# tools/ - Compiler Contract

`wikitool` is a deterministic CLI for Chemenu, used by agents (and humans) so
mechanical wiki operations - frontmatter, index statistics, cross-references, log
formatting, confidence decay, git publishing - never have to be re-derived by
an LLM. The root [`AGENTS.md`](../AGENTS.md) holds the invariants that say when
using these commands is mandatory; this file is the full reference. Changes to
`wikitool` itself are tracked in the repo root [`CHANGES.md`](../CHANGES.md),
not here.

## Setup (one time)

Full bootstrap for a fresh clone - including publishing the skills, which are not
committed - is [`instructions/bootstrap.md`](../instructions/bootstrap.md). The
environment alone:

```bash
cd tools
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/pip install -r requirements.txt
```

## Usage

Run from the repo root:

```bash
tools/wikitool <command> --help
```

## Commands

| Command | Purpose |
|---------|---------|
| `new <type-name> --name "<Name>" [--type <path>] [--set field=value ...]` | Scaffold a page of any type. The type-spec drives fields, defaults, directory (`base_dir`/`layout`), title prefix, and template - `--set` is repeatable, and comma-separated values fill array fields. An element that itself contains a comma is written `\,`, or passed as its own repeated `--set` for that field - repeating an array field appends. See `types list`/`types describe`. |
| `new entity --name "<Name>" --set entity_type=<t> [--set tags=a,b] [--set related=X,Y] [--set sources="Source - Z"] [--set confidence=0.7] [--set provenance=sourced\|general\|mixed]` | Scaffold `kb/entities/<subdir>/<Name>.md` |
| `new concept --name "<Name>" --set concept_type=<t> ...` | Scaffold `kb/concepts/<Name>.md` |
| `new source --name "<Name>" --set raw_files=raw/notes/x.md,raw/notes/y.md [--set source_url=<URL>] [--set entities=A,B] [--set concepts=C,D]` | Scaffold `kb/sources/Source - <Name>.md` (prefix added automatically) with a `raw_files:` list (rejects paths that don't exist) |
| `new comparison --name "X vs Y" --set entities=X,Y` | Scaffold `kb/comparisons/X vs Y.md` |
| `touch --page "<Title>" [--summary "..."] [--provenance <v>] [--confidence-base <n>] [--date YYYY-MM-DD] [--set field=value ...] [--add field=value ...] [--remove field=value ...] [--no-date] [--dry-run]` | Update a page's own frontmatter: bump `modified:` and optionally rewrite any field its type declares. `--summary`/`--provenance`/`--confidence-base` are shorthands; `--set` reaches every other field and **replaces** its value, while `--add`/`--remove` change single elements of an array field (removing an absent element succeeds and says so). Repeating `--set` for one array field appends *within the call*, and `\,` is a literal comma - same rules as `new --set`. Refused with the command that owns them instead: `type:` (page-lifecycle), `confidence:` (derived - set `--confidence-base`), and the page-ref arrays `related:`/`sources:`/`entities:`/`concepts:` (`xref`). Everything else the schema declares is settable, and an unknown field lists what the page actually has. Schema-validates the fields it writes, and `raw_files:` entries must exist on disk. A source declares `date:` instead of `modified:`, and that is the *publication* date of the raw material - it is never bumped to today, and changes only when `--date` names a value explicitly. |
| `rename --from "<Old>" --to "<New>" [--dry-run]` | Rename a page and repoint every reference to it: body `[[wikilinks]]` (aliases and anchors preserved), a `[^cite-id]` whose id was derived from the old title (refreshed to match the new one, both in its Footnotes definition and every reference to it), the page's own H1, and every page-ref frontmatter array declared by the type's `page_ref_fields:`. If `--from` is *not* a page but is referenced, it instead repoints those references onto the existing `--to` page and moves nothing - the fix for a reference spelled `act_runner` when the page is `Act Runner` |
| `rm --page "<Title>" [--yes] [--dry-run]` | Delete a page and mechanically de-link it. Refuses without `--yes` while other pages still reference it. Strips ref-array entries and bare `- [[Title]]` / `- **label:** [[Title]]` bullets; leaves prose and inline citations in place and reports them |
| `xref add --a "<A>" --b "<B>" --rel-a "<label>" --rel-b "<label>"` | Bidirectionally link two pages: frontmatter `related:` + body Relationships/See Also bullets. Idempotent. Refuses, before writing either side, when a page's type does not declare `related:` - a source page declares `entities:`/`concepts:` instead, and writing `related:` there produced frontmatter the schema rejects; the refusal names the fields the type does declare and points at `link-source`. |
| `xref remove --a "<A>" --b "<B>" [--dry-run]` | Inverse of `xref add` *and* `xref link-source`: clears `<B>` from every page-ref frontmatter field `<A>`'s type declares (`related:`, `sources:`, `entities:`, `concepts:`) plus the matching bullets. It also sweeps a field the type does *not* declare but some other type does, and drops that key outright once empty - a leftover written before the check above existed has to stay repairable, or the page is a dead end. `--b` need not still exist as a page, so this is how a reference left by a hand-deleted or hand-renamed page gets cleared without hand-editing frontmatter. Idempotent. |
