index-manager

Q: How do I install index-manager?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/robthepcguy/claude-patent-creator --skill index-manager 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/index-manager/ (personal) or .claude/skills/index-manager/ (project).

by robthepcguy

Manages MPEP index lifecycle including downloads, building, maintenance, and optimization.

Installs: 57
Last 24h: —
Trending rank: —
Security: Not audited

Install

Works with every agent the skills CLI supports.

npx skills add https://github.com/robthepcguy/claude-patent-creator --skill index-manager

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 index-manager 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.

Index Manager Skill

Expert system for managing MPEP search index lifecycle: PDF downloads, index building, maintenance, updates, optimization.

FOR CLAUDE: All dependencies installed, system operational.

Go directly to appropriate phase
Scripts/tools in mcp_server/
Use patent-creator CLI when available
Only run diagnostics if operations fail

When to Use

Building/rebuilding MPEP index, corruption/missing files, optimization, adding content, troubleshooting.

Index Lifecycle

PDFs Not Present -> Download (2-5 min, 500MB)
  -> Extract & Parse (500MB data)
  -> Generate Embeddings (5-10 min GPU, 35-65 min CPU)
  -> Build FAISS + BM25 Indexes
  -> Index Ready (mcp_server/index/)
  -> Maintenance (Verify -> Optimize -> Update)

Phase 1: PDF Management

Check Status:

ls pdfs/  # Should show mpep-*.pdf, consolidated_laws.pdf, consolidated_rules.pdf

Download PDFs:

patent-creator download-mpep
# Or: python install.py (Select "Download MPEP PDFs")

Verify Integrity:

python -c "
import fitz
from pathlib import Path
for pdf in Path('pdfs').glob('*.pdf'):
    try:
        doc = fitz.open(pdf)
        print(f'[OK] {pdf.name}: {len(doc)} pages')
        doc.close()
    except Exception as e:
        print(f'[X] {pdf.name}: ERROR - {e}')
"

Phase 2: Index Building

patent-creator rebuild-index
# Or: python mcp_server/server.py --rebuild-index

Timeline:

Load PDFs: 30s
Extract text: 1-2 min
Chunk text (500 tokens): 30s
Generate embeddings: 5-10 min (GPU) or 35-65 min (CPU)
Build FAISS/BM25: 1 min
Save to disk: 10s

Total: 5-15 min (GPU) or 35-65 min (CPU)

Custom Build:

from mcp_server.mpep_search import MPEPIndex
index = MPEPIndex(use_hyde=False)
index.build_index(
    chunk_size=500,
    overlap=50,
    batch_size=32  # Reduce to 16/8 if OOM
)

Phase 3: Verification

# Check files
ls -lh mcp_server/index/
# Expected: mpep_index.faiss (~150MB), mpep_metadata.json (~80MB), mpep_bm25.pkl (~60MB)

# Verify health
patent-creator health
# Should show: [OK] MPEP Index: Ready (12,543 chunks)

# Manual test
python -c "
from mcp_server.mpep_search import MPEPIndex
index = MPEPIndex()
index.build_index()
print(f'Chunks: {len(index.chunks)}')
results = index.search('claim definiteness', top_k=3)
print(f'Search results: {len(results)}')
"

Phase 4: Maintenance

When to Rebuild:

MPEP updates (quarterly check uspto.gov)
Index corruption
After adding new PDFs
Performance degradation
Machine migration

Rebuild Process:

# Backup (optional)
cp -r mcp_server/index mcp_server/index_backup_$(date +%Y%m%d)

# Rebuild
patent-creator rebuild-index

# Verify
patent-creator health

# Remove backup if successful
rm -rf mcp_server/index_backup_*

Phase 5: Content Updates

# Download new PDF
wget https://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/mpep/mpep-2900.pdf -O pdfs/mpep-2900.pdf

# Rebuild (includes new section)
patent-creator rebuild-index

Note: Incremental updates not supported. Full rebuild required.

Troubleshooting

OOM errors during build
Build taking too long
Corrupted index files
Search returning no results

Performance Tuning

Embedding generation speed (GPU vs CPU)
Search latency optimization
Index size reduction
Batch size tuning

Quick Reference

Command	Purpose
`patent-creator download-mpep`	Download MPEP PDFs
`patent-creator rebuild-index`	Build/rebuild search index
`patent-creator health`	Check index health
`ls -lh mcp_server/index/`	View index files

Best Practices:

Backup before rebuild
Verify PDFs before building
Use GPU for 10x faster builds
Test after rebuild
Keep PDFs until verified
Weekly health checks

FAQ

What does the index-manager skill do?

Manages MPEP index lifecycle including downloads, building, maintenance, and optimization.

How do I install index-manager?

Run npx skills add https://github.com/robthepcguy/claude-patent-creator --skill index-manager 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/index-manager/ (personal) or .claude/skills/index-manager/ (project).

Which AI agents can use index-manager?

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 index-manager 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 index-manager?

It is published by robthepcguy in robthepcguy/claude-patent-creator. It has 57 recorded installs.