archive

name	archive
description	Capture an effective prompting technique or steering pattern as reusable knowledge. Use for /archive, or when a prompt worked especially well and is worth reusing — not insight about the work itself (/reflect).

Capture effective prompt patterns and store them as reusable knowledge.

Sequences of human steering interventions that produced good AI reasoning — stored in the shared knowledge base as reusable patterns.

When to invoke

User says: "that prompt worked well", "save this prompting technique", "archive this steering pattern", "the way I phrased that got great results" Not this: insight about the work itself → /reflect · private thought → /note

Topic: $ARGUMENTS

Auto-saves. No need to run /save after.

Two Modes

Invocation	Mode	AskUserQuestion calls
/archive	Interactive — model reads session context, extracts prompt chains	1-2
/archive [description]	Quick — user provides the pattern directly	0-1

Mode detection:

• No arguments → Interactive mode
• Any arguments → Quick mode

Mode detection

MODE=$(jq -r '.mode // "connected"' egregore.json 2>/dev/null)

Local mode (mode === "local"): Skip ALL bin/graph.sh calls — do NOT run them. Do NOT show any graph-related messaging ("Graph offline", "will sync", Neo4j, etc.).

Local-mode flow:

• Step 0: Get user via git config user.name. Skip ALL context queries (Q1-Q4) — do not run them.
• Step 1: Extract moves from session context only (no graph-aware suggestions).
• Step 3: Skip relation detection entirely — do not run quest/artifact queries.
• Step 4: Create pattern file — same as connected mode.
• Step 5: Skip entirely — no Neo4j Artifact creation.
• Step 6: Auto-save — same as connected mode.
• Step 7: TUI — use ✓ Saved · pushed (not "graphed"). Use /activity to see it. as footer.

Connected mode: Full behavior as specified below.

Execution rules

Neo4j-first. All queries via bash bin/graph.sh query "...". No MCP. No direct curl to Neo4j. CRITICAL: Suppress raw output. Never show raw JSON to the user. All bin/graph.sh calls MUST capture output in a variable and only show formatted status lines.

• 1 Bash call: git config user.name
• 4 Neo4j queries for context gathering (run in parallel) — connected mode only
• 0-2 AskUserQuestion calls depending on mode
• 1-2 Neo4j queries for Artifact creation + relation detection — connected mode only
• Auto-save via /save flow
• Progress shown incrementally

Step 0: Identity + Context (parallel, all modes)

Get current user

git config user.name

Map to Person node: "Alice Smith" -> alice, "Bob Jones" -> bob, "Carol" -> carol

Context queries (run ALL in parallel) — CONNECTED MODE ONLY

Skip this entire section in local mode. Do not run any of these queries.

Execute each with bash bin/graph.sh query "..." '{"param": "value"}'.

Q1 — Recent sessions (7 days):

MATCH (s:Session)-[:BY]->(p:Person {name: $me})
WHERE date(left(toString(s.date), 10)) >= date() - duration('P7D')
RETURN s.topic AS topic, s.date AS date, s.summary AS summary
ORDER BY s.date DESC LIMIT 5

Q2 — Existing prompt-chain patterns (all time):

MATCH (a:Artifact {type: 'pattern'})
WHERE 'prompt-chain' IN a.topics
RETURN a.id AS id, a.title AS title, a.topics AS topics, a.created AS created
ORDER BY a.created DESC LIMIT 10

Q3 — Active quests:

MATCH (q:Quest {status: 'active'})
RETURN q.id AS quest, q.title AS title, q.topics AS topics
ORDER BY q.title

Q4 — Recent artifacts by me (14 days):

MATCH (a:Artifact)-[:CONTRIBUTED_BY]->(p:Person {name: $me})
WHERE a.created >= datetime() - duration('P14D')
OPTIONAL MATCH (a)-[:PART_OF]->(q:Quest)
RETURN a.title AS title, a.type AS type, a.topics AS topics, a.created AS created, q.id AS quest
ORDER BY a.created DESC LIMIT 10

If Neo4j is unavailable, skip context gathering and proceed with whatever the model can extract from session context alone.

