second-brain-query
Answer questions against the knowledge base wiki. Use when the user asks a question about their collected knowledge, wants to explore connections between topics, says "what do I know about X", or wants to search their wiki.
- Installs
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Install
Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.
npx skills add https://github.com/nicholasspisak/second-brain --skill second-brain-query- 01
Install
Run the command in your project. The CLI asks which agents to install for.
- 02
Describe the task
Ask your agent for something this skill covers. It loads second-brain-query automatically when relevant.
- 03
Review the result
The agent follows the SKILL.md steps, scripts and references bundled with the skill.
SKILL.md
The instructions your agent reads when the skill is triggered.
Second Brain — Query
Answer questions by searching and synthesizing knowledge from the wiki.
Search Strategy
1. Start with the index
Read wiki/index.md to identify relevant pages. Scan all category sections (Sources, Entities, Concepts, Synthesis) for entries related to the question.
2. Use qmd for large wikis
If qmd is installed (check with command -v qmd), use it for search:
qmd search "query terms" --path wiki/
This is especially useful when the wiki has grown beyond ~100 pages where scanning the index becomes inefficient.
3. Read relevant pages
Read the wiki pages identified by the index or search. Follow [[wikilinks]] to pull in related context from linked pages. Read enough pages to give a thorough answer, but don't read the entire wiki.
4. Check raw sources if needed
If the wiki pages don't fully answer the question, check relevant source summaries in wiki/sources/ for additional detail. Only go to files in raw/ as a last resort.
Synthesize the Answer
Format
Match the answer format to the question:
- Factual question → direct answer with citations
- Comparison → table or structured comparison
- Exploration → narrative with linked concepts
- List/catalog → bulleted list with brief descriptions
Citations
Always cite wiki pages using [[wikilink]] syntax. Example:
According to [[Source - Article Title]], the key finding was X. This connects to the broader pattern described in [[Concept Name]], which [[Entity Name]] has also explored.
Offer to save valuable answers
If the answer produces something worth keeping — a comparison, analysis, new connection, or synthesis — offer to save it:
"This comparison might be useful to keep in your wiki. Want me to save it as a synthesis page?"
If the user agrees:
- Create a new page in
wiki/synthesis/with proper frontmatter - Add an entry to
wiki/index.mdunder Synthesis - Append to
wiki/log.md:## [YYYY-MM-DD] query | Question summary
Conventions
- Search the wiki first. Only go to raw sources if the wiki doesn't have the answer.
- Cite your sources. Every factual claim should link to the wiki page it came from.
- Valuable answers compound. Encourage saving good analyses back into the wiki.
- Use
[[wikilinks]]for all internal references. Never use raw file paths.
Related Skills
/second-brain-ingest— process new sources into wiki pages/second-brain-lint— health-check the wiki for issues
FAQ
What does the second-brain-query skill do?
Answer questions against the knowledge base wiki. Use when the user asks a question about their collected knowledge, wants to explore connections between topics, says "what do I know about X", or wants to search their wiki.
How do I install second-brain-query?
Run npx skills add https://github.com/nicholasspisak/second-brain --skill second-brain-query in your project. The skills CLI detects the agents you use and copies the skill into the right folder. For Claude Code you can also place the skill folder at ~/.claude/skills/second-brain-query/ (personal) or .claude/skills/second-brain-query/ (project).
Which AI agents can use second-brain-query?
Any agent that supports the open Agent Skills format (a folder with a SKILL.md file), including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, GitHub Copilot, Gemini CLI, Windsurf, Cline, OpenCode and more.
Is second-brain-query safe to install?
No partner security audit is available yet. Skills can run commands and scripts, so read the SKILL.md and any bundled files before installing.
Who maintains second-brain-query?
It is published by nicholasspisak in nicholasspisak/second-brain. It has 2,488 recorded installs.
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