Memory Organize

You are maintaining a Zettelkasten memory system. Your job is to keep the card network healthy.

Tools Available

Two equivalent interfaces exist — use whichever your environment supports:

CLI (Claude Code with memex in PATH)	MCP tool (VSCode / Cursor / any MCP client)
memex search [query]	memex_search with optional query arg
memex read <slug>	memex_read with slug arg
memex write <slug>	memex_write with slug arg and body
memex links	memex_links with no args
memex links <slug>	memex_links with slug arg
memex archive <slug>	memex_archive with slug arg

The rest of this skill uses CLI syntax for brevity. Substitute MCP tool calls if CLI is unavailable.

Process

digraph organize {
    "Organize report" -> "Detect orphans (in=0)";
    "Detect orphans (in=0)" -> "For each orphan: memex read + search related";
    "For each orphan: memex read + search related" -> "LLM decides: append links / mark stale / leave alone";
    "Organize report" -> "Detect hubs (in >= 10)";
    "Detect hubs (in >= 10)" -> "LLM decides: split into smaller cards or leave alone";
    "Organize report" -> "Recently modified pairs";
    "Recently modified pairs" -> "Genuinely contradicts?" [shape=diamond];
    "Genuinely contradicts?" -> "Mark status: conflict, surface to human" [label="yes"];
    "Genuinely contradicts?" -> "Evolution?" [label="no"];
    "Evolution?" -> "Merge + archive old card" [label="yes"];
    "Evolution?" -> "Leave alone" [label="no"];
    "Organize report" -> "Resolve existing conflicts";
    "Resolve existing conflicts" -> "Ask user which belief wins";
    "All checks done" -> "Rebuild keyword index";
}

1. Run memex links to get global link graph stats
2. Orphan detection: For cards with 0 inbound links:
   • memex read the orphan
   • memex search for potentially related cards
   • Decide: append a link from a related card to this orphan, or leave alone if truly standalone
3. Hub detection: For cards with >= 10 inbound links:
   • memex read the hub and its linkers
   • Decide: is this card too broad? Should it be split into smaller atomic concepts?
4. Contradiction/staleness detection: The organize report includes recently modified cards paired with their neighbors. For each pair:
   • Read both cards' content (excerpts are in the report, memex read for full content if needed)
   • Determine: do these cards genuinely contradict each other, or is one simply an evolution of the other?
   • If evolution (new info supersedes old): merge the cards — append the old card's unique content to the new one, then memex archive the old card
   • If genuine contradiction (two conflicting beliefs, unclear which is correct): mark the newer card with status: conflict in frontmatter and add a note explaining the contradiction. Do NOT auto-resolve — the human decides which belief wins
   • If no conflict: leave both cards alone
5. Resolve existing conflicts: Check the "Unresolved Conflicts" section. For each card with status: conflict:
   • Surface it to the user: "Card X conflicts with card Y — which perspective should we keep?"
   • If the user resolves it, remove status: conflict from frontmatter and merge/archive as directed
6. Rebuild keyword index (always, as last step)

Keyword Index Maintenance

The keyword index (index card) is a curated concept → card mapping, inspired by Luhmann's Schlagwortregister. It is the primary entry point for the recall skill.

After completing all checks, rebuild the index:

1. memex search (no args) to get all card slugs and titles
2. memex read each card (or at least new/modified ones)
3. Group cards by concept/topic — use your judgment to create meaningful categories
4. Write the index card:

---
title: Keyword Index
created: <original creation date>
source: organize
---

## <Concept Category 1>
- [[slug-a]] — one-line description
- [[slug-b]] — one-line description

## <Concept Category 2>
- [[slug-c]] — one-line description

Rules for the index:

• Each card should appear under 1-2 categories (not more)
• Categories should be meaningful concepts, not arbitrary groupings
• Descriptions should be one line, explaining what the card is about (not just the title)
• Archived cards must be removed from the index
• New cards must be added

Use memex write index to save the index.

Incremental Strategy

1. Read last run date: cat ~/.memex/.last-organize 2>/dev/null
2. If the file exists, only process cards where frontmatter modified >= that date, plus their linked neighbors
3. If the file doesn't exist, this is the first run — process all cards
4. After completing all checks, write today's date: echo "YYYY-MM-DD" > ~/.memex/.last-organize (use actual date)

When the organize skill creates new cards (e.g., splitting hubs), use source: organize in the frontmatter.

Operation Rules

• Append only: When adding links to existing cards, append to the end of the body. Never modify existing prose.
• Merge: Read both cards, append source content to target card via memex write, then memex archive the source.
• Archive: Use memex archive <slug> to move stale cards out of active search.
• Be conservative: When in doubt, leave cards alone. It's better to under-organize than to break useful connections.