tools: command records, Catalog and log group - bullets, examples, prohibitions (#142)

Files changed:
- CHANGES.md
- VERSION
- tools/CONTRACT.md
- tools/chemenu/commands/index_build.py
- tools/chemenu/commands/log_append.py

CHANGES.md

@@ -59,7 +59,7 @@ concern - readable here, never shipped as something to parse.
 
 ---
 
-## 7.1.0-beta.7 - 2026-09-26 - Command records, Git group: NOTES as bullets, one exit line per cause, examples and prohibitions
+## 7.1.0-beta.8 - 2026-09-26 - Command records, Catalog and log group: bullets, examples, prohibitions
 
 **Author:** Torben Nehmer
 
@@ -76,6 +76,7 @@ concern - readable here, never shipped as something to parse.
 - stack-close: wait for CI through the authenticated Gitea connection, with timings and a give-up point
 - wikitool: usage lines name wikitool, and the -h acceptance checks become tests
 - Command records, Git group: NOTES as bullets, one exit line per cause, examples and prohibitions
+- Command records, Catalog and log group: bullets, examples, prohibitions
 <!-- /wikitool:bumps -->
 
 ### CalDAV task-tracker provider (Nextcloud Tasks, iOS Reminders); review reports unknown-value findings instead of skipping them
@@ -196,6 +197,15 @@ at the code that implements it. `publish`'s `atomic` property says "every gate"
 "both gates" - it has three, and all run before staging. How a record's prose is written is now
 stated once, in the `CommandRecord` docstring, and `tools/README.md` points there.
 
+### Command records, Catalog and log group: bullets, examples, prohibitions
+
+`index rebuild`, `log append` and `log status` rewritten the same way; text only. `log append`
+now lists its two exit-1 causes separately and states in NEVER what its retry policy said in
+prose: check the tail of `kb/log.md` before re-running after an uncertain outcome.
+`index rebuild`'s NOTES name the nested-page warning and what `--dry-run` prints, both of which
+the command already did. `log status` no longer claims it "reports 0" for a missing log - it
+reports that nothing is logged yet, which is what it always printed.
+
 ---
 
 ## 7.0.0 - 2026-09-22 - Task-Tracker-Anbindung: Vorhaben als Seitenart, Verpflichtungsschicht, Weekly Review als Read-Time-Join

VERSION

@@ -1 +1 @@
-7.1.0-beta.7
+7.1.0-beta.8

tools/CONTRACT.md

@@ -603,18 +603,37 @@ Regenerate the catalog from every page's frontmatter.
 - budget: counted
 - network: no
 
+**EXAMPLES**
+
+- `tools/wikitool index rebuild`
+- `tools/wikitool index rebuild --dry-run`
+
 **EXIT STATUS**
 
 - 0    success
-- 1    Rare I/O error only
+- 1    An I/O error while writing or removing a catalog file (rare)
 
 **ON FAILURE**
 
-- Rare I/O error only -> Safe to retry freely - the plan is always recomputed from the pages currently on disk, so a re-run converges
+- An I/O error while writing or removing a catalog file (rare) -> Safe to retry freely - the plan is always recomputed from the pages currently on disk, so a re-run converges
+
+**NEVER**
+
+- Never hand-edit `kb/index.md` or an `INDEX.md` - re-run this command instead.
 
 **NOTES**
 
-`kb/index.md` becomes a map (statistics, one row per collection and per area, links to the shards) and the page tables are written to a generated `INDEX.md` in each collection. An area past 50 rows gets its own shard. Stale shards from removed collections/areas are deleted in the same pass
+- Rewrites `kb/index.md` as a map: statistics, one row per collection and per area, and links to the shards - no page rows.
+- Writes the page tables to a generated `INDEX.md` in each collection. An area with more than 50 rows gets its own `INDEX.md` in its directory.
+- Deletes stale shards - an `INDEX.md` of a collection or area that no longer exists - in the same pass.
+- Warns about every page nested more than one directory below its collection; it is still catalogued, folded into its area.
+- `--dry-run` prints every file it would write and every stale shard it would remove, and writes nothing.
+
+**SEE ALSO**
+
+- `wikitool search` - finds a page without reading the catalog
+- `wikitool lint` - its Nested Pages finding is what the warning previews
+- `instructions/publish-cycle.md` - where a write session runs this
 
