wiki-research-loop
The wiki-research-loop is a Claude Code skill that automatically expands a knowledge base by iteratively fetching content from multiple sources (web, arXiv, GitHub), extracting claims, deduplicating against existing pages, and enqueueing follow-up research seeds. Use it when you need a self-building wiki that grows overnight or when requested via commands like "research <topic>" or "grow the wiki," with configurable spending limits, depth caps, and convergence detection to control resource consumption.
git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/rohitg00/pro-workflow /tmp/wiki-research-loop && cp -r /tmp/wiki-research-loop/skills/wiki-research-loop ~/.claude/skills/wiki-research-loopSKILL.md
# Wiki Research Loop
Driver that turns a wiki into an auto-grown knowledge base. Layers on top of `wiki-builder` and `wiki-query`.
## Loop semantics
```
seed-queue (pending) → next-seed
→ fetch sources via plugins (web | arxiv | github)
→ extract claims
→ dedupe vs index (FTS5; later vector via 3.3.2)
→ compile new page or amend existing
→ upsert page (auto-FTS-index)
→ enqueue follow-up seeds (max-depth gate)
→ mark seed done
→ if budget OR convergence OR kill-switch → halt
```
## Halt conditions (any one trips)
- `budget_usd` exceeded (loop tracks per-fetcher cost estimate)
- `max_pages_per_run` written
- `max_depth` reached on every active branch
- 3 consecutive pages add < 5 % new claims (convergence)
- File `~/.pro-workflow/STOP` exists (operator kill-switch)
- `wiki.config.md` `auto_research.enabled: false`
- Wiki `private: true` AND any non-local fetcher selected
## Commands
```
node $SKILL_ROOT/scripts/research-loop.js run <slug> [--max-pages N] [--max-depth N] [--budget-usd 0.50] [--fetchers web,arxiv,github]
node $SKILL_ROOT/scripts/research-loop.js seed <slug> "<query>" [--depth 0] [--parent-id N]
node $SKILL_ROOT/scripts/research-loop.js seeds <slug> [--status pending|active|done|failed]
node $SKILL_ROOT/scripts/research-loop.js cancel <slug>
node $SKILL_ROOT/scripts/research-loop.js status
```
CLI flags override `wiki.config.md` for one run only.
## Source fetchers
Pluggable. Each lives at `scripts/source-fetchers/<name>.js`. Interface:
```js
module.exports = {
name: 'web',
match: (q) => true, // is this fetcher useful?
estimateCost: (q) => ({ usd: 0, tokens: 0 }),
fetch: async (q, opts) => [ // returns RawDoc[]
{ url, title, content, fetched_at }
]
};
```
Built-in:
- **`web.js`** — Fetches via the user's available `WebFetch` tool through a stdin/stdout shim. Treats result as plain text/markdown.
- **`arxiv.js`** — `https://export.arxiv.org/api/query` (free, public, no key). Returns abstract + metadata.
- **`github.js`** — `https://api.github.com/search/repositories` + README pull (uses `GH_TOKEN` if set, otherwise unauthenticated rate limit).
Drop a new file in `~/.pro-workflow/fetchers/<name>.js` to add a custom fetcher. Loaded at startup if present.
## Budget enforcement
Pre-iteration: sum `estimateCost` across selected fetchers. If projected cumulative cost would exceed `budget_usd`, halt.
Post-iteration: track tokens used by the LLM compile step (Anthropic/OpenAI passthrough). Hard-kill on overrun.
Per-fetcher overrides via env: `WIKI_LOOP_BUDGET_USD`, `WIKI_LOOP_MAX_PAGES`, `WIKI_LOOP_MAX_DEPTH`.
## Seed queue
SQLite-backed via `wiki_seeds` table:
| field | meaning |
|-------|---------|
| `query` | natural-language seed |
| `status` | `pending` → `active` → `done`\|`failed` |
| `parent_id` | seed that produced this one |
| `depth` | BFS depth from root |
Loop pops by `(depth ASC, created_at ASC)` so it explores breadth-first.
## Convergence detection
After each compiled page, compute Jaccard overlap of claim-text tokens vs the prior 3 pages. If `< 5 %` novel content for 3 consecutive pages, halt and report `converged`.
## Kill switch
```
touch ~/.pro-workflow/STOP
```
Loop checks per-iteration and halts gracefully. Remove file to resume next run.
## Privacy guard
If `wiki.config.md` has `private: true`, the loop refuses any non-local fetcher and emits a warning. Only `raw/` ingestion via manual seeds is allowed.
## Reactive trigger (Phase 3.3.4)
`scripts/file-watcher.js` watches `wiki/<slug>/wiki/**/*.md`. On user-edited claim, enqueues a verification seed (`verify: <claim>`) at depth 0. Wired through pro-workflow's `file-watcher.js` hook.
## Cron tick (Phase 3.3.4)
`scripts/research-tick.js` is launchable from any cron-style runner. Picks the oldest opted-in wiki with pending seeds and runs a single iteration. Hook event: `pro-workflow:research-tick`.
## Output
Each run writes:
```
<wiki-root>/logs/research-<UTC-timestamp>.md # human-readable run log
<wiki-root>/derived/run-<UTC-timestamp>.json # structured stats
```
Run log lines:
```
[2026-05-08T10:42Z] seed-3 (depth=1) "memory consolidation in agents"
fetcher=arxiv hits=3
fetcher=web hits=2
compiled wiki/concepts/memory-consolidation.md (claims=7, novel=4)
enqueued 2 follow-up seeds
cost so far: $0.04 / $0.50
```
## Integration with `wiki-query`
Every compiled page goes through `wiki-cli.js page` so FTS5 stays consistent. The dedupe step calls `searchWiki` with the candidate claim text to find near-duplicates.
## Status (Phase 3.3.1)
Ships: loop driver, seed queue, web/arxiv/github fetchers, budget caps, convergence detector, kill-switch, manual `run` command.
Defers:
- Vector dedupe (Phase 3.3.2 via sqlite-vec)
- LLM-judged claim novelty (current = Jaccard token overlap)
- Cron + reactive (Phase 3.3.4)Analyzes and optimizes context window usage across sessions. Use when context feels bloated, sessions run slow, or approaching compaction limits.
Analyze session token usage and cost patterns. Identify expensive operations and recommend optimizations. Use to understand and reduce session costs.
Specialized debugging agent. Use when facing hard bugs, test failures, or runtime errors that need systematic investigation.
Multi-phase development agent. Research > Plan > Implement with validation gates. Use PROACTIVELY when building features that touch >5 files or require architecture decisions.
Analyze permission denial patterns and generate optimized alwaysAllow/alwaysDeny rules. Use when permission prompts slow down workflow.
Break down complex tasks into implementation plans before writing code. Use when task touches >5 files, requires architecture decisions, or has unclear requirements.
Code review specialist that verifies every finding against actual code before reporting. Use before committing, for PR reviews, or after major changes.
Confidence-gated exploration that assesses readiness before implementation. Scores 0-100 across five dimensions and gives GO/HOLD verdict.