knowledge-digester

Drafts a read-only digest of durable knowledge captures, stale docs, and contradicted norms from a task delta.

3|2|Updated Jul 3, 2026
One-click install
npx skills add https://github.com/escogido/knowledge-cairn --skill knowledge-digester-escogido
Or copy as Structured Prompt for Agent
Please help me install this Agent Skill.
Skill: knowledge-digester
Source: https://github.com/escogido/knowledge-cairn/tree/main/system/.agents/skills/knowledge-digester
Command: npx skills add https://github.com/escogido/knowledge-cairn --skill knowledge-digester-escogido

SYSTEM DOCUMENTATION & REQUIREMENTS

What problem does it solve? When a task finishes, the knowledge it produced risks dying in the chat or the diff. This Skill reads the completed task delta with fresh context and drafts a structured digest of what should be promoted into the repository's durable knowledge base, so project context accumulates instead of evaporating. ## Core Features & Use Cases - Delta-Based Capture: Reads the diff, commit messages, and the task progress log to identify durable knowledge (rules, decisions, discoveries) worth promoting, applying a why-only filter that excludes code-owned facts. - Supersede and Contradict Detection: Flags existing durable docs the delta makes stale and surfaces contradictions against standing invariants, rules, or decisions as blockers or reversal candidates. - Standing-Draft Refresh: Reconciles an existing digest draft against new work minimally, settling moved-against bullets by user authority rather than silently discarding them. - Use Case: After finishing a multi-commit feature task, run cairn:digest to get a proposed digest of captures, doc scrubs, and conflicts that finalize will later apply to the knowledge base. ## Quick Start Ask the agent to run cairn:digest to produce a fresh-context digest of the current task delta before finalization.

Frequently Asked Questions about knowledge-digester

High-intent search queries and answers about installing and using this skill.

FAQPage Schema
How do I generate a knowledge digest after completing a task?

Invoke cairn:digest or let the digest-ready transition trigger it automatically. The skill reads the task delta from the diff, commit messages, and task-progress log, then returns a draft digest the invoker materializes into task-digest.md.

What counts as durable knowledge worth capturing?

A statement qualifies only if it survives implementation churn: it must remain true even if the code changes but the reason does not. Code-owned facts and cache refreshes are excluded, while rules, decisions, discoveries, and standing risks qualify.

Can the knowledge digester edit durable docs directly?

No. The skill is strictly read-only: it cannot edit durable docs, materialize the digest, finalize the task, or create archive files. The invoker materializes the draft and finalize applies it on user command.

What happens if no fresh-context subagent is available?

The main agent must notify the user that an independent pass is unavailable and prepare an explicitly marked inline digest as a fallback, recording the limitation in the draft. It must never pretend the digest was independent or silently skip it.

How does the digest handle contradictions with existing rules?

An invariant contradiction is surfaced as a blocker for the user before finalization. A rule or decision contradiction becomes a reversal proposal recorded as a do-candidate in candidates.md, so the wider reconciliation happens in a later task.

What if the task delta produced no durable knowledge?

The skill emits the explicit result "No durable knowledge to promote." which is a valid outcome, not a failure. It never invents filler content to fill the digest.