index.md and log.md

index.md and log.md let an agent route through a markdown graph without reading every file or depending on a heavy vector database. One file is the content catalog. The other is the chronological memory.

index.md as a routing table

The index should be dense, boring, and complete. Every page gets a path, type, one-sentence summary, tags, source status, and related pages. The agent reads this file before opening deeper files.

# Wiki Index

## Concepts

| Path | Summary | Tags | Source status |
|---|---|---|---|
| wiki/concepts/incremental-compilation.md | Explains ingest-time synthesis and why it compounds. | architecture, retrieval | reviewed |
| wiki/concepts/provenance.md | Defines source lineage for claims, outputs, and handoffs. | trust, audit | reviewed |

## Syntheses

| Path | Summary | Tags | Source status |
|---|---|---|---|
| wiki/syntheses/rag-vs-llm-wiki.md | Compares query-time retrieval with compiled markdown knowledge. | rag, architecture | draft |

log.md as append-only memory

The log should never be rewritten to make history prettier. It is the audit trail for ingest, query, lint, manual review, and correction events.

# Wiki Log

## 2026-04-27 ingest | raw/papers/example-source.pdf
- Created wiki/sources/example-source.md.
- Updated wiki/concepts/incremental-compilation.md.
- Added contradiction: source date conflicts with older vendor note.
- Updated wiki/index.md.

## 2026-04-27 query | "How should we structure team review?"
- Read wiki/index.md and 4 selected pages.
- Created wiki/syntheses/team-review-loop.md after approval.
- No raw files changed.

Routing algorithm

1. Read index.md.
2. Select candidate pages by path, title, summary, tags, and source status.
3. Open only the smallest useful page set.
4. Follow explicit wiki-links when the opened pages require more context.
5. Read raw/ only when compiled pages are insufficient or a claim must be verified.
6. Update index.md and log.md after any approved write.

When to add search

Start with index.md, filenames, frontmatter, and ordinary text search. Add BM25, Pagefind, vector search, or hybrid retrieval only when the wiki is large enough that deterministic routing is too slow or too brittle. Even then, search should point to compiled pages first.