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Get Started Free →Run condition-based vault health diagnostics. 8 categories — schema compliance, orphan detection, link health, description quality, three-space boundaries, processing throughput, stale notes, MOC coherence. 3 modes — quick (schema+orphans+links), full (all 8), three-space (boundary violations only). Returns actionable FAIL/WARN/PASS report with specific fixes ranked by impact. Triggers on "/health", "check vault health", "maintenance report", "what needs fixing".
| Test case | Without → With | Effect | Δ tokens | Δ turns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| case-04 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 354% | 0% |
| case-07 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 534% | 0% |
| case-08 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 360% | 0% |
| case-14 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 345% | 0% |
| case-09 | ✗→✓ | ▲ Improved | 755% | 0% |
Read these files to configure domain-specific behavior:
ops/derivation-manifest.md — vocabulary mapping, folder names, platform hintsvocabulary.notes for the notes folder namevocabulary.inbox for the inbox folder namevocabulary.note for the note type name in outputvocabulary.topic_map for MOC/topic map referencesvocabulary.topic_maps for plural formops/config.yaml — processing depth, thresholds${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/three-spaces.md for boundary rules (load only for full and three-space modes)If these files don't exist (pre-init invocation or standalone use), use universal defaults:
notes/inbox/Target: $ARGUMENTS
Parse the invocation mode immediately:
| Input | Mode | Categories Run | |-------|------|---------------| | empty or quick | Quick | 1 (Schema), 2 (Orphans), 3 (Links) | | full | Full | All 8 categories | | three-space | Three-Space | 5 (Three-Space Boundaries) only |
Execute these steps:
ops/health/YYYY-MM-DD-report.mdSTART NOW. Reference below explains each diagnostic category in detail.
Checks adapt to what the platform supports:
Report what CAN be checked, not what the platform lacks.
What it checks: Every {vocabulary.note} in {vocabulary.notes}/ and self/memory/ (if self/ is enabled) has valid YAML frontmatter with required fields.
How to check:
bash# Find all note files (exclude topic maps) for f in {vocabulary.notes}/*.md; do [[ -f "$f" ]] || continue # Check: YAML frontmatter exists head -1 "$f" | grep -q '^---$' || echo "FAIL: $f — no YAML frontmatter" # Check: description field present rg -q '^description:' "$f" || echo "WARN: $f — missing description field" # Check: topics field present and links to at least one topic map rg -q '^topics:' "$f" || echo "WARN: $f — missing topics field" done
Additional checks:
_schema blocks if templates exist)description field is non-empty (not just present)topics field contains at least one wiki linkIf validate-kernel.sh exists in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/, run it and include results.
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Any note missing YAML frontmatter | FAIL | | Any note missing description field | WARN | | Any note missing topics field | WARN | | Any invalid enum value | WARN | | All notes pass all checks | PASS |
Output format:
[1] Schema Compliance ............ WARN
2 notes missing description:
- notes/example-note.md
- notes/another-note.md
1 note missing topics:
- notes/orphaned-claim.md
12/15 notes fully compliantWhat it checks: Every {vocabulary.note} has at least one incoming wiki link from another file.
How to check:
bash# For each note file, check if ANY other file links to it for f in {vocabulary.notes}/*.md; do [[ -f "$f" ]] || continue basename=$(basename "$f" .md) # Search for [[basename]] in all other files count=$(rg -l "\[\[$basename\]\]" --glob '*.md' | grep -v "$f" | wc -l | tr -d ' ') if [[ "$count" -eq 0 ]]; then echo "WARN: $f — no incoming links (orphan)" fi done
Nuance: Orphans are not automatically failures. A note created today that hasn't been through /{vocabulary.cmd_reflect} yet is expected to be orphaned temporarily. Check file age:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Orphan note created < 24 hours ago | INFO (expected — awaiting reflect phase) | | Orphan note created 1-7 days ago | WARN | | Orphan note older than 7 days | FAIL (persistent orphan needs attention) | | No orphans detected | PASS |
Output format:
[2] Orphan Detection ............. WARN
3 orphan notes detected:
- notes/new-claim.md (created 2h ago — awaiting reflect) [INFO]
- notes/old-observation.md (created 5d ago) [WARN]
- notes/forgotten-insight.md (created 14d ago) [FAIL]
Recommendation: run /reflect on forgotten-insight.md and old-observation.mdWhat it checks: Every wiki link [[target]] in every file resolves to an existing file.
