knowledge-wiki

Maintain a persistent field map as interlinked Markdown pages inside a Carrel vault. This is a curated adaptation of Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern and Hermes Agent llm-wiki 2.1.

The researcher curates sources and directs analysis. The agent synthesizes, cross-references, preserves provenance, and maintains navigation. Call it a “field map” in researcher-facing conversation; reserve “wiki” for paths and technical explanation.

Activation

Use an active wiki when wiki/SCHEMA.md exists. Consider proposing one when the researcher explicitly asks, repeatedly asks cross-source questions, or has 15+ substantial sources and needs durable synthesis. Do not propose when wiki_preference is researcher-managed or a deferral date has not passed.

Before presenting a proposed schema or write batch, run:

carrel trust check wiki:propose --vault .

A direct request does not bypass the trust boundary. If the check fails, explain the required level and help the researcher raise trust through /carrel-automate; do not write.

Trust-Gated Actions

At Consultative trust, use this sequence:

1. Orient and draft the exact file additions/edits.
2. Show the batch, including every path and material change.
3. Receive explicit approval for that batch.
4. Run carrel trust check wiki:apply-approved --vault ..
5. Apply only the approved batch; re-propose any expansion.

At Delegated or Partnership trust, run carrel trust check wiki:write --vault . before autonomous writes. Enabling the wiki does not silently raise global trust.

Vault Mapping

Carrel does not import Hermes' separate raw/ layer or WIKI_PATH environment variable. Existing vault folders remain the source layer:

papers/          converted source papers; read only during wiki work
transcripts/     converted transcripts; read only during wiki work
inbox/           sources awaiting normal Carrel routing
notes/           researcher's voice; never wiki-managed
wiki/            agent-maintained synthesis
  SCHEMA.md
  index.md
  log.md
  entities/
  concepts/
  comparisons/
  queries/
drafts/          researcher writing; never wiki-managed

The wiki skill reads already-converted Markdown. Use convert, transcribe, or web-capture before ingestion when needed.

Read Mode

1. Read wiki/index.md and search wiki/ for relevant terms.
2. Read only the relevant pages; use source files when the compiled page lacks needed detail.
3. Cite field-map pages with wikilinks and expose contradictions rather than flattening them.
4. Propose filing a durable answer at Consultative trust. Apply it only through the approved-batch sequence. At Delegated+ trust, autonomous filing uses wiki:write.
5. Log only queries that become wiki pages.

Write Mode

Before drafting a write batch, read wiki/SCHEMA.md, wiki/index.md, the last 30 lines of wiki/log.md, relevant researcher callouts, and related existing pages. Then follow references/wiki-protocol.md.

Every page uses required frontmatter plus optional quality signals:

---
title: Page Title
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
type: entity | concept | comparison | query
tags: [taxonomy-tag]
sources: [papers/author-year/paper.md]
source_digests:
  papers/author-year/paper.md: <sha256-of-markdown-body>
confidence: high | medium | low
contested: true
contradictions: [other-page-slug]
---

confidence, contested, and contradictions are optional. Existing pages without quality fields or source_digests remain valid; backfill them only when editing that page or applying an approved repair.

Compute each source_digests value over the source Markdown body after its closing frontmatter delimiter. This wiki-level map is distinct from Carrel's source-file source_hash idempotency field. On pages synthesizing three or more sources, append a marker such as ^[papers/author-year/paper.md] to paragraphs whose claims depend on a particular source.

Lint

Quick lint new or changed pages for outbound links, index membership, required fields, valid taxonomy tags, and current source digests. Full lint additionally reports:

• orphan pages and broken wikilinks;
• stale, oversized, and unindexed pages;
• low-confidence pages;
• pages with contested: true;
• contradiction links needing review;
• single-source pages without confidence;
• source digest drift.

Report counts and exact paths. Drift is a review signal, not permission to rewrite a page or source automatically.

Automation

When automation.wiki_maintenance is true, autonomous maintenance requires Delegated trust and a successful wiki:write check. Run wiki work after inbox processing, then include these counts in the morning brief: pages new/updated, low confidence, contested, contradictions, missing single-source confidence, source drift, orphans, and un-ingested sources. Include one synthesis insight and every changed path with revert guidance.

Durable Handoff

Append reasoning—not just actions—to wiki/log.md. Never remove > [!researcher] callouts. Update index.md for every created, archived, or renamed page. Ask before a batch touching 10 or more existing pages even when interactive trust permits it.

Related

• references/wiki-protocol.md: schemas, ingest/query/lint details, and provenance rules.
• references/trust-activation.md: proposal, initialization, and trust-graduation flow.
• automation: unattended scheduling and morning-brief behavior.