KB Compile Skill

Compile raw clipped sources (research/{topic}/raw/) into structured wiki articles (research/{topic}/wiki/). Produces concept articles, source summaries, and a maintained index.

Invocation

/kb compile {topic}

The topic must correspond to a directory under research/ that was initialized with kb-init.py.

Phase 1: SCAN

Goal: Determine what needs compiling.

1. Read research/{topic}/kb.yaml to get topic config (description, source types, compile settings).
2. List all files in research/{topic}/raw/ — these are the source markdown files. Ignore the images/ subdirectory.
3. List all files in research/{topic}/wiki/sources/ — these are already-compiled source summaries.
4. Identify new sources: Files in raw/ whose slug does not appear as a corresponding file in wiki/sources/. A slug match means raw/{slug}.md has a corresponding wiki/sources/{slug}.md.
5. Identify modified sources: Not applicable in Phase 1 (treat all unmatched raw files as new).
6. Report to user: "Found N raw sources, M already compiled, K new to process."

If there are no new sources, proceed directly to Phase 4 (VERIFY) to confirm index consistency.

Phase 2: COMPILE

Goal: For each new raw source, produce a wiki summary and update concept articles.

For each new raw source file (research/{topic}/raw/{slug}.md):

2a. Read and parse the raw source

• Read the raw markdown file.
• Extract the YAML frontmatter: title, source URL, clipped date, type.
• Read the markdown body: this is the clipped article content.

2b. Create source summary in wiki/sources/{slug}.md

Write a source summary file with this structure:

---
title: "{title from raw frontmatter}"
source_url: "{source URL}"
clipped_date: "{clipped date}"
type: {article|paper|note|etc}
concepts:
  - concept-slug-1
  - concept-slug-2
---

## Summary

{2-4 paragraph summary of the key points from the source. Write in your own words - do NOT copy verbatim from the source. Focus on the most important ideas, arguments, and conclusions.}

## Key Points

- {bullet point 1}
- {bullet point 2}
- {bullet point 3}

## Source

Raw file: [../../raw/{slug}.md](../../raw/{slug}.md)
Original: [{title}]({source_url})

Identify 3-7 concepts mentioned in this source. A concept is a distinct idea, term, technique, pattern, or named thing that appears meaningfully in the content. Use kebab-case slugs (e.g., chain-of-thought, retrieval-augmented-generation, prompt-injection). List these in the frontmatter concepts list.

2c. Update or create concept articles

For each concept identified in 2b:

If wiki/concepts/{concept}.md already exists:

• Read the existing file.
• Add this source to the sources list in the frontmatter (if not already present).
• Incorporate any new, non-duplicate information into the article body. Add a new section or expand an existing one. Do NOT rewrite the article from scratch - make targeted additions.
• Update related_concepts if this source suggests new connections.

If wiki/concepts/{concept}.md does not exist:

• Only create it if at least one of these is true:
  • The concept appears in 2+ sources (check existing wiki/sources/ files for mentions)
  • The concept is clearly significant (a major named technique, a well-known algorithm, a foundational idea)
• Create wiki/concepts/{concept}.md with this structure:

---
title: "{Concept Name (Title Case)}"
related_concepts:
  - related-concept-slug
sources:
  - {slug-of-first-source}
---

# {Concept Name}

{1-2 sentence definition or explanation of what this concept is.}

## Overview

{2-4 paragraphs of explanation. Cover: what it is, why it matters, how it works at a high level, and where it appears.}

## Key Properties

- {property 1}
- {property 2}

## Sources

- [{source title}](../sources/{slug}.md)

Phase 2b: FLYWHEEL — Incorporate query outputs

Goal: Feed filed query answers back into concept articles, compounding accumulated knowledge.

Check wiki/queries/ for any query files with filed: true in their frontmatter (and without incorporated: true, which marks already-processed queries).

For each unprocessed filed query:

1. Read the query file. Note the query field (the original question) and sources_consulted (the articles the query drew from).
2. Read each article listed in sources_consulted.
3. Review the query answer body for insights, connections, or synthesized knowledge that do not already appear in the concept articles. Look for:
   • Explicit answers or conclusions not currently stated in any concept article
   • Cross-concept connections the query identified
   • Clarifications or nuances added during synthesis
4. For each concept article that should be updated:
   • Make targeted additions only — do NOT rewrite from scratch
   • Add a "See also" reference at the bottom of the article's Sources section: - [Query: {original question}](../queries/{query-filename}.md)
5. Do NOT delete the query file — it is a permanent record.
6. Mark the query as processed by adding incorporated: true to its frontmatter.

If wiki/queries/ does not exist or contains no unprocessed filed queries, skip this phase and proceed to Phase 3.

Phase 3: INDEX

Goal: Rebuild wiki/_index.md to reflect current state.

1. List all files in wiki/concepts/ and wiki/sources/.
2. For each file, read its frontmatter to get: title and (for concepts) related_concepts, (for sources) source_url.
3. Write a brief one-line summary for each entry - use the first sentence of the article body.
4. Rewrite wiki/_index.md with this structure:

---
topic: {topic}
last_compiled: "{ISO 8601 timestamp}"
entry_count: {total concepts + sources}
---
# {Topic Display Name} Knowledge Base

## Concepts ({N})

- [Concept Name](concepts/slug.md) - one-line summary
- [Concept Name](concepts/slug.md) - one-line summary

## Sources ({M})

- [Source Title](sources/slug.md) - one-line summary (from {domain})
- [Source Title](sources/slug.md) - one-line summary (from {domain})

Extract the domain from source_url in the source frontmatter for the "(from {domain})" annotation.

Phase 4: VERIFY

Goal: Confirm the wiki is internally consistent.

Run these checks:

1. Raw coverage: Every raw/{slug}.md file (excluding images/) has a corresponding wiki/sources/{slug}.md. Report any gaps as: "Missing source summary: {slug}".

2. Concept backlinks: Every concept slug listed in any wiki/sources/*.md frontmatter exists as wiki/concepts/{slug}.md. Report gaps as: "Missing concept article: {slug} (referenced in sources/{source_slug}.md)".

3. Index completeness: Every file in wiki/concepts/ and wiki/sources/ appears in wiki/_index.md. Report gaps as: "Not in index: {path}".

4. Summary: Report total counts - concepts, sources, images, gaps.

If there are gaps, offer to fix them. Do not silently patch gaps during verification - report first, then ask.

Anti-Patterns

Do NOT rewrite existing concept articles from scratch. Incremental updates preserve the accumulated knowledge from prior compilations. If the existing article is good, only add what is new.

Do NOT create concepts with a single source unless the concept is clearly significant (a named algorithm, a major pattern, an established term). Single-source concepts that are not significant just create noise.

Do NOT include raw source content verbatim. Summarize and synthesize. The wiki is a compressed, queryable representation - not a mirror.

Do NOT skip _index.md maintenance. The index is the entry point for humans and LLMs querying the KB. A stale index defeats the purpose of the system. Always rebuild it after any compilation run.

Do NOT create concepts without a definition. Every concept article needs at least a one-sentence definition. A concept page with only a title and a sources list is not useful.