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)Coordinate multiple Claude Code sessions as a team — lead + teammates with shared task lists, mailbox messaging, and file-lock claiming. Patterns for team sizing, task decomposition, and when to use teams vs sub-agents vs worktrees.
Auto-configure quality gates, hooks, and settings for a new project. Detects project type and sets up appropriate tooling. Use when onboarding a new codebase.
Decompose large-scale changes into independent units and spawn parallel agents in isolated worktrees. Use for migrations, refactors, codemods, and any change touching 10+ files with the same pattern.
Capture a user-reported defect as a durable GitHub issue written in the project's own domain language. Explores the codebase in parallel for context but never leaks file paths or line numbers into the issue. Use when the user reports a bug conversationally, runs a QA pass, or says "file an issue", "log this as a bug", "capture this".
Smart context compaction with state preservation. Saves critical files, task progress, and working state before compaction, restores after. Use before manual compact or when auto-compact triggers.
Analyzes and optimizes context window usage across sessions. Use when context feels bloated, sessions run slow, or approaching compaction limits.
Master the four operations of context engineering — Write, Select, Compress, Isolate. Manage token budgets, compaction strategies, and context partitioning to keep AI sessions sharp and efficient.
Optimize token usage and context management. Use when sessions feel slow, context is degraded, or you're running out of budget.