Step 1: Move Extraction

Interactive mode

Scan the conversation for steering interventions — moments where the human redirected the AI's reasoning trajectory. Each move has:

• type: Open taxonomy. Initial vocabulary: inversion, calibration, scoping, elevation, reframing, grounding, sequencing, contradiction, analogy, provocation. Name new types when existing ones don't fit. The taxonomy emerges from usage.
• trigger: What the model was doing wrong
• effect: How behavior changed
• principle: Distilled heuristic ("When X, do Y")

Present via AskUserQuestion:

question: "I found a {N}-move chain: {chain name}. Looks right?"
header: "Archive"
options:
  - label: "Yes, archive it"
    description: "Save this {N}-move chain to the knowledge base"
  - label: "Different pattern"
    description: "I want to archive a different pattern from this session"
  - label: "Describe manually"
    description: "I'll describe the pattern to archive"

• "Yes, archive it" → proceed to Step 2
• "Different pattern" → re-scan conversation with user's guidance, present again
• "Describe manually" → switch to Quick mode flow with user's description

Session too short (<4 turns): Switch to Quick mode with AskUserQuestion:

question: "Session is short — describe a pattern to archive?"
header: "Archive"
options:
  - label: "Describe a pattern"
    description: "I'll describe the prompt pattern to capture"
  - label: "Skip"
    description: "Nothing to archive right now"

Quick mode

Parse $ARGUMENTS into chain name + moves. Single principle → 1-move chain. Multi-line or comma-separated → multi-move chain.

Extract move types, triggers, effects, and principles from the description. If the description is terse (just a principle), create a single-move chain with the principle as-is.

Step 2: Chain Refinement (Interactive mode, 3+ moves only)

For chains with 3 or more moves, show the full breakdown as plain text (NOT AskUserQuestion):

Chain: {chain-name}

  1. [{move_type}] {summary}
     Trigger: ...
     Effect: ...

  2. [{move_type}] {summary}
     Trigger: ...
     Effect: ...

  ...

Outcome: {what the chain produced}

Adjust? (y/edit/skip)

Wait for user response:

• y or empty → proceed
• edit → user modifies, then proceed
• skip → abort without saving

For chains with 1-2 moves, skip this step — go straight to Step 3.

Step 3: Relation Detection — CONNECTED MODE ONLY

Skip this entire step in local mode. Do not run any relation queries.

Run targeted Cypher queries in parallel to find links:

Quest links (topic overlap):

MATCH (q:Quest {status: 'active'})
WHERE q.topics IS NOT NULL
WITH q, [t IN q.topics WHERE t IN $artifactTopics] AS shared
WHERE size(shared) >= 1
RETURN q.id AS quest, q.title AS title, shared AS sharedTopics
ORDER BY size(shared) DESC LIMIT 3

Related patterns (shared topics):

MATCH (a:Artifact)
WHERE a.topics IS NOT NULL AND a.id <> $artifactId
WITH a, [t IN a.topics WHERE t IN $artifactTopics] AS shared
WHERE size(shared) >= 2
RETURN a.id AS artifact, a.title AS title, a.type AS type, shared AS sharedTopics
ORDER BY size(shared) DESC LIMIT 3

Similar prompt-chain patterns:

MATCH (a:Artifact {type: 'pattern'})
WHERE 'prompt-chain' IN a.topics AND a.id <> $artifactId
RETURN a.id AS id, a.title AS title, a.moveTypes AS moveTypes
ORDER BY a.created DESC LIMIT 3

Present alongside the chain. If a similar pattern exists, ask via AskUserQuestion:

question: "A similar pattern exists: '{existing title}'. Update it or create new?"
header: "Duplicate?"
options:
  - label: "Create new"
    description: "Archive as a separate pattern"
  - label: "Update existing"
    description: "Replace the existing pattern with this version"

If no relations or similar patterns found, skip silently.

Step 4: Create Pattern File

Generate slug from chain name: lowercase, hyphens, no special chars, max 50 chars.

Path: memory/knowledge/patterns/YYYY-MM-DD-{slug}.md

Write via Bash (memory is outside project):

cat > "memory/knowledge/patterns/YYYY-MM-DD-{slug}.md" << 'ARCHIVEEOF'
# {Chain Name}

**Date**: YYYY-MM-DD
**Author**: {author}
**Category**: pattern
**Subtype**: prompt-chain
**Topics**: {topic1}, {topic2}
**Move types**: {type1}, {type2}, ...

## When to Use

{1-3 sentences. When does this chain apply?}

## Chain

### Move 1: {Move Type} — {Short Title}

**Trigger**: {what model was doing wrong}
**Intervention**: {what the human said/did}
**Effect**: {how behavior changed}
**Principle**: {distilled heuristic}

### Move 2: {Move Type} — {Short Title}

**Trigger**: ...
**Intervention**: ...
**Effect**: ...
**Principle**: ...

## Outcome

{What the chain produced. 2-3 sentences.}

## Related

- Quest: {quest-id}
- Pattern: {related-pattern-id}
ARCHIVEEOF

Omit the Related section if no links. For single-move chains, the Chain section has just one move block.