How to check:
bash# Extract all wiki links from all markdown files # For each unique link target, verify a file with that name exists rg -oN '\[\[([^\]]+)\]\]' --glob '*.md' -r '$1' | sort -u | while read target; do # Search for file matching this name found=$(find . -name "$target.md" -not -path "./.git/*" 2>/dev/null | head -1) if [[ -z "$found" ]]; then echo "FAIL: dangling link [[${target}]] — no file found" # Show which files contain this dangling link rg -l "\[\[$target\]\]" --glob '*.md' fi done
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Any dangling link (target does not exist) | FAIL | | All links resolve | PASS |
Why FAIL not WARN: Dangling links are broken promises. Every [[link]] a reader follows that leads nowhere erodes trust in the graph. Fix these immediately.
Output format:
[3] Link Health .................. FAIL
2 dangling links found:
- [[nonexistent-note]] referenced in:
- notes/some-claim.md (line 14)
- notes/another-claim.md (line 8)
- [[removed-topic]] referenced in:
- notes/old-note.md (line 22)
Recommendation: create missing notes or remove broken linksWhat it checks: Every {vocabulary.note}'s description adds genuine information beyond the title — not just a restatement.
How to check:
For each {vocabulary.note}:
description field from YAML frontmatterQuality heuristics:
| Check | Threshold | |-------|-----------| | Description length | 50-200 chars ideal. < 30 chars = too terse. > 250 chars = too verbose | | Restatement detection | If description uses >70% of the same words as the title = restatement | | Information added | Description should mention mechanism, scope, or implication not in title |
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Description is a clear restatement of the title | WARN | | Description is < 30 characters | WARN | | Description is missing entirely | WARN (also caught by Category 1) | | Description adds genuine new information | PASS |
This check requires judgment. Use semantic understanding, not just string matching. A description that uses different words but says the same thing as the title is still a restatement.
Output format:
[4] Description Quality .......... WARN
2 descriptions are restatements:
- notes/quality-matters.md
Title: "quality matters more than quantity"
Description: "quality is more important than quantity in knowledge work"
Issue: restates title without adding mechanism or implication
- notes/structure-helps.md
Title: "structure without processing provides no value"
Description: "having structure without processing it is not valuable"
Issue: exact restatement
Recommendation: rewrite descriptions to add scope, mechanism, or implicationWhat it checks: Content respects the boundaries between self/, {vocabulary.notes}/, and ops/. Each space has a purpose — conflating them degrades search quality, navigation, and trust.
Before running this check: Read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/three-spaces.md for the full boundary specification.
Six conflation patterns to detect:
Queue state, health metrics, task files, or processing artifacts appearing in {vocabulary.notes}/ directory.
Detection:
bash# Check for ops-pattern YAML fields in notes rg '^(current_phase|completed_phases|batch|source_task|queue_id):' {vocabulary.notes}/ --glob '*.md' # Check for task file patterns in notes rg '## (Create|Reflect|Reweave|Verify|Enrich)$' {vocabulary.notes}/ --glob '*.md'
| Found | Level | |-------|-------| | Any ops-pattern content in {vocabulary.notes}/ | WARN |
Agent identity or methodology content mixed into user's knowledge graph. Agent's operational observations appearing in user's {vocabulary.notes}/ space.
Detection:
bash# Check for agent-reflection patterns in notes (methodology observations, workflow assessments) rg -i '(my methodology|I observed that|agent reflection|session learning|I learned)' {vocabulary.notes}/ --glob '*.md'
| Found | Level | |-------|-------| | Any agent-reflection content in {vocabulary.notes}/ | WARN |
Genuine insights trapped in session logs, observations, or ops files that should be promoted to {vocabulary.notes}/.
Detection:
bash# Check for claim-like content in ops that could be notes # Look for files with description fields in ops/observations/ or ops/methodology/ rg '^description:' ops/observations/*.md ops/methodology/*.md 2>/dev/null
| Found | Level | |-------|-------| | Content in ops/ with note-like schema (description + topics) | INFO (may be intentional, flag for review) |
Temporal state stored in self/ (should be in ops/), or identity content stored in ops/ (should be in self/).
Detection:
bash# Check for temporal/queue content in self/ rg '^(current_phase|status|queue):' self/ --glob '*.md' 2>/dev/null # Check for identity content in ops/ rg -i '(my identity|I am|who I am|my personality)' ops/ --glob '*.md' 2>/dev/null
Domain knowledge stored in self/ instead of {vocabulary.notes}/.
Detection:
bash# Check self/memory/ for notes that have topics linking to notes-space topic maps rg '^topics:.*\[\[' self/memory/*.md 2>/dev/null | grep -v 'identity\|methodology\|goals\|relationships'
When self/ is disabled, verify ops/ absorbs self-space content correctly. Check that goals and handoffs are in ops/, not floating in {vocabulary.notes}/.
