Second Brain — Query

Answer questions by searching and synthesizing knowledge from the wiki.

Search Strategy

1. Start with the index

Read wiki/index.md to identify relevant pages. Scan all category sections (Sources, Entities, Concepts, Synthesis) for entries related to the question.

2. Use qmd for large wikis

If qmd is installed (check with command -v qmd), use it for search:

qmd search "query terms" --path wiki/

This is especially useful when the wiki has grown beyond ~100 pages where scanning the index becomes inefficient.

3. Read relevant pages

Read the wiki pages identified by the index or search. Follow [[wikilinks]] to pull in related context from linked pages. Read enough pages to give a thorough answer, but don't read the entire wiki.

4. Check raw sources if needed

If the wiki pages don't fully answer the question, check relevant source summaries in wiki/sources/ for additional detail. Only go to files in raw/ as a last resort.

Synthesize the Answer

Format

Match the answer format to the question:

• Factual question → direct answer with citations
• Comparison → table or structured comparison
• Exploration → narrative with linked concepts
• List/catalog → bulleted list with brief descriptions

Citations

Always cite wiki pages using [[wikilink]] syntax. Example:

According to [[Source - Article Title]], the key finding was X. This connects to the broader pattern described in [[Concept Name]], which [[Entity Name]] has also explored.

Offer to save valuable answers

If the answer produces something worth keeping — a comparison, analysis, new connection, or synthesis — offer to save it:

"This comparison might be useful to keep in your wiki. Want me to save it as a synthesis page?"

If the user agrees:

1. Create a new page in wiki/synthesis/ with proper frontmatter
2. Add an entry to wiki/index.md under Synthesis
3. Append to wiki/log.md: ## [YYYY-MM-DD] query | Question summary

Conventions

• Search the wiki first. Only go to raw sources if the wiki doesn't have the answer.
• Cite your sources. Every factual claim should link to the wiki page it came from.
• Valuable answers compound. Encourage saving good analyses back into the wiki.
• Use [[wikilinks]] for all internal references. Never use raw file paths.

Related Skills

• /second-brain-ingest — process new sources into wiki pages
• /second-brain-lint — health-check the wiki for issues