| `xref link-source --source "Source - X" --entities A,B,C` | Batch-link a source page to every entity/concept it mentions, **in both directions**: each target gets `sources:` + a See Also bullet, and the source page records each target in its own `entities:`/`concepts:`. Which of the two is chosen follows the target's collection (`kb/entities/` -> `entities:`), so a new collection needs no code change here. A target whose collection matches no reference field the source type declares is linked one-way and named in the output. Idempotent in both directions |
| `cite id --title "Source - X" [--file <qualifier>]` | Print the deterministic footnote id `cite add` would use for this (title, file) pair. Read-only, exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate |
| `cite add --page "<Title>" --source "Source - X" [--file <qualifier>] [--dry-run]` | Upsert a `[^cite-id]: [[Source - X]]` definition in the page's Footnotes block (reusing the id if the page already cites this exact source/file pair) and add `Source - X` to frontmatter `sources:`. Prints the `[^cite-id]` marker - pasting it into the prose is still a manual, editorial step |
| `cite sync [--page "<Title>" \| --all] [--dry-run]` | Reconcile each page's Footnotes block against its actual `[^id]` references: prune definitions nothing references any more, re-render the block in first-reference order, and report any `[^id]` reference left with no definition |
| `index rebuild [--dry-run]` | Regenerate the catalog from every page's frontmatter: `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 |
| `log append --op ingest\|query\|lint\|create\|update\|delete\|rename --title "..." [--body "..."\|--body-file path]` | Append a formatted entry to `kb/log.md` |
| `log status` | Read-only: count `ingest` entries logged since the last `lint` entry - the deterministic trigger behind the Maintenance Schedule's "every 10 sources" full-lint cadence |
| `lint [--json] [--markdown out.md] [--full] [--fail-on-error]` | Structural + provenance checks: broken wikilinks, dangling frontmatter references, orphan pages, index drift, schema gaps, duplicate titles, title mismatches, uncovered raw files, broken `raw_files:` refs, raw files claimed by more than one source page, unmarked provenance, citation/frontmatter drift, quote-limit overages (>2 blockquoted lines/page, advisory only). Prints only the sections that found something and always writes the full report to `reports/Lint Report <date>.md` (or `--markdown`), naming the path - `--full` prints everything, `--json` prints the findings and writes nothing |
| `search ["<text>"] [--field <predicate> ...] [--kind/--subtype/--collection/--tag <v>] [--regex] [--limit N] [--sort [-]<field>] [--backend <name>] [--matches] [--json]` | Find pages in `kb/` without reading the index. Text search runs through a pluggable backend (`rg` today); `--field` predicates are evaluated on frontmatter - `f=v`, `f~substring`, `'f>=v'`, `'f:*'` (present), `'!f'` (absent), repeatable and ANDed. With no text this is a pure structured query. Results carry kind/summary/confidence so a hit can be judged without opening the page. Read-only, and **exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate** |
| `confidence decay [--apply]` | Recompute every page's derived `confidence` as `confidence_base * (1 - 0.01/month)`, floored at 0.2; dry-run by default |
| `confidence init-base [--apply]` | One-time backfill: set `confidence_base` from the current `confidence` on pages that predate the derived-confidence model |
| `sources coverage [--json]` | List raw files with no source page, broken `raw_files:` references, and legacy directory/URL-only source pages |
| `sources trace --raw <path>` \| `--page "<Title>"` | Trace provenance in either direction: raw file -> source page(s) -> citing pages, or page -> its sources -> their raw files |
| `sources rebuild-index [--dry-run]` | Regenerate the `kb/provenance.md` reverse index (raw file -> source page -> citing pages) |
| `sync [--remote origin] [--branch main] [--confirm-rebase TOKEN]` | Fetch `<remote>/<branch>` and bring the local branch up to date with it: fast-forward when the remote is simply ahead, rebase local commit(s) on top when both sides moved but touch disjoint files (a content conflict is then impossible by construction), and exit **42** for review when they touch the same file (the **rebase-review gate** - see `publish` below). Never commits, never pushes, never force-anything - no remote configured, or one that cannot be reached, is reported and skipped, not a failure. Meant to run once at the start of a writing session (`instructions/session-setup.md`) so the rest of it works against a current tree instead of discovering the drift at the final `publish` |
| `publish --message "<op>: <desc>" [--no-push] [--confirm TOKEN] [--confirm-rebase TOKEN] [--threshold N] [--remote origin] [--branch main] [--path P ...]` | Reconcile with `<remote>/<branch>` exactly like `sync` (skipped for `--no-push`), then stage all changes, commit, and push. If the reconcile step found a still-unpushed local commit and there is nothing new to stage, that commit is pushed anyway - a previous `publish` whose push failed no longer strands it. If the push is rejected despite the pre-check (a genuine race - something landed on the remote in between), one more reconcile-and-retry is attempted before giving up; never more than one. **Mass-Update Gate:** when >= `--threshold` (default 10) *counted* files would be committed, exits **42 (`EXIT_NEEDS_CLEARANCE`)** instead of publishing - a third outcome distinct from success (0) and a validation error (1) - and prints a review report: a scale line (file count, total lines added/removed, status breakdown), only-what-applies attention notes (deletions by name, control-plane and harness-config touches, published pages, the largest single change, binaries), and