Detection:
bash# If self/ doesn't exist, check that goals/handoffs are in ops/ if [[ ! -d "self/" ]]; then # Check for goals or handoff content in notes/ rg -i '(my goals|current goals|handoff|session handoff)' {vocabulary.notes}/ --glob '*.md' fi
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Any boundary violation (5a, 5b, 5d, 5e) | WARN | | Trapped knowledge in ops (5c) | INFO | | Self-absence effects (5f) | WARN | | All boundaries intact | PASS |
Output format:
[5] Three-Space Boundaries ....... WARN
1 boundary violation detected:
Ops into Notes (infrastructure creep):
- notes/task-tracking.md contains queue state fields (current_phase, batch)
- Should be in ops/queue/ not notes/
1 potential trapped knowledge:
- ops/observations/interesting-pattern.md has note-like schema
Consider promoting to notes/ via /reduce or direct creation
Recommendation: move task-tracking.md to ops/queue/What it checks: The inbox-to-knowledge ratio. High ratios indicate collector's fallacy — capturing more than processing.
How to check:
bash# Count items in each space INBOX_COUNT=$(find {vocabulary.inbox}/ -name '*.md' -not -path '*/archive/*' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') NOTES_COUNT=$(find {vocabulary.notes}/ -name '*.md' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') QUEUE_COUNT=$(find ops/queue/ -name '*.md' -not -path '*/archive/*' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') # Calculate ratio if [[ $((INBOX_COUNT + NOTES_COUNT)) -gt 0 ]]; then RATIO=$((INBOX_COUNT * 100 / (INBOX_COUNT + NOTES_COUNT))) else RATIO=0 fi echo "Inbox: $INBOX_COUNT | Notes: $NOTES_COUNT | In-progress: $QUEUE_COUNT | Ratio: ${RATIO}%"
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Inbox-to-total ratio > 75% (3:1 inbox to notes) | FAIL | | Inbox-to-total ratio > 50% | WARN | | Inbox items > 20 | WARN (regardless of ratio) | | Inbox-to-total ratio <= 50% AND inbox <= 20 | PASS |
Output format:
[6] Processing Throughput ........ WARN
inbox: 12 | notes: 8 | in-progress: 3 | ratio: 60%
Inbox items outnumber processed notes — collector's fallacy risk
Recommendation: run /reduce on oldest inbox items or /pipeline for end-to-end processingWhat it checks: Notes not modified recently AND with low link density. Staleness is condition-based (low link density + no activity since N new notes were added), not purely calendar-based.
How to check:
For each {vocabulary.note}:
stat or git log)bashfor f in {vocabulary.notes}/*.md; do [[ -f "$f" ]] || continue basename=$(basename "$f" .md) # Last modified (days ago) mod_days=$(( ($(date +%s) - $(stat -f %m "$f" 2>/dev/null || stat -c %Y "$f" 2>/dev/null)) / 86400 )) # Incoming link count incoming=$(rg -l "\[\[$basename\]\]" --glob '*.md' | grep -v "$f" | wc -l | tr -d ' ') if [[ $mod_days -gt 30 ]] && [[ $incoming -lt 2 ]]; then echo "STALE: $f — $mod_days days old, $incoming incoming links" fi done
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | Any note > 30 days old with < 2 incoming links | WARN | | Any note > 90 days old with 0 incoming links | FAIL | | All notes either recent or well-connected | PASS |
Prioritization: Sort stale notes by:
Output format:
[7] Stale Notes .................. WARN
4 stale notes detected (>30d old, <2 incoming links):
- notes/old-observation.md (92d, 0 links) [FAIL — consider archiving or reweaving]
- notes/early-claim.md (45d, 1 link) [WARN]
- notes/setupial-thought.md (38d, 1 link) [WARN]
- notes/first-draft.md (31d, 0 links) [WARN]
Recommendation: run /reweave on these notes to find connections, or archive if no longer relevantWhat it checks: Each {vocabulary.topic_map} has a healthy number of linked notes, and notes in the same topic area are actually linked.
