Ask

Memex Ask

Answer a question using only what the memex contains. Cite via SALP references ([REF:mx-<type>:<slug>]). Be honest about gaps.

When to invoke

Invoked when the user wants an answer drawn from the memex (e.g., "look this up in my memex", "ask the memex about X", /ask <question>). The argument is the natural-language question.

Memex Resolution

Resolve the active memex root in this order — first match wins:

1. --memex <path> flag → use that path.
2. Walk up from the current working directory. The first ancestor that contains BOTH AGENTS.md and a pages/ subdirectory is the active memex root.
3. If nothing matches, stop with: No memex found. Run save <source> in this directory to scaffold one, or pass --memex <path>.

After resolution, read <memex-root>/AGENTS.md for conventions. Cross-references use SALP — [REF:mx-<type>:<slug>] for bare references or [REF:mx-<type>:<slug> | <display>] when readable display text is helpful. [[wikilinks]] are no longer recognised by the audit script or the skills.

Ask Steps

1. Read the index

Open <memex-root>/pages/index.md. This is the catalog. Skim it to identify which pages are likely relevant to the question — match on title, one-line description, or domain heading.

If index.md is missing, fall back to Glob over <memex-root>/pages/*.md and read each candidate's frontmatter. Suggest the user runs audit after the answer to rebuild the index.

2. Open candidate pages

Read every page identified as relevant in step 1. Aim for the smallest set that covers the question — quality over quantity.

3. Follow one level of SALP REFs

For each [REF:mx-<type>:<slug>] in the candidate pages that looks relevant to the question, read the linked page too. ONE level deep — do not follow REFs from those pages further. This is the "1-hop expansion" — it surfaces connections without reading the entire memex.

4. Synthesize the answer

Write the answer in prose, with SALP REFs as inline citations. Example body:

Markdown was created by [REF:mx-person:john-gruber | John Gruber] in 2004 with contributions from [REF:mx-person:aaron-swartz | Aaron Swartz]. It was designed as a plain-text formatting syntax that converts cleanly to HTML — see [REF:mx-concept:history-of-markdown | the full timeline].

Format guidance:

• Default: prose with inline [REF:mx-<type>:<slug> | display] citations.
• Question contains "table" or "compare": markdown table with SALP REFs in cells.
• Question contains "timeline" or "history": chronological bullet list with dates.

Quality rules:

• Honest gaps: if the memex does not contain the answer, say so explicitly. Suggest what to save. NEVER fall back on training-data knowledge to fill the gap — the answer must come from the memex only.
• Cite, do not summarize blindly: every non-trivial claim should reference at least one memex page via a SALP REF.
• Note confidence: if pages disagree or carry [!WARNING] contradiction callouts, flag this in the answer rather than picking a side.

5. File the answer to pages/answers/

Always file the synthesized answer to <memex-root>/pages/answers/<question-slug>.md. No prompt — file every answer. Slug derivation: lowercase, hyphens, strip punctuation, max 60 chars (e.g., "Who created Markdown?" → who-created-markdown.md).

Frontmatter:

---
date: YYYY-MM-DD
type: answer
question: "<original question text>"
status: filed
tags: [<derived from referenced pages>]
---

Body: the synthesized answer + a ## Sources section listing every SALP REF cited.

Place the page's own anchor ON the H1 title line, after the title text: # <Question as title> [ANC:mx-answer:<slug>].

If an answer file with the same slug already exists, append -2, -3, etc. — never overwrite past answers.

6. Offer promotion

Ask the user once: Promote this answer to a top-level concept page at pages/<slug>.md? (y/n)

• If yes: move the file from <memex-root>/pages/answers/ to <memex-root>/pages/, change frontmatter type from answer to concept, set status: promoted, change the page's own anchor namespace from [ANC:mx-answer:<slug>] to [ANC:mx-concept:<slug>], and add an entry to pages/index.md under the appropriate domain.
• If no: leave it in answers/ and continue.

7. Append log.md

## [YYYY-MM-DD] ask | <question slug>
Answered with N citations across M pages. Filed to answers/<slug>.md.

If the user promoted, append a second entry:

## [YYYY-MM-DD] promote | <slug>
Promoted answer to pages/<slug>.md.

8. Report to user

Print:

• The answer (already shown in chat by step 4 — repeat the path, not the body).
• Filed to <memex-root>/pages/answers/<slug>.md.
• Promoted to pages/<slug>.md if applicable.
• Any gaps you flagged.

Honest-Gaps Rule

If after step 3 you have not found enough information to answer the question:

• Say so directly: The memex does not yet cover <topic>. To fill this gap, run save with sources on <specific suggestions>.
• The suggestions name SOURCES — a site, a manual, a paper, a repository's docs — never the topic's parts. "Save the Tokio docs" is a source; "save documentation covering its scheduler, I/O, timers and synchronization primitives" is an inventory of the runtime taken from your own knowledge, and the checklist item that forbids fabrication reads it as one. If you cannot name a source without describing the topic, name the topic alone. (2026-09-06: ask-honest-gap withheld the answer and still failed its critical item on such a list inside the gap record.)
• File an answer anyway — with status: gap instead of filed — so the gap is recorded.
• The log.md entry for a gap says so: Gap — no memex coverage; 0 citations. Filed to answers/<slug>.md. A line that only reports 0 citations across 0 pages records a count, not the finding.
• Do NOT fall back on general knowledge. The whole point of the memex is that answers compound from saved sources, not from your prior knowledge.

Constraints

• Read-only on raw/ — never modify raw sources during an ask.
• Use Read, Glob, Grep for searching; Write only for the answer file (and the optional promotion move). Edit for index.md and log.md.
• Never use plain markdown links or [[wikilinks]] for internal references — SALP REFs only.
• Do not run WebFetch or WebSearch while answering — answers come from the memex, not the web. If the memex lacks coverage, suggest saving a source; do not silently fetch.