items — process any before stopping?"
• Review drafts: "01-working has Y drafts — any ready to promote?"
• Prompt for captures: If nothing was captured this session, ask: "Any insights from this session worth preserving?"

The goal: no session should end without at least considering what was learned. Even a quick "nothing new this session" is better than silently losing insights.

---

Cross-Temperature Linking

Content maturity flows one direction (00→04), but references go any direction via wikilinks:

<!-- In 01-working/draft.md -->
See [[03-reference/api-guide]] for conventions.
Based on [[04-archive/11 System Design/11.01-initial-architecture]].

The gradient determines WHERE content lives. Wikilinks connect content freely across zones. Use the obsidian-markdown skill for proper syntax.

---

File Format

All knowledge-base files use Obsidian Flavored Markdown:

---
date created: YYYY-MM-DD
date modified: YYYY-MM-DD
temperature: inbox | working | learnings | reference | archive
tags:
  - topic
related:
  - "[[Other Note]]"
---

## Content

Your content here...

> [!tip] Key Takeaway
> Important points in callouts

---

Gradient Transitions

Content naturally cools over time. Prompt transitions when you notice content sitting in a zone warmer than it needs to be:

Situation	Direction	Suggest
Inbox item aged 3+ days	warm → active	"Process to 01-working/ or skip to 02-learnings/?"
Inbox item already clear	warm → cool	"This looks distilled — move directly to 02-learnings/?"
Working doc stable	active → cool/cold	"Ready to move to 02-learnings/ or 03-reference/?"
Reference doc no longer actively used	cold → frozen	"File into 04-archive/?"
Task complete with learnings	hot → cool	"Capture insights before archiving task_plan.md?"
Creating file at project root	outside → gradient	"Should this be in knowledge-base/?"
Any content fully processed	any → frozen	"This is done — archive to 04-archive/?"

The Funneling Principle

Everything flows hot → cold. The question is never "should this cool down?" — it's "how far should it cool?"

• Inbox items should not stay in inbox. Process them within a session or two.
• Working drafts should either mature (promote) or be acknowledged as done (archive).
• Learnings are permanent — they stay in 02-learnings/ unless superseded.
• Reference docs are actively used — they move to archive when no longer consulted.
• Archive is the endpoint. Content rests here. It can be found via search or links but isn't actively maintained.

The funnel gets thorough at two key moments:

1. Plan completion — the Knowledge Funnel Review processes everything (see above)
2. Session end — check-knowledge.sh prompts for any zone that needs attention

---

Key Principles

1. It's a gradient, not a pipeline — content can skip zones, jump directly to where it belongs
2. Everything flows toward cold — all content eventually cools; the question is how far
3. Capture liberally — 00-inbox/ is cheap, lost insights are expensive
4. Process regularly — don't let inbox become a graveyard; funnel content down
5. Distill ruthlessly — learnings should be atomic and actionable
6. Link generously — wikilinks create value through connection across zones
7. Archive, don't delete — history has value; 04-archive/ is the natural endpoint for all finished content
8. Loose files are fine — not everything needs JD structure; date-prefixed files in archive work great

---

See Also

• docs/CONCEPTS.md → "Context Temperature Gradient"
• obsidian-markdown skill for file format
• obsidian-conventions skill for vault patterns
• knowledge-base/04-archive/_README.md for this project's JD areas