How to check:
For each {vocabulary.topic_map} file:
topics footer/field)bash# For each topic map for moc in {vocabulary.notes}/*.md; do [[ -f "$moc" ]] || continue # Check if this is a topic map (has type: moc in frontmatter) rg -q '^type: moc' "$moc" || continue moc_name=$(basename "$moc" .md) # Count notes linking to this topic map note_count=$(rg -l "\[\[$moc_name\]\]" {vocabulary.notes}/ --glob '*.md' | grep -v "$moc" | wc -l | tr -d ' ') echo "$moc_name: $note_count notes" done
Thresholds:
| Condition | Level | |-----------|-------| | {vocabulary.topic_map} with < 5 notes | WARN (underdeveloped — consider merging into parent) | | {vocabulary.topic_map} with > 50 notes | WARN (oversized — consider splitting into sub-{vocabulary.topic_maps}) | | {vocabulary.topic_map} with > 40 notes | INFO (approaching threshold) | | Notes exist in topic area but not linked to {vocabulary.topic_map} | WARN (coverage gap) | | All {vocabulary.topic_maps} in 5-50 range with good coverage | PASS |
Context phrase check:
bash# Check for bare links in topic map Core Ideas (links without context phrases) for moc in {vocabulary.notes}/*.md; do rg -q '^type: moc' "$moc" || continue # Look for "- [[note]]" without " — " context rg '^\s*- \[\[' "$moc" | grep -v ' — ' | grep -v '^\s*- \[\[.*\]\].*—' done
Bare links without context phrases are address book entries, not navigation. Every link in a {vocabulary.topic_map} should explain WHY to follow it.
Output format:
[8] MOC Coherence ................ WARN
3 topic maps checked:
- knowledge-work: 28 notes [PASS]
- graph-structure: 52 notes [WARN — oversized, consider splitting]
3 bare links without context phrases
- agent-cognition: 3 notes [WARN — underdeveloped, consider merging]
Recommendation: split graph-structure into sub-topic-maps; add context phrases to bare linksAfter running all applicable diagnostic categories, check these condition-based triggers. These are NOT the 8 categories above — they are cross-cutting signals that suggest specific skill invocations.
| Condition | Threshold | Recommendation | |-----------|-----------|---------------| | Pending observations | >= 10 files in ops/observations/ | Consider running /rethink | | Open tensions | >= 5 files in ops/tensions/ | Consider running /rethink | | Inbox items | >= 3 items | Consider /reduce or /pipeline | | Unprocessed sessions | >= 5 files in ops/sessions/ | Consider /remember --mine-sessions | | Orphan notes | Any persistent (> 7d) | Run /reflect on orphaned notes | | Dangling links | Any | Fix broken references immediately | | Stale notes | Low links + old | Consider /reweave | | {vocabulary.topic_map} oversized | > 40 notes | Consider splitting | | Queue stalled | Tasks pending > 2 sessions without progress | Surface as blocked | | Trigger coverage gap | Known maintenance condition has no configured trigger | Flag gap itself |
How to check condition counts:
bash# Pending observations OBS_COUNT=$(find ops/observations/ -name '*.md' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') # Open tensions TENSION_COUNT=$(find ops/tensions/ -name '*.md' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') # Inbox items INBOX_COUNT=$(find {vocabulary.inbox}/ -name '*.md' -not -path '*/archive/*' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') # Unprocessed sessions SESSION_COUNT=$(find ops/sessions/ -name '*.md' 2>/dev/null | wc -l | tr -d ' ') # Queue stalled PENDING_TASKS=$(jq '[.tasks[] | select(.status=="pending")] | length' ops/queue/queue.json 2>/dev/null || echo 0)
The meta-trigger: Include a "trigger coverage" check. Compare known maintenance conditions against what is actually being checked. If a maintenance condition has no corresponding check or trigger configured, that gap itself is a finding. This prevents the failure mode where maintenance debt accumulates undetected.
The complete health report follows this structure. Every report, regardless of mode, uses this format.
