Ariadne:navigation

Ariadne Navigation

Use this skill when changing the durable structure of a Markdown knowledge vault.

Core Principle

Optimize for reliable human and agent traversal, not for a beautiful graph view.

Markdown notes remain the source of truth. Bases, canvases, dashboards, and reports are view layers over the vault.

Start

1. Read root instructions and every applicable ancestor scope instruction through the target.
2. Read relevant indexes, agent navigation, navigation standards, routing matrices, and knowledge-processing architecture.
3. In a multi-scope vault, require a current-turn named or confirmed target before writing.
4. State an explicit allowed_write_set. Name every parent hub, routing matrix, root Base formula, or cross-scope file separately; minimal wiring is not implicit authorization.

Navigation Layers

Maintain these layers when useful:

1. Global entry: 00 Index.md and agent instructions.
2. Agent entry: Agent/00 Agent Navigation.md.
3. Folder hubs: 00 ... Index.md notes inside durable folders.
4. Thread hubs: synthesis or debate notes for recurring arguments.
5. View layer: Bases/00 Bases Index.md, .base files, canvases, dashboards.
6. Note-level links: meaningful links to sources, concepts, entities, relationships, questions, and decisions.

Workstream Graph Protocol

Do not pre-create graph categories because they might be useful later.

Create or promote a workstream graph only when a recurring use case needs its own traversal path. Examples can include evidence trails, customer discovery, engineering decisions, GTM experiments, fundraising, life systems, or any other durable domain.

When promoting a workstream:

1. Choose or create the folder.
2. Create a 00 ... Index.md hub.
3. Add a routing row to Agent/Task Routing Matrix.md.
4. Link from Agent/00 Agent Navigation.md if it becomes a primary route.
5. Add templates only if the structure repeats.
6. Add a Base only if metadata inspection helps.
7. Link the Base from Bases/00 Bases Index.md.
8. Update 00 Index.md only if strategically important.
9. Add health-check coverage if the workstream creates recurring maintenance.

Recursive Scope Protocol

A navigation scope can exist at any depth: the vault root, a top-level workstream, a child workflow, or a deep child project. Promote a child scope only when a recurring durable route needs local traversal; otherwise keep it as a normal folder under the parent scope.

Topology ownership is strict: sync_scope_topology.js owns descriptors, generated files, generated blocks, the scope map and Bases/Scope Registry.base, routing checkpoints, redirects, and parent/child topology. Use ariadne:scope for any lifecycle or topology change. Non-registry root Base formulas are report-only: they remain user-authored and may be updated outside generated blocks only through a separately confirmed explicit allowed_write_set.

Navigation may edit only user extension areas outside generated blocks: prose around marker-managed checkpoints, user-authored hub sections, semantic links, and other explicitly confirmed content. Never edit inside generated blocks or reproduce generated wiring elsewhere.

When improving a child scope's user-authored navigation:

1. Identify the parent scope and its hub.
2. Create or update the child hub, usually 00 ... Index.md.
3. Preserve engine-owned parent/child links and routing checkpoints.
4. Add only semantic user-authored links outside generated regions.
5. Add a local AGENTS.md only for local deltas.
6. Add local templates or local Bases only when the repeated workflow justifies them.
7. Add health checks for hub links, scope queues, raw-source compilation, and Base coverage.

Warn when you see:

• child AGENTS.md files repeating parent or root policy instead of local deltas
• child local Bases without scope filters
• parent hub missing child link
• child hub missing parent link
• ambiguous cross-scope wikilinks that should point through the nearest useful hub, relationship note, or synthesis

Bloat And Drift

When navigating or restructuring a vault, proactively call out:

• 00 Index.md acting like a complete table of contents instead of a strategic map
• Agent/00 Agent Navigation.md carrying detailed note lists instead of routes
• folders with many durable notes but no 00 ... Index.md
• hubs that are too long to scan and need sub-hubs or a Base
• recurring workstreams missing from the task-routing matrix
• Bases not linked from Bases/00 Bases Index.md
• raw/inbox/output/question buildup without a compilation route
• repeated need for user guidance because global instructions are too generic for a folder

If the current task is structural, fix the issue directly when safe. Otherwise, tell the user briefly and propose a focused maintenance pass.

If a proposed fix changes scope topology, do not fix it directly: route it through sync_scope_topology.js via ariadne:scope.

Folder Index Rules

Use:

Top-level index = one per durable workstream
Nested index = only when a subfolder becomes a recurring workflow
Thread hub = when a topic becomes an ongoing argument or synthesis
Base = when dynamic filtering or status inspection helps

Local AGENTS.md Pattern

When a specialized folder needs local rules, add or propose a folder-level AGENTS.md.

Use local AGENTS.md files for:

• folder purpose and boundaries
• local note types and required frontmatter
• local workflow
• templates and Bases to update
• done criteria
• local bloat/drift signals

Do not create local AGENTS.md files just to repeat global rules. A good trigger is repeated user guidance for the same folder-specific behavior.

For AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, or GEMINI.md files in an external code repository or ordinary folder, use ariadne:workspace-instructions. This navigation skill owns vault-local hubs, routing, and folder rules; workspace instruction files own the bridge back to registered Ariadne context.

Base Layer

Base files should be linked from Bases/00 Bases Index.md with wikilinks, for example [[Bases/Decisions.base]].

Validation should resolve both Markdown notes and .base files.

Guardrails

• Avoid decorative links.
• Avoid creating wrapper notes only to make non-Markdown files appear pretty in graph view.
• Keep 00 Index.md selective.
• Link operational files through operating hubs; link semantic notes through semantic context.
• Read raw sources only when compiled notes are insufficient.

Validation

Before finishing:

• run or describe link validation
• confirm new hubs are linked from the right parent hubs
• confirm Bases are linked from Bases/00 Bases Index.md
• confirm task routing points future agents to the smallest useful context set
• confirm no existing workflow was silently replaced

Related Skills

• Use ariadne:vault for new vault bootstrap.
• Use ariadne:workspace-instructions for workspace instruction files outside the vault.
• Use ariadne:workstream-tracking for Kanban work boards and Dataview dashboards.
• Use ariadne:maintenance for health checks.
• Use ariadne:research-pipeline for domain research pipeline setup.
• Use ariadne:research-ingest, ariadne:knowledge-capture, and ariadne:research-synthesis for content flow. Research topology inside a confirmed boundary belongs to ariadne:research-pipeline; durable cross-scope navigation remains here.