 #### `log append`
 
@@ -632,18 +651,35 @@ Append a formatted entry to `kb/log.md`.
 - budget: counted
 - network: no
 
+**EXAMPLES**
+
+- `tools/wikitool log append --op ingest --title "raw/articles/docker-cheatsheet.md" --body "Created [[Docker]]; updated [[Container]]."`
+- `tools/wikitool log append --op lint --title "2026-09-26" --body-file lint-summary.md`
+
 **EXIT STATUS**
 
 - 0    success
-- 1    Invalid `--op` or unreadable `--body-file`
+- 1    `--op` is not one of ingest, query, lint, create, update, delete, rename, move
+- 1    `--body-file` cannot be read
 
 **ON FAILURE**
 
-- Invalid `--op` or unreadable `--body-file` -> **Not idempotent.** If the previous run's outcome is uncertain, check the tail of `kb/log.md` before retrying
+- `--op` is not one of ingest, query, lint, create, update, delete, rename, move -> Nothing was written - fix the argument and retry once
+- `--body-file` cannot be read -> Nothing was written - fix the path and retry once
+
+**NEVER**
+
+- Never re-run after an uncertain outcome without first checking the tail of `kb/log.md` - a second run appends a second entry.
 
 **NOTES**
 
-Append a formatted entry to `kb/log.md`.
+- Appends one entry to `kb/log.md`: a `## [YYYY-MM-DD] <op> | <title>` heading, the body if one is given, and a `---` separator.
+- Not idempotent: every successful run appends a new entry, including a repeated one.
+
+**SEE ALSO**
+
+- `wikitool log status` - counts the ingests logged since the last lint
+- `instructions/publish-cycle.md` - where a write session runs this
 
 #### `log status`
 
@@ -661,13 +697,26 @@ Read-only: count `ingest` entries logged since the last `lint` entry.
 - budget: counted
 - network: no
 
+**EXAMPLES**
+
+- `tools/wikitool log status`
+
 **EXIT STATUS**
 
 - 0    success
+- 0    `kb/log.md` is missing or empty - reported as nothing logged, not a failure
 
 **NOTES**
 
-The deterministic trigger behind the Maintenance Schedule's "every 10 sources" full-lint cadence. Never fails (reports 0 if `kb/log.md` is missing or empty). Safe to retry freely.
+- Counts the `ingest` entries in `kb/log.md` after the most recent `lint` entry, or since the start of the log if it was never linted, and the total number of entries.
+- At 10 or more it prints that the `wiki-lint` skill is due next - the every-10-sources full lint of the Maintenance Schedule.
+- Read-only; safe to retry freely.
+
+**SEE ALSO**
+
+- `wikitool log append` - writes the entries this counts
+- `wiki-lint` skill - what the threshold asks for
+- `tools/CONTRACT.md` § Maintenance schedule - the cadence this reports on
 
 ### Finding and checking
 

tools/chemenu/commands/index_build.py

@@ -229,16 +229,35 @@ def build_index(kb_dir: Path) -> str:
         "some regenerated and others not",
         budget=cli_contract.Budget.COUNTED,
     ),
-    notes="`kb/index.md` becomes a map (statistics, one row per collection and per area, links "
+    notes=(
-    "to the shards) and the page tables are written to a generated `INDEX.md` in each "
+        "Rewrites `kb/index.md` as a map: statistics, one row per collection and per area, and "
-    "collection. An area past 50 rows gets its own shard. Stale shards from removed "
+        "links to the shards - no page rows.",
-    "collections/areas are deleted in the same pass",
+        "Writes the page tables to a generated `INDEX.md` in each collection. An area with more "
+        "than 50 rows gets its own `INDEX.md` in its directory.",
+        "Deletes stale shards - an `INDEX.md` of a collection or area that no longer exists - "
+        "in the same pass.",
+        "Warns about every page nested more than one directory below its collection; it is "
+        "still catalogued, folded into its area.",
+        "`--dry-run` prints every file it would write and every stale shard it would remove, "
+        "and writes nothing.",
+    ),
     failures=(cli_contract.Failure(
-        label="",
+        cause="An I/O error while writing or removing a catalog file (rare)",
-        cause="Rare I/O error only",
         reaction="Safe to retry freely - the plan is always recomputed from the pages currently "
         "on disk, so a re-run converges",
     ),),
+    examples=(
+        "tools/wikitool index rebuild",
+        "tools/wikitool index rebuild --dry-run",
+    ),
+    never=(
+        "Never hand-edit `kb/index.md` or an `INDEX.md` - re-run this command instead.",
+    ),
+    see_also=(
+        "`wikitool search` - finds a page without reading the catalog",
+        "`wikitool lint` - its Nested Pages finding is what the warning previews",
+        "`instructions/publish-cycle.md` - where a write session runs this",
+    ),
 ))
 def index_rebuild(
     dry_run: bool = typer.Option(