=== HEALTH REPORT ===
Mode: [quick | full | three-space]
Date: YYYY-MM-DD
Notes scanned: N | Topic maps: N | Inbox items: N
Summary: N FAIL, N WARN, N PASS
FAIL:
- [Category N]: [brief description of failure]
[specific files and details]
WARN:
- [Category N]: [brief description of warning]
[specific files and details]
PASS:
- [Category N]: [confirmation]
---
[1] Schema Compliance ............ PASS | WARN | FAIL
[details — specific files, specific issues]
[2] Orphan Detection ............. PASS | WARN | FAIL
[details — specific files, age, link count]
[3] Link Health .................. PASS | WARN | FAIL
[details — specific dangling links, where referenced]
[4] Description Quality .......... PASS | WARN | FAIL (full mode only)
[details — specific files, title vs description comparison]
[5] Three-Space Boundaries ....... PASS | WARN | FAIL (full/three-space mode)
[details — specific boundary violations by type]
[6] Processing Throughput ........ PASS | WARN | FAIL (full mode only)
inbox: N | notes: N | in-progress: N | ratio: N%
[7] Stale Notes .................. PASS | WARN | FAIL (full mode only)
[N notes older than 30d with <2 incoming links, sorted by priority]
[8] MOC Coherence ................ PASS | WARN | FAIL (full mode only)
[details — note count per topic map, coverage gaps, bare links]
---
Maintenance Signals:
[condition-based triggers from table above, if any thresholds met]
- observations: N pending (threshold: 10) [TRIGGERED | OK]
- tensions: N pending (threshold: 5) [TRIGGERED | OK]
- inbox: N items (threshold: 3) [TRIGGERED | OK]
- sessions: N unprocessed (threshold: 5) [TRIGGERED | OK]
---
Recommended Actions (top 3, ranked by impact):
1. [Most impactful action — specific command + specific file]
2. [Second priority — specific command + specific file]
3. [Third priority — specific command + specific file]
=== END REPORT ===Write every health report to ops/health/YYYY-MM-DD-report.md. If multiple reports are run on the same day, append a counter: YYYY-MM-DD-report-2.md.
This creates a health history that /architect can reference when proposing evolution. Trends across reports reveal systemic patterns that individual reports miss.
Every finding MUST name the specific file(s) involved.
Bad: "some notes lack descriptions" Good: "notes/example-note.md and notes/another-note.md are missing the description field"
Bad: "there are dangling links" Good: "nonexistent-claim]] is referenced in notes/old-note.md (line 14) and notes/related.md (line 22) but no file with that name exists"
Not all issues are equal. The recommended actions section ranks by impact:
| Impact Tier | Examples | Why | |------------|---------|-----| | Highest | Dangling links, persistent orphans | Broken promises in the graph — readers hit dead ends | | High | Schema violations, boundary violations | Structural integrity — compounds into larger problems | | Medium | Description quality, stale notes | Retrieval quality — degraded but not broken | | Low | {vocabulary.topic_map} size warnings, throughput ratio | Maintenance debt — matters at scale |
| Level | Meaning | Action Required | |-------|---------|----------------| | FAIL | Structural issue — something is broken | Fix before it compounds | | WARN | Improvement opportunity — something is suboptimal | Address when convenient | | PASS | Category is healthy | No action needed | | INFO | Noteworthy but not actionable | Context for understanding |
FAIL is reserved for: Dangling links (broken graph), persistent orphans (> 7 days), severe schema violations (missing frontmatter entirely), critical boundary violations.
WARN is for everything else that is suboptimal but not broken.
Runs categories 1-3 only: Schema, Orphans, Links.
Use when:
Runtime: Should complete in < 30 seconds for vaults up to 200 notes.
Runs all 8 categories plus maintenance signals.
Use when:
Runtime: May take 1-3 minutes for larger vaults due to description quality analysis and {vocabulary.topic_map} coherence checks.
Runs category 5 only: boundary violation checks.
Use when:
Runtime: Should complete in < 30 seconds.
A vault with 0 notes is not unhealthy — it is new. Report:
Notes scanned: 0 | Topic maps: 0 | Inbox items: N
All categories PASS (no notes to check)
Maintenance Signal: inbox has N items — consider /reduce to start building knowledgeWhen self/ does not exist:
When qmd/MCP tools are unavailable:
Health report findings feed into other skills:
| Finding | Feeds Into | How | |---------|-----------|-----| | Orphan notes | /reflect | Run reflect to find connections for orphaned notes | | Stale notes | /reweave | Run reweave to update old notes with new connections | | Description quality issues | /verify or manual rewrite | Fix descriptions to improve retrieval | | Schema violations | /validate | Run validation to fix specific schema issues | | Boundary violations | Manual restructuring | Move files to correct space | | Processing throughput | /reduce or /pipeline | Process inbox items to improve ratio | | {vocabulary.topic_map} oversized | Manual split or /architect | Split oversized {vocabulary.topic_maps} into sub-{vocabulary.topic_maps} | | Accumulated observations | /rethink | Review and triage observations | | Accumulated tensions | /rethink | Resolve or dissolve tensions |
The health-to-action loop:
/health (diagnose) -> specific findings -> specific skill invocation -> /health (verify fix)Health is diagnostic only — it measures state without prescribing changes. /architect reads health reports and proposes changes with research backing. The separation matters: health tells you WHAT is wrong, architect tells you WHY and HOW to fix it.
Other measured skills in the registry, with their headline benchmark lift.