# Wiki Remove

> Remove maintained vault paths with durable delete intent; raw evidence requires the separate attended exact-target sources dispose workflow.

- Skill: `karlorz/wiki-remove` (Agent Skill)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add karlorz/wiki-remove`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/karlorz/wiki-remove/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: karlorz (https://skillmd.com/u/karlorz)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/karlorz/wiki-remove

---


# wiki-remove

## When This Skill Activates

- User wants to permanently remove a maintained vault path (not archive-for-reference).
- User explicitly requests permanent disposal of one exact raw object.
- Cleanup of stale pages that should not return via snapshot resurrection.
- User says hard delete, remove for real, stop resurrecting.

## Output language

If `skillwiki` is available: run `skillwiki lang` at the start. Otherwise default to English log prose.

## Pre-orientation

Read SCHEMA/index only as needed. Confirm the full vault-relative path. First classify the target as maintained content or `raw/**` evidence.

## Probe (required)

1. `command -v skillwiki && skillwiki remove --help`
2. `git -C <vault> rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree` and `git remote get-url origin` (expect private `karlorz/wiki` / fleet `vault_remote`)
3. Auth: `gh auth status` **or** `git ls-remote origin HEAD`

| Result | Mode |
|--------|------|
| skillwiki OK | **PRIMARY** |
| skillwiki fail, git/gh + private repo OK | **FAILSAFE-GIT** |
| neither | **FAIL CLOSED** — stop; never bare `rm` for fleet effect |

Do not auto `npm install -g skillwiki` in headless/goal/satellite sessions.

## PRIMARY — maintained pages

1. Resolve vault: `skillwiki path`.
2. Confirm path with user.
3. On a vault-sync leaf when S3 prune is intentional:
   `skillwiki remove <page> [vault] --remote seaweed-wiki:cloud/wiki --remote-delete --max-remote-deletes 1 --reason "<text>"`
   Otherwise: `skillwiki remove <page> [vault] --reason "<text>"`
4. Read JSON: expect `tombstone_path` under `meta/delete-intents/`, `removed` set.
5. Commit + push via normal wiki-sync / git (tombstone + deletion must reach private `main` for durability).
6. Report MODE=primary, paths, and whether remote-delete ran.

`skillwiki remove` must refuse every `raw/**` target. Do not bypass that refusal.

## PRIMARY — exact raw disposal

Permanent raw disposal is exceptional and never inferred from cleanup, dedup, stale, archive, or reingest intent.

1. Require an explicit user request naming one exact raw file and a reason. Refuse basenames, globs, directories, symlinks, batches, and inferred targets.
2. Run `skillwiki sources dispose <exact-raw-path> [vault] --reason "<text>"`.
3. Present the preview: complete-file SHA-256, byte size, typed/other/asset inbound references, delete-intent path, recoverability statement, operation ID, and approval token.
4. Only in the same attended session, after the user approves that exact preview, run the identical command with `--write --approve <token>`.
5. The command revalidates bytes and inbound references under the managed lock, writes append-only approval/completion events plus durable delete intent, then removes the exact object.
6. Scheduled/headless disposal is always refused. A stale token never authorizes changed state.

## FAILSAFE-GIT steps (no skillwiki CLI)

Agent **must** have git (and preferably gh) access to private vault remote. This fallback is for maintained pages only. If the target is under `raw/`, fail closed until `skillwiki sources dispose` is available; never reproduce raw disposal by hand.

1. Confirm path with user. Set `PATH_REL` (vault-relative, no `..`).
2. Write tombstone `meta/delete-intents/<slug>.json` where slug is path with `/` → `__`, e.g. `summaries/foo.md` → `summaries__foo.md.json`:

```json
{
  "schema": "vault-delete-intent/v1",
  "path": "PATH_REL",
  "action": "remove",
  "created": "ISO-8601-UTC",
  "host": "SKILLWIKI_HOST_ID-or-unknown",
  "actor": "agent-failsafe-git",
  "reason": "user requested remove; skillwiki CLI unavailable",
  "source": "failsafe-git",
  "expires": null
}
```

3. Delete local file at `PATH_REL` (and index line for `[[slug]]` if typed page).
4. `git add` tombstone + path change; commit with trailers:

```text
Delete-Intent: PATH_REL
Delete-Source: failsafe-git
```

5. `git pull --rebase origin main` (or merge fallback per vault-sync ADR) then **`git push origin HEAD:main`**. Require successful push before claiming durable success.
6. Optional: if `rclone` and `WIKI_REMOTE` exist: `rclone deletefile "$WIKI_REMOTE/PATH_REL"` (single path only).
7. Report `MODE=failsafe-git`, commit SHA, `S3_PRUNE=done|deferred`.

## Stop conditions

- User declines.
- FAIL CLOSED (no CLI and no private git access).
- Push to private wiki fails.
- Path invalid or under `_archive/` without explicit restore/remove policy.
- Raw target cannot be processed by the attended exact-target CLI flow.

## Forbidden

- Bare `rm` / bare `git rm` without tombstone.
- Force-push.
- Unbounded `rclone sync` / mass remote delete.
- Claiming fleet delete complete without tombstone on `origin/main` (and push success).
- Passing raw paths to ordinary `skillwiki remove`, or using FAILSAFE-GIT/bare filesystem deletion for raw evidence.
- Scheduled, headless, batch, glob, directory, basename-inferred, or stale-token raw disposal.

## Reversibility

Hard remove is not locally reversible from `_archive`. Restore requires re-authoring content and deleting the tombstone file under `meta/delete-intents/`, then normal push.