---
name: open-knowledge-pack-knowledge-base
description: "How to work in a Knowledge Base project (the `knowledge-base` starter pack). Read when the project has the three-layer source-grounded layout — `external-sources/` → `research/` → `articles/` — wired to the `workflow` MCP tool's ingest / research / consolidate kinds. Carries the pack's workflow, per-folder rules, status flows, and log discipline so this guidance does NOT live inside template bodies or log.md. Complements the platform `open-knowledge` skill; does not replace it."
compatibility: "Claude Code, Claude Desktop, Claude Cowork, Claude.ai web. Requires OpenKnowledge MCP server. Installed project-local by `ok seed --pack knowledge-base`."
metadata:
  pack: "knowledge-base"
  author: "Inkeep"
  repository: "https://github.com/inkeep/open-knowledge"
---
# Knowledge Base pack — how to work here

This project uses the **source-grounded knowledge-base** layout. The whole point is a closed evidence loop: nothing canonical exists without a traceable chain back to a preserved source. This skill holds the workflow so the templates and `log.md` can stay clean — when you create a doc from a template you get structure, and the *how* lives here.

> This skill is pack guidance. The platform `open-knowledge` skill (read/write/preview/grounding rules) still governs every markdown operation — this layers the KB workflow on top.

## The three layers

```
external-sources/   raw sources, saved verbatim     (produced by `ingest`)
      ↓ cite
research/           provisional analysis            (produced by `research`)
      ↓ promote
articles/           canonical, decided knowledge     (produced by `consolidate`)
```

The loop is **ingest → research → consolidate** — each a `workflow({ kind })` guide you invoke (`workflow({ kind: 'ingest' })`, etc.). Every downstream claim traces upstream to a preserved source. Cite local paths in `external-sources/`, never bare web URLs — the KB must survive link rot.

## Per-folder rules

**`external-sources/`** — Raw sources saved verbatim, not just cited: the actual fetched text of URLs, extracted text of PDFs, copies of referenced files. Each file's frontmatter carries the original URL, access date, and any author/publisher metadata. Produced by `ingest` (applies whether the user shared the URL or you fetched it yourself to ground a claim). Immutable after capture — update only to refresh a stale fetch. **No analysis here**; that belongs in `research/`.

**`research/`** — Provisional analysis synthesizing external sources. Produced by `research`. Every factual claim cites a specific doc in `external-sources/` (or an inline URL if ingest was skipped); no unsourced assertions. Keep the `sources:` frontmatter list aligned with the docs actually linked in the body. Promote to `articles/` via `consolidate` once the team decides the findings are stable.

**`articles/`** — Canonical knowledge, committed after a team decision. Produced by `consolidate`. Carries a `supersedes:` chain tying back to the `research/` docs it replaces (which in turn cite `external-sources/`) so the full evidence chain is traceable without leaving the repo. Source-of-truth for the domain; update only when a new decision supersedes it.

## Status flow

| Layer | `status` | Set when |
|---|---|---|
| `research/` | `provisional` | created |
| `articles/` | `canonical` | promoted by `consolidate` after a decision |

When a new article supersedes an older one, add the older article's path to the new one's `supersedes:` list.

## Log discipline (MUST)

There is a `log.md` at the project root. **Append one dated entry after any turn that creates, edits, or restructures content** — one entry per turn, not per file. Silent edits break the audit trail.

Log: `ingest` runs (new sources), `research` / `consolidate` runs (provisional or canonical articles), direct `write` / `edit` / `move` / `delete` outside the three loop tools, `discover` runs, folder restructures, and `.ok/config.yml` changes.

**Reference docs as markdown links, not bare paths** — `[path/to/doc](./path/to/doc.md)`, so the entry shows up in `links({ kind: "backlinks" })` for those docs. A bare path string does not register in the graph.

Entry shape:

```markdown
## YYYY-MM-DD: <short title>

- <what was done>
- Files touched: [doc-a](./path/doc-a.md), [doc-b](./path/doc-b.md)
- Sources ingested: [source-slug](./external-sources/source-slug.md)
- Open follow-ups: <topic-1>, <topic-2>
```

## Templates

Each folder has a starter template (`clip`, `research-log`, `article`). Create with `write({ document: { path, template: "<name>" } })`. Templates carry only structure (headings + frontmatter scaffold) — the meaning of each field and section is described above, not repeated inside the document body.