every counted path grouped by area with its status and churn, generated files split out as needing no review. The token digests each counted path **and its contents** plus the publish target, so a clearance carries neither to a different file list nor to edited contents; a wrong, invented or superseded token exits 42 again with the current state. Two kinds of path are committed but never counted and never shown for approval: anything under `work/`, and the files `wikitool` generates itself (`kb/index.md`, `kb/log.md`, `kb/provenance.md`, every `INDEX.md`) - each is recomputable from the tree, so approving it decides nothing, and a routine ingest rebuilds five or six of them. The refusal line accounts for both, by reason. The gate is evaluated *before* anything is staged, so a refused publish leaves the working tree untouched. **Publish-Remote Gate:** when this checkout carries a `.wikitool-remotes.json` and the resolved push URL of `--remote` is not listed in it, exits **42** before the reconcile step even fetches - the URL is read from `git remote get-url --push`, so a repointed remote does not pass on its name. Unlike the other two gates it has **no token and no flag**: the way past it is the user adding the URL to that file, and an agent editing it to get past a refusal is opening a gate on its own initiative. Absent file means unrestricted; a malformed one is an error, not permission. See [instructions/gates.md](../instructions/gates.md) `--yes`/`-y` are gone and now fail with an explicit error. `--path` (repeatable) scopes the whole operation - gate count, staging, and commit - to a subtree |
| `work new (--input <raw path> \| --key <run key>) [--again] [--dry-run]` | Scaffold `work/<runkey>/` for one workshop run: refuses a collision instead of suffixing it, and writes the required `README.md` + `plan.md`. `--input` derives the run key from the path below `raw/` (an ingest); `--key` names it outright for a run with no raw input - a migration or a sweep across `kb/` - and may not start with `ingest-`, which stays reserved for derived keys. Exactly one of the two. `--again` opens a dated second pass over a tree that has itself changed. See [work/CONTRACT.md](../work/CONTRACT.md) |
| `work close --run-key <name> [--yes] [--dry-run]` | Delete a finished workshop. Lists what would be lost and requires `--yes`, because nothing in it is recoverable from the rest of the repo - the durable conclusions must already be in `kb/` |
| `budget status` | Show the current session's `wikitool` call count and recent command history (never counted against the budget) |
| `budget reset --yes [--all]` | Clear the current session's (or every session's) iteration budget state. Requires `--yes`: clearing the counter is itself a way around the gate, so it needs the same explicit human approval |
| `types list [--json]` | List every type-spec under `types/` (name, schema path, subtype field, description) - discover what page types exist without reading `types/*.md` directly |
| `types describe <name> [--json]` | Print one type's full contract: required/optional frontmatter fields with enums, its subtype field (if any), and its authoring body |
| `instructions sync [--force]` | Publish every `instructions/<name>/SKILL.md` into `.agents/skills/` and `.claude/skills/` as **copies**, and delete published skills whose source is gone. Both targets are gitignored, so a fresh clone runs this once - see `instructions/bootstrap.md`. Re-running is also how a drifted copy is repaired: the source always wins. `--force` is required only to replace a target directory that is not a published skill at all (no `SKILL.md` in it) |
| `instructions verify` | Check the instruction layer: flat instructions validate against `types/instruction.schema.yaml`, each `SKILL.md` carries the frontmatter its harness reads, every published copy is byte-identical to its source, no instruction is left that nothing references, and nothing under `instructions/dev/` is referenced from outside it (a `<!-- dist:strip-start/end -->` block is exempt - see [instructions/CONTRACT.md](../instructions/CONTRACT.md)). Missing *every* copy is reported as "run sync", not as drift - that is a clean checkout |
| `instructions list [--json]` | List the flat instructions with their descriptions. This is how the layer is discovered; `search` deliberately covers `kb/` only |
| `docs verify` | Check the docs that mirror the code: every CLI command documented here (and vice versa), every directory under `kb/` has a `COLLECTION.md` and no directory outside it does, every stage contract present, no pre-migration `type: entity` blocks left in the contracts, and the `.gitignore` canaries clear in both directions (nothing ignored under `raw/`/`kb/`, everything ignored under `reports/` and the published skill directories) |
| `eval sessions [--json]` | List the sessions that have a trace under `reports/telemetry/`, most recent first. Read-only and exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate |
| `eval score [--session <id>] [--json] [--markdown out.md] [--save] [--fail-on-error]` | Score one traced session: structural state from `lint`'s own checks (L1) plus trajectory rules over the trace (L2) - was a refused call repeated unchanged, was a gate flag passed without that gate having refused anything, did a publish of `kb/` pages go unlogged. Defaults to the current session. `--save` writes `reports/evals/<date>/<session>.{json,md}`. Read-only over `kb/` and exempt from the budget; see [../EVALS.md](../EVALS.md) |
