Memory Curate

Maintain a healthy, well-connected knowledge graph. As notes accumulate, it pays to periodically organize, link, and curate the knowledge base so isolated notes become a connected graph.

This skill curates the knowledge graph — the notes, relations, and tags that make up the knowledge base. (For the notes' content — splitting bloated notes, consolidating scattered facts, retiring stale entries — see memory-defrag.)

When to Use

• Asked to organize, clean up, or improve the knowledge base
• Asked to find connections between notes, or what isn't linked yet
• Orphan or unlinked notes are mentioned
• Asked about duplicate or similar notes
• Asked for help with folder organization or tag consistency
• Phrases like "help me organize", "find related notes", "what's not linked", "clean up my notes"

Curation Capabilities

1. Find Orphan Notes

Orphans have no relations to other notes — they're islands in the graph.

# List notes, then read each to inspect its Relations section
bm_search(query="*", mode="text", page_size=50)
bm_read(identifier="note-to-check")
# Orphans have an empty (or missing) Relations section

query="*" lists everything only with mode="text". A note whose body links to other notes, with wikilinks or ordinary Markdown links, is not an orphan even without a Relations section.

If the bm CLI is available, bm orphans lists notes with no relations in one call.

What to do with orphans:

• Suggest relations based on content similarity
• Ask whether they should connect to existing topics
• Propose hub notes to gather related orphans (see capability 6)

2. Suggest Typed Relations

Analyze a note's content and propose meaningful connections.

bm_read(identifier="note-to-analyze")
# Pull out key terms, then search for related notes
bm_search(query="key terms from the note")

Suggest relations based on shared topics, complementary content (problem/solution, question/answer), sequence (part 1 → part 2), or hierarchy (parent concept → detail).

Relation-type vocabulary:

• relates_to — general topical connection
• extends — builds upon or elaborates
• implements — realizes a concept or spec
• depends_on — requires understanding of
• part_of — hierarchy or composition
• contrasts_with — presents an alternative view
• inspired_by — source of insight
• enables — makes something possible

Custom relation types are fine — use whatever verb is descriptive.

Add a confirmed relation with bm_edit:

bm_edit(
    identifier="API Design Decisions",
    command="insert_after_section",
    section="Relations",
    content="- depends_on [[Rate Limiter]]",
)

insert_after_section needs the heading to exist, and orphans often have no ## Relations. Then append the section instead:

bm_edit(
    identifier="API Design Decisions",
    command="append",
    content="\n## Relations\n- depends_on [[Rate Limiter]]",
)

3. Identify Similar / Duplicate Notes

Find notes that may cover the same ground.

bm_search(query="topic keywords")
# Compare results for: similar titles, overlapping observations,
# shared tags, close-together timestamps

Actions for duplicates:

• Merge into a single comprehensive note, then redirect the loser with a relation. If you delete the loser instead, links to it from other notes stay as unresolved links; repoint them first
• Link with supersedes / updates when one revises the other
• Differentiate by adding context that clarifies each note's distinct focus

# Point an older note at the one that replaces it
bm_edit(
    identifier="DB Schema v1",
    command="insert_after_section",
    section="Relations",
    content="- updates [[DB Schema v2]]",
)

4. Folder Organization Review

bm_find(path="/", depth=3, project="<project>")

Look for overcrowded folders, single-note folders, inconsistent naming, and notes that belong elsewhere. Suggest grouping related notes into topic folders, adding subfolders for large categories, and a consistent naming convention. Move misplaced notes with bm_move. By default the permalink stays the same after a move, so links keep resolving. Projects with update_permalinks_on_move enabled rewrite it from the new path.

bm_move(
    identifier="API Design Decisions",
    destination="architecture/api-design-decisions.md",
)

5. Tag Consistency

bm_search(query="*", mode="text", page_size=100)
# Inspect tag patterns across results

Look for:

• Variant tags — architecture vs arch; pick one and standardize
• Unused tags — present on a single note, no longer carrying weight
• Over-used generic tags — so broad they don't aid discovery
• Missing tags — relevant notes lacking an obvious tag

6. Create Index / Hub Notes

After finding a cluster of related notes, build a navigation hub.

bm_write(
    title="Architecture Decisions Index",
    directory="indexes",
    tags=["architecture", "index"],
    note_type="index",
    content="""# Architecture Decisions Index

A hub linking architecture-related decisions and patterns.

## Decisions
- [[Database Selection Decision]]
- [[API Design Patterns]]
- [[Authentication Architecture]]

## Patterns
- [[Repository Pattern]]
- [[Async Client Pattern]]

## Observations
- [index] Central hub for architecture knowledge #navigation

## Relations
- indexes [[Architecture]]""",
)

7. Enrich Sparse Notes

Find notes lacking structure and fill them in.

bm_read(identifier="sparse-note")

If the note is missing an Observations section, suggest categories. If it has no Relations, suggest links. If it has no tags, suggest relevant ones. If it lacks context, suggest adding background. Apply with bm_edit.

Curation Workflows

Scale the pass to the request. A health check reports orphans, likely duplicates, recent activity (bm_project(command="recent")), and folder distribution. A deep session works through the capabilities above in whatever order the findings suggest. A topic pass maps one subject with bm_search and bm_context, fills the gaps it finds, and ends with a hub note.

Best Practices

1. Work incrementally. Don't reorganize everything at once.
2. Confirm before changing. Always ask before moving, merging, or editing notes.
3. Preserve permalinks. Changing a permalink breaks inbound memory:// links. Moves keep the permalink by default (unless the project enables update_permalinks_on_move).
4. Explain suggestions. Say why a relation or merge makes sense.
5. Respect the existing system. Enhance the user's organization — don't impose a new taxonomy.
6. Show the graph. Use bm_context to help the user see how notes connect.

Example Conversations

User: "Help me organize my notes"

The assistant:

1. Runs a health check on the knowledge base
2. Reports: "You have 47 notes. I found 12 orphans and 3 potential duplicates."
3. Asks: "Want to start by connecting the orphans, or review the duplicates first?"

User: "Find notes that should link to my API design note"

The assistant:

1. Reads the API design note
2. Searches for related content
3. Suggests: "5 notes could relate —
   • 'REST Best Practices' → relates_to
   • 'Authentication Flow' → implements
   • 'Rate Limiting Decision' → extends Should I add any of these relations?"

User: "Are there notes on similar topics?"

The assistant:

1. Analyzes titles and content for clusters
2. Reports: "Possible overlaps —
   • 'Auth Flow' and 'Authentication Design' cover similar ground
   • 'DB Schema v1' and 'DB Schema v2' likely want a supersedes relation Want to review either?"