# Merge Projects > Identify overlapping projects and merge them into consolidated notes - Skill: `majiayu000/merge-projects` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 2 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds add majiayu000/merge-projects` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/majiayu000/merge-projects/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: majiayu000 (https://skillmd.com/u/majiayu000) - Updated: 2026-09-09 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/majiayu000/merge-projects --- ## 🔀 Merge Projects Skill Detect overlapping or closely related projects and merge them into a single consolidated project note. --- ## CRITICAL RULES - **Never merge automatically** — always present candidates and get user approval - **Never delete source projects** until merged project is verified - Merged project inherits the **highest status** of its sources (seed < idea < active < writing < finished) - All paper links from source projects **must be preserved** in merged project - All MOC links from source projects **must be preserved** in merged project - Bidirectional links must be updated: papers that linked to old projects must link to merged project - Vault index must be updated after merge --- ## WORKFLOW ### 1. Choose mode Ask user: - **Scan for candidates?** (analyze all projects for overlap) - **Merge specific projects?** (user names 2-3 projects to merge) --- ### 2a. Scan mode — Identify merge candidates **Read vault index** to get all projects and their descriptions. **For each project pair, assess overlap signals:** - Similar research questions or hypotheses - Shared relevant papers (≥2 papers in common) - Overlapping MOC links - Complementary seed ideas (one project's approach is another's variant) - Same phenomenon studied from slightly different angles **Score overlap:** - 🔴 High overlap (likely should merge): same core question, ≥3 shared papers, nearly identical hypotheses - 🟡 Moderate overlap (consider merging): related questions, 2 shared papers, one could be a variant of the other - 🟢 Low overlap (keep separate): distinct questions, ≤1 shared paper, different mechanisms **Present candidates grouped by overlap score.** For each candidate pair/group: - List the projects - Explain WHY they overlap (shared papers, similar questions, etc.) - Suggest which project should be the "primary" (the more developed one) - Suggest a merged title if current titles are too narrow **Get user approval** before proceeding to merge. --- ### 2b. Direct merge mode — User specifies projects - Read all specified project files in full - Confirm overlap is real - Ask user which should be primary (or suggest based on development level) - Proceed to merge --- ### 3. Execute merge **Create merged project:** - Use the primary project as base - Integrate content from secondary project(s) section by section: | Section | Merge strategy | |---|---| | Current Focus | Keep primary's; note secondary's angle if distinct | | Seed Idea | Combine triggers from all sources | | Current Working Idea | Synthesize into broader framing | | Research Question | Merge into unified question; keep sub-questions if distinct | | Hypothesis / Claim | Keep primary; add secondary as alternative hypothesis if different | | Context & Motivation | Union of all motivations | | Possible Approaches | Union of all approaches (deduplicate) | | Research Ideas & Variants | Secondary project's main direction becomes a variant | | Related Work | Union (deduplicate) | | Relationship to Prior Work | Union (deduplicate) | | Possible Experiments | Union (deduplicate) | | Open Questions & Risks | Union (deduplicate) | | Next Actions | Union; remove completed/redundant | | Relevant Papers | Union of ALL paper links (no paper lost) | **Decide on merged title:** - If primary title is broad enough → keep it - If both titles are narrow → create new title capturing combined scope - Title must be concise and descriptive **Set merged status:** - Use highest status among source projects - If any source is `active` or higher → merged project inherits that status --- ### 4. Update all references **Papers linking to absorbed projects:** - Find all papers in `Reading/` that link to secondary (absorbed) project(s) - Replace `[[Old Project Name]]` with `[[Merged Project Name]]` in their "Linked Research Projects" section **MOCs containing absorbed projects:** - Find MOCs listing secondary project(s) - Replace with merged project link (avoid duplicates if primary already listed) **Projects referencing absorbed projects:** - Check if any other projects reference the absorbed ones in Related Work - Update those references --- ### 5. Remove absorbed projects **Only after verification:** - Confirm merged project file exists and is complete - Confirm all paper links updated - Confirm all MOC links updated - Confirm no remaining references to old project names **Then delete** secondary (absorbed) project files. --- ### 6. Update vault index - Run update_vault_index logic or notify user to run `/update_vault_index` --- ## TOKEN EFFICIENCY **Optimizations:** - In scan mode: read only vault index + project frontmatter + Relevant Papers sections first - Only read full project files for confirmed merge candidates - Use grep to find references to absorbed project names across vault - Batch reference updates per file **Avoid:** - Reading all project files in full during scan phase - Reading paper files unless needed for reference updates - Multiple passes over same files --- ## OUTPUT RULES - Scan results: table of candidate pairs with overlap score + rationale - Merge summary: before/after comparison (projects consolidated, papers preserved, links updated) - Bullets only, no prose - Confirm paper count preserved: "X papers linked before → X papers linked after" --- ## SELF-CHECK ✅ Did I get user approval before merging? ✅ Are ALL paper links from source projects preserved in merged project? ✅ Are ALL MOC links preserved? ✅ Did I update paper notes that linked to absorbed projects? ✅ Did I update MOCs that listed absorbed projects? ✅ Did I check for references to absorbed projects in other project files? ✅ Is the merged project status correct (highest of sources)? ✅ Did I delete absorbed project files only after full verification? ✅ Is the vault index updated or user notified to update? ✅ No orphan references remain to deleted project names?