| `dist export <target> [--dry-run] [--source-repo U] [--source-commit SHA] [--release-url U] [--update-url U]` | Write a contentless, distributable copy of this repo's machinery into an empty `<target>` directory: `AGENTS.md`/`README.md`/`EVALS.md` with any `<!-- dist:strip-start -->...<!-- dist:strip-end -->` region removed, `instructions/` (minus `instructions/dev/`), `types/`, `tools/` (no venv/caches), the `.github/hooks/`+`.vibe/` session-tracing config plus `.claude/settings.json`, every `kb/*/COLLECTION.md` (no pages, no areas), empty `raw/{articles,documents,notes,assets}/`, `VERSION`, `USER.md.template`/`SOUL.md.template` (the templates ship; a filled `USER.md`/`SOUL.md` never does - the root allowlist is what makes that automatic), and a generated `.wikitool-release.json` stamp (version, export date, origin, and a sha256 per exported file - the base a later upgrade would compare against). The four origin options only fill stamp fields: `export` never calls git and cannot discover them. Refuses a non-empty target, and a tree with no `VERSION`. See `instructions/setup-instance.md`. One-way: there is no command that reconstructs a distributed instance into a dev instance - work on the stack in the origin repo (or a new dev instance exported from it) instead |
| `version show [--json]` | Print this instance's stack version and where it came from (development tree, or a distribution with its export date and origin). Bare `wikitool version` is an alias for this. Read-only, offline, and **exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate** |
| `version check [--url U] [--timeout S] [--json]` | Ask the origin's release feed whether a newer stack exists, and whether the step crosses a compatibility boundary (`state: current\|update\|migration\|ahead`). **The only command in `wikitool` that makes a network call** - never reached implicitly from another command, needs no key, times out, and reports an unreachable feed as an error rather than as "up to date". The feed is `$WIKITOOL_UPDATE_URL`, else the release stamp's, else the built-in origin; `$WIKITOOL_UPDATE_TOKEN` is only needed if that feed is not readable anonymously. Read-only and exempt from the budget gate |
| `version notes [--version X.Y.Z]` | Print one version's `CHANGES.md` entry, for use as release notes (default: this tree's `VERSION`). Read-only and exempt from the budget gate |
| `version bump --major\|--minor\|--patch --title "<...>" [--no-migration "<reason>"] [--dry-run]` | Raise `VERSION` and open the matching `CHANGES.md` entry - heading, date and author only; the body stays the author's to write, the way `new` writes frontmatter and leaves the prose. Refuses more or fewer than one part, an empty title, and a changelog already documenting a version that is not older than the new one. Compatibility follows the **leftmost non-zero component**, which for this stack (at `1.0.0` and up, no pre-release suffixes anywhere) means MAJOR: PATCH is a fix, MINOR a compatible capability, MAJOR requires instances to migrate. A MAJOR bump additionally requires a migration document targeting the new version, or `--no-migration "<reason>"`, which records the reason in the entry |
| `migrate list [--json]` | List every migration document under `instructions/migrations/`, oldest target first, with its kind. Read-only and **exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate** |
| `migrate status [--json]` | Show the migrations this instance still owes, in the order they must run: every document whose `migrates_to` lies in `(kb_version, VERSION]`. Exits 1 only when `.wikitool-kb.json` is missing - the content's shape is a question the tool refuses to answer by guessing. Read-only and exempt from the budget gate |
| `migrate verify --from <rev> [--path P ...] [--expect-body-change] [--json] [--fail-on-error]` | Compare `kb/` against a git revision on the invariants a content migration must not change: wikilink and citation **counts** (not sets), footnote definitions, H1, and structural frontmatter. Reports added/removed pages without failing on them. `--expect-body-change` additionally flags a page whose body did not change at all. Not migration-specific - worth running after any bulk rewrite, and the one question `lint` cannot answer, since it reads a single revision and so cannot see that something went missing. Read-only and exempt from the budget gate |
| `migrate done <version> [--pages N] [--dry-run]` | Record one migration as applied, advancing `kb_version` in `.wikitool-kb.json` to its target. **Refuses any version that is not the next link in the chain** - skipping one leaves the corpus in a shape no version describes, and an interrupted multi-step upgrade has to be resumable rather than guessable |
| `migrate baseline <version> [--force]` | Declare `kb_version` once, for an instance predating `.wikitool-kb.json`. Refuses to overwrite an existing declaration without `--force`: advancing after a migration is `done`, which checks the chain, and this command must not become the quiet way around it |
| `doctor [--json]` | Check that this instance is correctly configured: dependencies (Python, ripgrep), author resolution, stack version, git identity/branch/remote, published skills, kb/raw/reports/work/instructions structure, personalization (`USER.md`/`SOUL.md` present **and** filled - a file still carrying the template's sentinel is a `FAIL`, since a renamed template is not a filled one), the environment note (`ENVIRONMENT.md` - optional, so absent is `OK`; a still-templated one is a `WARN`), generated files, and `WIKITOOL_SESSION_ID`. Read-only, exit 1 only on a `FAIL` (a missing remote, session id, or `VERSION` is a `WARN`, not a fault). Exempt from the Iteration Budget Gate |