tools/chemenu/commands/log_append.py

@@ -64,13 +64,34 @@ def ingests_since_last_lint(entries: list[tuple[str, str, str]]) -> int:
         atomic="Yes - single append",
         budget=cli_contract.Budget.COUNTED,
     ),
-    notes="Append a formatted entry to `kb/log.md`.",
+    notes=(
-    failures=(cli_contract.Failure(
+        "Appends one entry to `kb/log.md`: a `## [YYYY-MM-DD] <op> | <title>` heading, the body "
-        label="",
+        "if one is given, and a `---` separator.",
-        cause="Invalid `--op` or unreadable `--body-file`",
+        "Not idempotent: every successful run appends a new entry, including a repeated one.",
-        reaction="**Not idempotent.** If the previous run's outcome is uncertain, check the tail "
+    ),
-        "of `kb/log.md` before retrying",
+    failures=(
-    ),),
+        cli_contract.Failure(
+            cause="`--op` is not one of ingest, query, lint, create, update, delete, rename, move",
+            reaction="Nothing was written - fix the argument and retry once",
+        ),
+        cli_contract.Failure(
+            cause="`--body-file` cannot be read",
+            reaction="Nothing was written - fix the path and retry once",
+        ),
+    ),
+    examples=(
+        'tools/wikitool log append --op ingest --title "raw/articles/docker-cheatsheet.md" '
+        '--body "Created [[Docker]]; updated [[Container]]."',
+        'tools/wikitool log append --op lint --title "2026-09-26" --body-file lint-summary.md',
+    ),
+    never=(
+        "Never re-run after an uncertain outcome without first checking the tail of "
+        "`kb/log.md` - a second run appends a second entry.",
+    ),
+    see_also=(
+        "`wikitool log status` - counts the ingests logged since the last lint",
+        "`instructions/publish-cycle.md` - where a write session runs this",
+    ),
 ))
 def log_append(
     op: str = typer.Option(..., "--op", help="|".join(VALID_OPS)),
@@ -101,10 +122,24 @@ def log_append(
         atomic="Read-only",
         budget=cli_contract.Budget.COUNTED,
     ),
-    notes="The deterministic trigger behind the Maintenance Schedule's \"every 10 sources\" "
+    notes=(
-    "full-lint cadence. Never fails (reports 0 if `kb/log.md` is missing or empty). Safe to "
+        "Counts the `ingest` entries in `kb/log.md` after the most recent `lint` entry, or "
-    "retry freely.",
+        "since the start of the log if it was never linted, and the total number of entries.",
-    failures=(),
+        "At 10 or more it prints that the `wiki-lint` skill is due next - the every-10-sources "
+        "full lint of the Maintenance Schedule.",
+        "Read-only; safe to retry freely.",
+    ),
+    failures=(cli_contract.Failure(
+        cause="`kb/log.md` is missing or empty - reported as nothing logged, not a failure",
+        reaction="",
+        code=0,
+    ),),
+    examples=("tools/wikitool log status",),
+    see_also=(
+        "`wikitool log append` - writes the entries this counts",
+        "`wiki-lint` skill - what the threshold asks for",
+        "`tools/CONTRACT.md` § Maintenance schedule - the cadence this reports on",
+    ),
 ))
 def log_status():
     """Report how many `ingest` operations have been logged since the last