# Ask > Use when the user asks a question to be answered from the project's memex (long-term knowledge bank for AI agents) rather than training data or the live web. Reads the index, opens relevant pages, follows one SALP-REF hop, synthesises a cited answer, files it back. Do NOT trigger on source-code or live-session questions. - Skill: `korchasa/ask` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 20 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add korchasa/ask` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/korchasa/ask/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: korchasa (https://skillmd.com/u/korchasa) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/korchasa/ask --- # Memex Ask Answer a question using only what the memex contains. Cite via SALP references (`[REF:mx-:]`). 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 `). The argument is the natural-language question. ## Memex Resolution Resolve the active memex root in this order — first match wins: 1. `--memex ` 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 in this directory to scaffold one, or pass --memex .` After resolution, read `/AGENTS.md` for conventions. Cross-references use SALP — `[REF:mx-:]` for bare references or `[REF:mx-: | ]` 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 `/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 `/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-:]` 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 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-: | 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 `/pages/answers/.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: ```yaml --- date: YYYY-MM-DD type: answer question: "" status: filed tags: [] --- ``` 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: `# [ANC:mx-answer:]`. 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/.md? (y/n)` - If yes: move the file from `/pages/answers/` to `/pages/`, change frontmatter `type` from `answer` to `concept`, set `status: promoted`, change the page's own anchor namespace from `[ANC:mx-answer:]` to `[ANC:mx-concept:]`, 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 | Answered with N citations across M pages. Filed to answers/.md. ``` If the user promoted, append a second entry: ``` ## [YYYY-MM-DD] promote | Promoted answer to pages/.md. ``` ### 8. Report to user Print: - The answer (already shown in chat by step 4 — repeat the path, not the body). - `Filed to /pages/answers/.md`. - `Promoted to pages/.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 . To fill this gap, run save with sources on .` - 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/.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.