## Design notes

- All commands operate on the real repo (paths resolved relative to this
  file's location), so they can be run from any working directory.
- `new`/`xref`/`log append` only produce structurally-correct frontmatter and
  body skeletons/edits - the prose (Description, Summary, judgment calls
  about relationships) is still written by the LLM afterwards.
- `lint` only reports what's mechanically verifiable. Contradictions, staleness
  judgment, and "what's worth writing next" remain the LLM's job; `lint`
  produces a markdown skeleton with a "Semantic Review" section for that.
- `confidence decay` applies a linear 1%/month reduction to `confidence_base`
  since `modified`/`date`/`created`, floored at 0.2, and writes the result to
  the derived `confidence` field. Keeping the undecayed anchor separate is what
  makes repeated runs idempotent: decaying the stored `confidence` in place
  (the pre-2026-08-13 behavior) compounded on every run, because the
  elapsed-months factor kept growing while the multiplicand had already shrunk.
  Pages with no `confidence_base` are skipped rather than guessed at - run
  `confidence init-base --apply` once to backfill them.
- **Iteration Budget Gate / Loop-Breaker** (see the root `AGENTS.md` "Gates"
  section): every invocation is recorded and checked in `main()` (`cli.py`)
  before Typer dispatches to any subcommand, so it applies uniformly without
  each command needing its own opt-in. State lives in the gitignored
  `tools/.wikitool_session/budget.json`, keyed by `WIKITOOL_SESSION_ID` (or
  the caller's parent process id as a fallback), so a new terminal/session
  starts with a clean budget. Default ceiling: 60 calls/session, or 3
  identical calls in a row (whichever trips first). A call that left through
  `_util.fail()` - a rejected argument, or a read-only check reporting
  findings - is refunded: it declined instead of acting, and the contract's own
  answer to a rejected argument is "retry once", which would otherwise cost two
  slots for one operation. The call stays in the loop-breaker's history. `budget status` is exempt
  so the situation stays reportable after the gate trips; `budget reset` is
  not, and additionally requires `--yes`. Bypass only with
  `--override-budget`, and only after explicit human approval - never on the
  agent's own initiative.

