Synthesise
The Worker wrote raw source files (summary, quotes, takeaways already present). This skill does the KB integration work the Worker explicitly skipped: cross-linking, index updates, synthesis checks.
Trigger
/synthesise — process all status: raw captures/synthesise <topic> — process only captures tagged with that topic (e.g. /synthesise prompting)
Steps
1. Find raw captures
Grep sources/*.md (not sources/skipped/) for status: raw in frontmatter. List them with signal level and topics before doing anything else.
If no raw captures found: say so and stop.
2. Confirm with owner
Show the count and file list. If >5 files, flag the batch size and ask whether to proceed in full or filter by topic first. Wait for confirmation before processing.
3. Process each source (one at a time — finish each before starting the next)
a. Read the full source file. Do not work from memory.
b. Cross-link to topic indexes.
For each topic in the source's topics: frontmatter:
- Read
topics/<topic>/index.md. If it doesn't exist, create it with a minimal header.
- Add a one-line entry under
## Sources (or the most specific matching section if the index has one, e.g. ## Synthesis for synthesis pointers). Format: - [Title](../../sources/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md) — one-line hook
- For low-signal sources, append
[low-signal] to the entry and do not add to open threads.
c. Check synthesis files.
Scan synthesis/ for any file whose topics: frontmatter overlaps with this source. If found:
- Read it and assess whether the new source changes it — new term, new evidence, new failure mode, new framing.
- If yes: update the synthesis body, add the source to its
sources: frontmatter list, update updated: to today.
- If no: leave it untouched.
d. Mark as processed.
Edit the source file's frontmatter: status: raw → status: summarized.
4. After all sources — open thread scan
Check the Open threads sections in every topic index touched during this run. If any thread now has ≥3 supporting sources or shows a clearly resolvable disagreement across ≥2 sources, surface it briefly:
"Open thread in topics/<topic>/index.md: [thread name] now has N sources — worth writing the synthesis?"
Do not write synthesis unprompted. Ask first.
Constraints
- Read every file — never recall content from memory.
- Do not re-summarize content already in the source file. The Worker wrote the summary, quotes, and takeaways.
- Do not write synthesis unprompted. Flag and ask.
- Low-signal sources still get indexed but with a
[low-signal] marker; do not use them to open new threads or promote new tags.
- Finish one source completely (steps a–d) before moving to the next.
- If context budget is getting tight mid-batch, stop after the current source and report progress: "processed N/M, stopped to avoid context overflow — run
/synthesise again to continue."