Show progress:

  [1/3] ✓ Writing knowledge/patterns/{date}-{slug}.md

Step 5: Neo4j Artifact Creation — CONNECTED MODE ONLY

Skip this entire step in local mode. Do not run any graph queries.

Run via bash bin/graph.sh query "..." '{"param": "value"}':

With quest links:

MATCH (p:Person {name: $author})
CREATE (a:Artifact {
  id: $artifactId,
  title: $title,
  type: 'pattern',
  topics: $topics,
  moveTypes: $moveTypes,
  filePath: $filePath,
  created: datetime()
})
CREATE (a)-[:CONTRIBUTED_BY]->(p)
WITH a
UNWIND $questIds AS qId
MATCH (q:Quest {id: qId})
CREATE (a)-[:PART_OF]->(q)
RETURN a.id

Without quest links:

MATCH (p:Person {name: $author})
CREATE (a:Artifact {
  id: $artifactId,
  title: $title,
  type: 'pattern',
  topics: $topics,
  moveTypes: $moveTypes,
  filePath: $filePath,
  created: datetime()
})
CREATE (a)-[:CONTRIBUTED_BY]->(p)
RETURN a.id

For related artifacts (RELATES_TO):

MATCH (a:Artifact {id: $artifactId}), (b:Artifact {id: $relatedId})
CREATE (a)-[:RELATES_TO]->(b)

Where:

• $artifactId = YYYY-MM-DD-{slug} (matches filename without extension)
• $author = short name (alice, bob, carol)
• $topics = array of topic strings, always includes 'prompt-chain'
• $moveTypes = array of move type strings (e.g., ['inversion', 'calibration', 'scoping'])
• $filePath = knowledge/patterns/YYYY-MM-DD-{slug}.md
• $questIds = array of linked quest IDs (empty array if none)

Show progress:

  [2/3] ✓ Indexed in knowledge graph

Step 6: Auto-save

Run the full /save flow:

1. Commit changes in memory repo and push directly to main (pull-rebase-push with retry)
2. Commit any egregore changes and push working branch + PR to develop

This is the same flow as /save. Follow its logic exactly.

Show progress:

  [3/3] ✓ Auto-saved

Step 7: Confirmation TUI

Display the confirmation box. ~72 char width. Sigil: ◇ ARCHIVE.

Boundary handling (CRITICAL)

No sub-boxes. No inner ┌─┐/└─┘ borders. Sub-boxes break because the model can't count character widths precisely enough.

Only 4 line patterns exist:

1. Top: ┌ + 70×─ + ┐ (72 chars)
2. Separator: ├ + 70×─ + ┤ (72 chars)
3. Content: │ + 2 spaces + text + pad spaces to 68 chars + │ (72 chars)
4. Bottom: └ + 70×─ + ┘ (72 chars)

The separator lines are ALWAYS identical — copy-paste the same 72-char string. Content lines have ONLY the outer frame │ as borders. Pad every content line with trailing spaces so the closing │ is at position 72.

Multi-move chain confirmation:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ◇ ARCHIVE                                          bob · Feb 10    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                      │
│  ◉ The Bitter Lesson Chain                                           │
│    5 moves: inversion → calibration → scoping → elevation →...      │
│                                                                      │
│    Outcome: Redesigned commands for tool provision over...           │
│    → egregore-reliability                                            │
│                                                                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ✓ Saved · graphed · pushed                                          │
│  /activity to see it.                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Single-move pattern confirmation:

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ◇ ARCHIVE                                          bob · Feb 10    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                      │
│  ◉ Flip the question to removal                                     │
│    1 move: inversion                                                 │
│                                                                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ✓ Saved · graphed · pushed                                          │
│  /activity to see it.                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

TUI rules

• Header row: ◇ ARCHIVE left, author · Mon DD right
• ├───┤ separator between header and content
• ◉ for the pattern with chain name
• Move count + type sequence (truncate with ... if >45 chars)
• Outcome line (only for 3+ move chains, truncated at 50 chars with ...)
• → for linked quests (indented under the pattern)
• ├───┤ separator before status footer
• Status line: ✓ Saved · graphed · pushed
• Footer: /activity to see it.
• No sub-boxes — only outer frame │ borders and ├────┤ separators

Quick Mode Flow

When arguments are provided:

1. Step 0: Run identity + 2 parallel Neo4j queries (Q2 for existing chains, Q3 for quests) — lighter context
2. Parse: Extract chain name and moves from $ARGUMENTS
3. Step 3: Run relation detection queries
4. If similar pattern exists: 1 AskUserQuestion max (update existing or create new?)
5. Steps 4-7: Create file, Neo4j, auto-save, TUI — identical to interactive mode

Quick mode should complete with 0-1 AskUserQuestion calls total.