## Tests

```bash
cd tools
.venv/bin/pip install pytest pytest-cov   # one time; pytest-cov is optional
.venv/bin/python -m pytest -q             # add --cov for a coverage report
```

Neither is in `requirements.txt`, and `pytest-cov` is CI-only by intent - see
[README.md](README.md#tests) and [EVALS.md](../EVALS.md).

## Error contracts

Every call has exactly three outcomes - success, a validation error (exit 1 with
an `ERROR` line), or an unexpected failure. That model, and the universal
escalation rule, are in the root [`AGENTS.md`](../AGENTS.md#tool-error-contract).
What follows is the per-command detail: what exit 1 means, whether the command
is atomic, and whether a retry is safe.

| Command | Exit 1 means | Atomic? | Retry policy |
|---------|--------------|---------|--------------|
| `new <type>` | Duplicate page title, unknown type, invalid `--set` value, or a `raw_files` path that doesn't exist | Yes - single file write | Not transient; fix the argument and retry once. Never hand-craft the page instead |
| `touch` | Page not found; an invalid value for a field it writes; a field owned by another command (`type:`, `confidence:`, a page-ref array) or absent from the type's schema; `--add`/`--remove` on a non-array field; a `raw_files:` path that doesn't exist | Yes - single file write, and every refusal happens before it | Fix the argument and retry once. Safe to re-run as-is: `--set` and `--add` are idempotent, and `--remove` of an already-absent element succeeds while reporting it |
| `rename` | Neither `--from` nor `--to` is a page, target title already taken, or `--from` equals `--to` | No - one write per referencing page, then the file move | Safe to retry once as-is; each page's rewrite is idempotent. Use `--dry-run` first to see the blast radius. Never fix up references by hand instead |
| `rm` | Page not found, **or** other pages still reference it and `--yes` was not passed | No - one write per referencing page, then the delete | For "still referenced": show the user the inbound list, get approval, then re-run with `--yes`. Prose references it reports afterwards are an editorial fix, not a retry |
| `xref add` | Page A or B not found, or a page's type declares no `related:` field | No - writes A then B, but both edits are idempotent, and both refusals happen before either write | Safe to retry once as-is; re-running never duplicates a link. Never create the missing page just to force the link through, and never hand-write a reference field the type does not declare |
| `xref remove` | Page A not found (B is allowed not to exist) | No - writes A then B, both idempotent | Safe to retry freely; removing an absent link is a no-op |
| `xref link-source` | Source page not found, an entity in `--entities` doesn't exist, or the source page itself could not be written after its targets were | No - one write per entity plus one for the source page, idempotent per page | Use `--dry-run` first; safe to retry. `sources trace --page "<Title>"` shows who was already linked |
| `cite id` | Never fails | Read-only | Safe to retry freely |
| `cite add` | Page or source not found | Yes - single file write | Safe to retry; upserting the same (page, source, file) pair twice reuses the existing id and changes nothing the second time |
| `cite sync` | Neither or both of `--page`/`--all` given, or page not found | No - one write per page, each idempotent | Safe to retry freely. An undefined-reference report is not a failure - fix the reference (or run `cite add`) and re-run |
| `index rebuild` / `sources rebuild-index` | Rare I/O error only | Yes - the file is regenerated from scratch | Safe to retry freely || `log append` | Invalid `--op` or unreadable `--body-file` | Yes - single append | **Not idempotent.** If the previous run's outcome is uncertain, check the tail of `kb/log.md` before retrying |
| `log status` | Never fails (reports 0 if `kb/log.md` is missing or empty) | Read-only | Safe to retry freely |
| `lint` | Only with `--fail-on-error`: hard findings exist | Writes one report file (single atomic write) unless `--json` | Safe to retry freely, but re-run it to re-*measure*, never to re-read: the printed path holds the full report. Exit 1 means "act on the findings", not "the tool is broken" |
| `search` | `rg` is not installed, a malformed `--field` predicate, an unknown field name, or an unknown `--backend` | Read-only | Fix the argument and retry. An unknown field name is reported with the list of fields that do exist - it is never answered with an empty result, because that would read as "no such pages" |
| `confidence decay --apply` / `init-base --apply` | Rare I/O error mid-loop | No - one write per page | Safe to retry freely; both recompute from `confidence_base` and never compound |
| `sync` | The automatic rebase hit a real conflict (git failed) | No - fetch, then at most one merge/rebase attempt, aborted cleanly on failure | For a conflict: **do not retry, do not force** - resolve manually and re-run. **Exit 42, not 1**, when the rebase-review gate needs clearance: show the user the command's full output verbatim (upstream commits, the overlapping files, their diff) and stop; re-running with `--confirm-rebase <token>` clears it, and a wrong, invented, or superseded token exits 42 again with the current state. No remote configured, or one that cannot be reached, is not a failure - reported and skipped |
