---
source: raw/wiki-ingest-prompt.md
content_hash: 29f6a0914d428cf62eeb2a832d6b3048edf3e1d16aa7714c09f686377394d128
namespace: work
last_synced: 2026-06-01
confidence: 0.9
tags: [personal-os, wiki, agent-prompt, obsidian]
---

# Wiki Ingest — Process

Daily process that keeps `~/obsidian/wiki/` synchronised with external
source files surfaced via symlinks in `~/obsidian/raw/`. Runs as a
launchd subprocess (`personal.os.wiki-ingest`) invoking `claude -p` —
not a Hermes cron job, because it needs local filesystem access to read
sources and write wiki pages.

## Flow

### STEP 0 — Discover changed files
For each entry in `~/obsidian/raw/`:
1. Read the symlink target.
2. Compute `shasum -a 256`.
3. Scan `~/obsidian/wiki/` for any `.md` whose frontmatter has
   `source: raw/<filename>`.
4. If page exists AND `content_hash` matches → **skip** (unchanged).
5. Otherwise → queue for processing.
6. If a symlink is broken, skip silently — never create a page for
   missing content.

Empty queue → print "Wiki is up to date. Nothing to ingest." and exit.

### STEP 1 — Synthesise (per file)
- Update an existing wiki page if one references the source, otherwise
  create `~/obsidian/wiki/<topic-name>.md` named by **topic, not source
  filename** (e.g. `personal-os-schema.md`, not `schema.md`).
- Write a synthesis: extract key facts, decisions, structure — **never
  copy verbatim**.
- Cap at ~800 words; split big topics into linked pages.
- Use `[[wiki-links]]` for cross-references.

### STEP 2 — Report
Print processed / created / updated / skipped counts and a list of
touched pages.

## Frontmatter Schema

```yaml
source: raw/<filename>
content_hash: <sha256>
namespace: work
last_synced: <YYYY-MM-DD>
confidence: 0.8
tags: [tag1, tag2]
```

`content_hash` and `last_synced` are always updated after a write — they
are how the next ingest decides what changed.

## Confidence Scale

| Value | Meaning |
|-------|---------|
| 0.6 | inferred or partial content |
| 0.8 | clear single source (default) |
| 0.9 | highly structured, authoritative source (e.g. SQL schema) |
| 1.0 | reserved for human-written notes in `work/`, `personal/`, `family/` |

## Hard Rules

- **Never** verbatim-copy source files; always synthesise.
- **Never** edit files marked `confidence: 1.0` — those are
  human-authored.
- **Never** process `namespace: family` files unless explicitly told.
- Always update `content_hash` and `last_synced` after writing.
- Broken symlink → skip, do not create.

## Why File-Based, Not DB-Backed

Earlier design (v3) had `wiki_pages` / `file_references` tables drive
ingest via SQL. That was replaced by file-based ingest because
[[obsidian-mcp]] now exposes the vault directly — the filesystem is the
source of truth and the DB tables would have been a duplicate index of
the same content. The Postgres tables for [[personal-os-schema|wiki_pages]]
still exist but the agent doesn't read or write them anymore (see
[[personal-os-state-2026-04-27|Decision 8]]).

## Related
[[personal-os-schema]] [[personal-os-state-2026-04-27]] [[personal-os-catchup-plan-2026-04-27]]