Move Type Vocabulary

These are starting vocabulary, not a fixed schema. Name new types when these don't fit.

Type	Description
inversion	Flip the question — ask the opposite
calibration	Adjust scope, confidence, or precision
scoping	Narrow or expand the problem boundary
elevation	Move up one abstraction level
reframing	Change the lens entirely
grounding	Pull from abstract to concrete
sequencing	Reorder the approach
contradiction	Point out internal inconsistency
analogy	Import a pattern from another domain
provocation	Deliberately destabilize to find new ground

Edge cases

Scenario	Handling
Neo4j unavailable (connected mode)	Create file, show "Graph offline — will sync on /save"
Local mode	Skip all graph calls silently — no warnings, no "graph offline" messaging. File creation + auto-save work normally. TUI shows ✓ Saved · pushed
No chain found in session	Switch to Quick mode: "Describe a pattern to archive"
Session too short (<4 turns)	Suggest Quick mode
Similar pattern exists	AskUserQuestion: update existing or create new?
Memory symlink missing	Error: "Run /setup first — memory not linked"
User says "skip"	Abort without saving
Empty arguments in Quick mode	Switch to Interactive mode
File already exists at path	Append timestamp to slug to avoid collision

Integration

• /activity picks up archived patterns as ◉ Pattern: {name} automatically (same Artifact type)
• /reflect could suggest /archive when it detects prompt pattern language
• /save sync already scans memory/knowledge/patterns/
• /quest links work via topic overlap, same as any artifact

Full interactive example

> /archive

Scanning session...

I found a 5-move chain in this conversation:

  "The Bitter Lesson Chain" — a sequence of steering interventions
  that shifted the design from rule-following to tool provision.

  1. [inversion] Flip from "what rules" to "what tools"
  2. [calibration] Adjust confidence on rule-based approach
  3. [scoping] Narrow to the three commands that matter
  4. [elevation] Abstract to the bitter lesson principle
  5. [grounding] Concrete implementation in /save, /handoff, /reflect

Archive this chain?
  1. Yes, archive it
  2. Different pattern
  3. Describe manually

> 1

Chain: the-bitter-lesson

  1. [inversion] Flip from rules to tools
     Trigger: Model was following formatting rules instead of using tools
     Effect: Shifted focus to providing rich context via queries

  2. [calibration] Adjust confidence on rules
     Trigger: Over-reliance on prescriptive instructions
     Effect: Recognized rules as fragile, tools as robust

  3. [scoping] Narrow to three commands
     Trigger: Trying to fix all commands at once
     Effect: Focused on /save, /handoff, /reflect as proof points

  4. [elevation] Abstract to bitter lesson
     Trigger: Fixing symptoms, not root cause
     Effect: Named the general principle

  5. [grounding] Concrete implementation
     Trigger: Principle without action
     Effect: Redesigned commands with tool-first approach

Outcome: Redesigned three core commands to provision tools (Neo4j
queries, graph context) rather than follow formatting rules.

Adjust? (y/edit/skip)
> y

Creating archive...

  [1/3] ✓ Writing knowledge/patterns/2026-02-10-the-bitter-lesson.md
  [2/3] ✓ Indexed in knowledge graph
  [3/3] ✓ Auto-saved

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ◇ ARCHIVE                                          bob · Feb 10    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                      │
│  ◉ The Bitter Lesson Chain                                           │
│    5 moves: inversion → calibration → scoping → elevation →...      │
│                                                                      │
│    Outcome: Redesigned commands for tool provision over...           │
│    → egregore-reliability                                            │
│                                                                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ✓ Saved · graphed · pushed                                          │
│  /activity to see it.                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Quick mode example

> /archive flip the question to removal instead of addition

  ◉ Pattern: "Flip the question to removal"
    1 move: inversion
    → No quest links

Adjust? (y/edit/skip)
> y

Creating archive...

  [1/3] ✓ Writing knowledge/patterns/2026-02-10-flip-question-to-removal.md
  [2/3] ✓ Indexed in knowledge graph
  [3/3] ✓ Auto-saved

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  ◇ ARCHIVE                                          bob · Feb 10    │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                      │
│  ◉ Flip the question to removal                                     │
│    1 move: inversion                                                 │
│                                                                      │
├──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  ✓ Saved · graphed · pushed                                          │
│  /activity to see it.                                                │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