| `publish` | git failed, **or** `--yes`/`-y` was passed. **Exit 42, not 1**, when the Mass-Update Gate, the rebase-review gate (raised by the same reconcile `sync` performs), or the Publish-Remote Gate refuses | No - sequential git operations, but both gates run before staging | For git failures: **do not retry, do not force** - report and ask the user (the reconcile step already retried the push once on its own, if a rebase resolved the rejection). For exit 42: show the user the command's full output verbatim and stop; it names the evidence and the `--confirm <token>` or `--confirm-rebase <token>` line to re-run, and re-running without it exits 42 again. The Publish-Remote Gate is the exception with no such line: it names the push URL that would have been written to and the ones this checkout allows, and only the user resolves it |
| `work new` | Neither or both of `--input`/`--key` given, `--input` outside `raw/`, a `--key` that is empty or starts with `ingest-`, or the workshop already exists | Yes - one directory with two files | A collision is not transient: resume the existing run instead, or pass `--again` if the tree itself changed. Never create a numbered variant by hand |
| `work close` | Unknown run key, or `--yes` was not passed | No - a recursive delete | For "not confirmed": check the listed files are no longer needed, confirm the conclusions are in `kb/`, then re-run with `--yes` |
| `sources coverage` / `sources trace` | Bad arguments (e.g. neither or both of `--raw`/`--page`) | Read-only | Fix the argument and retry |
| `types list` / `types describe` | Unknown type name | Read-only | Fix the name and retry |
| `instructions sync` / `verify` / `list` | Nothing found under `instructions/`, a malformed instruction or `SKILL.md`, a published copy that drifted from its source, an instruction nothing references (or, for `manual: true`, one that IS linked from AGENTS.md or a skill and so risks running implicitly), something under `instructions/dev/` referenced from outside it and outside a dist:strip block, or (sync) a target directory that is not a published skill and `--force` was not passed | `sync` rewrites one directory per target (idempotent); `verify`/`list` are read-only | Fix the flagged file, then re-run. For drift, re-run `sync`: the source under `instructions/` always wins, and a published copy is never edited directly |
| `docs verify` | A command, contract, or type-form mismatch was found | Read-only | Fix the documentation it names, then re-run |
| `dist export` | Target exists and is not empty, is not a directory, or the tree has no readable `VERSION` | Yes - nothing is written until every file is planned | Point `<target>` at an empty (or new) directory and retry. Never merge into a non-empty one by hand |
| `version show` / `version notes` | `VERSION` is missing or unparseable; for `notes`, no `CHANGES.md` entry names the version asked for | Read-only | Fix `VERSION`, or write the changelog entry (`version bump` writes its heading). Safe to retry |
| `version check` | The feed could not be reached, answered non-JSON, or carried no `tag_name`. **Never** answers "up to date" for a question it could not ask | Read-only, no local writes | A network failure is transient - retry once, then report it. HTTP 401/403 names `$WIKITOOL_UPDATE_TOKEN`; 404 means no release exists yet or the URL points at the wrong repo |
| `version bump` | More or fewer than one of `--major/--minor/--patch`, an empty `--title`, a missing `VERSION`/`CHANGES.md`, a changelog already documenting a version not older than the new one, a boundary-crossing bump with neither a migration document nor `--no-migration`, or `--no-migration` on a bump that crosses nothing | No - `VERSION` then `CHANGES.md` | **Not idempotent**: a second run bumps again. If the outcome is uncertain, read `VERSION` and the top of `CHANGES.md` before retrying |
| `migrate list` / `migrate status` | `list` never fails; `status` exits 1 when `.wikitool-kb.json` is missing or unreadable, or `VERSION` is | Read-only | For a missing declaration: run `migrate baseline <version>` once, then retry. Safe to retry freely otherwise |
| `migrate verify` | Only with `--fail-on-error`: an invariant changed. Also exits 1 if `--from` is not a revision in this repository | Read-only | Exit 1 from `--fail-on-error` means "act on the findings", not "the tool is broken". A finding is never fixed by re-running - it names a page and what changed on it |
| `migrate done` | Unknown version, no `.wikitool-kb.json`, nothing outstanding, or a version that is not the next link in the chain | Yes - single file write | **Not idempotent**: it advances the chain. For "not the next link", run `migrate status` and apply them in the order it prints - never force the order |
| `migrate baseline` | Unparseable version, or a declaration already exists and `--force` was not passed | Yes - single file write | Safe to re-run with the same version. If a declaration exists, it is almost always `migrate done` that was wanted |
| `doctor` | At least one check reported `FAIL` (a `WARN`, e.g. no remote or no `WIKITOOL_SESSION_ID`, does not exit 1) | Read-only | Each finding names its own fix command; re-run after applying it |
| `budget status` / `budget reset` | `reset` without `--yes`; `status` never fails | Read/rewrite of one JSON file | `status` is safe to retry. For `reset`: get the user's approval, then re-run with `--yes` |
| `eval sessions` | Never fails; an empty list is a valid answer | Read-only | - |
| `eval score` | No trace exists for the named session | Read-only, apart from the files `--save`/`--markdown` write | Run `eval sessions` to see which ids exist. A session records nothing when `WIKI_TRACE=0`, so an absent trace is not necessarily a fault. Safe to retry |
| *(any command)* - Iteration Budget Gate / Loop-Breaker | Session call limit exceeded, or the last 3 calls were identical | N/A - pre-dispatch check, the command never ran | **Not** safe to retry as-is; retrying is the failure mode being prevented. Stop and escalate |

## Maintenance schedule

Run by the LLM through the skills, on this cadence:

| Task | Frequency | Command |
|------|-----------|---------|
| Log append | Every operation | `log append --op <type> --title "..."` |
| Index rebuild | Every page change | `index rebuild` |
| Provenance index rebuild | After any source/citation change | `sources rebuild-index` |
| Publish | After any change worth persisting | `publish --message "<op>: <desc>"` |
| Full lint | Every 10 sources (checked via `log status`), or on request | `lint`, then carry the semantic findings into `kb/log.md` via `log append --op lint` - the report itself is gitignored |
| Raw coverage check | Every 10 sources | `sources coverage` |
| Confidence decay | Every 30 days | `confidence decay --apply` |
| Docs/instruction verification | After changing the CLI, a contract, or an instruction | `docs verify`, `instructions verify` |
| Budget check | Any time a session feels long | `budget status` |
| Retention review | Every 90 days | Manual |

## Future considerations (not implemented)

- MCP server wrapper exposing these same commands as native tool calls for
  MCP-capable agents, instead of shell invocation.
- A pre-commit hook running `wikitool lint --fail-on-error` before every
  `wikitool publish`. CI already runs it on every push
  (`.gitea/workflows/ci.yml`), which catches it after the fact rather than
  before.
- `dist upgrade`: apply a newer release to an instance that already has
  content. `version check` detects that one exists and says whether it crosses
  a compatibility boundary; applying it is the manual procedure in
  [INSTALL.md](../INSTALL.md) § "Eine Instanz aktualisieren". The `files` block
  of `.wikitool-release.json` is the groundwork - it records what the machinery
  looked like at install time, which is the only way to tell a file the
  instance edited from one it merely received.