LLM Wiki

A reusable pattern for a personal knowledge base maintained by Claude, based on Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern. The subject of the wiki is defined entirely by that specific project's CLAUDE.md -- this skill only covers the mechanics that stay the same across every topic.

Before doing anything, read the project's CLAUDE.md to learn the wiki's actual purpose/topic. Everything below is topic-agnostic; substitute the real subject matter wherever this doc says "the topic" or gives a generic example.

Project location

All paths below are relative to the project root (the directory containing CLAUDE.md, raw/, and wiki/):

raw/          -- source documents (immutable -- never modify these)
wiki/         -- markdown pages maintained by Claude
wiki/index.md -- table of contents for the entire wiki
wiki/log.md   -- append-only record of all operations

If the current working directory isn't the project root, locate it first (look for the directory that contains raw/, wiki/index.md, and CLAUDE.md).

Naming conventions

• Wiki pages: lowercase-hyphen filenames, e.g. some-concept.md, some-entity.md -- named after whatever the topic's key ideas/entities are
• Folders matter here: unlike a flat vault, sources live in raw/ and are never touched; everything Claude writes lives in wiki/
• No per-topic "Index" notes -- wiki/index.md is the single table of contents for the whole wiki, not one index per subtopic
• The in-file # Page Title heading can be human-readable (e.g. # Some Concept), but the filename itself stays lowercase-hyphen

Page format

Every page in wiki/ must follow this template exactly, no matter the topic:

# Page Title

**Summary**: One to two sentences describing this page.
**Sources**: List of raw source files this page draws from.
**Last updated**: Date of most recent update.

---

Main content goes here. Use clear headings and short paragraphs.
Link to related concepts using [[wiki-links]] throughout the text.

## Related pages

- [[related-concept-1]]
- [[related-concept-2]]

Linking

• Use Obsidian [[wikilinks]] syntax, referencing the target page's lowercase-hyphen filename without .md: [[some-concept]]
• Link related concepts inline in the body where it's natural, and repeat them under ## Related pages at the bottom
• wiki/index.md is the hub: a table of contents listing every page in wiki/ with a one-line description

Citation rules

• Every factual claim needs a source reference in the form (source: filename.ext)
• If two sources disagree, note the contradiction explicitly rather than silently picking one
• If a claim has no source, mark it clearly, e.g. [needs verification]

Workflows

Ingest a new source

When the user adds a file to raw/ and asks you to ingest it:

1. Read the full source document
2. Discuss key takeaways with the user before writing anything
3. Create a summary page in wiki/ named after the source (lowercase-hyphen filename)
4. Create or update concept pages for each major idea or entity the source touches on
5. Add [[wiki-links]] connecting related pages
6. Update wiki/index.md with the new/changed pages and a one-line description each
7. Append an entry to wiki/log.md: date, source name, and what changed

A single source touching 10-15 wiki pages is normal -- don't hesitate to fan out across many pages.

Answer a question

1. Read wiki/index.md first to find relevant pages
2. Read those pages and synthesize an answer
3. Cite the specific wiki pages used in the response
4. If the answer isn't in the wiki, say so clearly rather than guessing
5. If the answer is valuable and not already captured, offer to file it back into the wiki as a new or updated page

Search for notes

# Search by filename
find wiki/ raw/ -name "*.md" -o -name "*.pdf" | grep -i "keyword"
# Search by content (wiki pages only, raw/ is source material not for editing)
grep -rl "keyword" wiki/ --include="*.md"

Or use the Grep/Glob tools directly on wiki/ and raw/.

Create or update a wiki page

1. Use lowercase-hyphen for the filename
2. Follow the page format above exactly: header (Summary / Sources / Last updated), then content, then ## Related pages
3. Cite every factual claim per the citation rules above
4. Add [[wikilinks]] to related pages
5. Update wiki/index.md and append an entry to wiki/log.md

Find related notes / backlinks

grep -rl "\[\[page-name\]\]" wiki/

Lint the wiki

When asked to lint or audit the wiki, check for:

1. Contradictions between pages
2. Orphan pages -- no inbound [[links]] from other pages, and/or missing from wiki/index.md
3. Concepts mentioned in pages that don't have their own page yet
4. Claims that may be outdated given newer sources in raw/
5. Pages that don't follow the page format template above

Report findings as a numbered list with a suggested fix for each.

Rules

• Never modify anything in raw/
• Always update wiki/index.md and wiki/log.md after any change to wiki/
• Keep wiki page filenames lowercase-hyphen (not Title Case)
• Write in clear, plain language
• Ask the user when uncertain how to categorize a new concept
• Organize wiki/ in whatever subgrouping makes sense for the topic at hand (by entity, by theme, by category...) as long as wiki/index.md stays the authoritative table of contents
• This skill's mechanics (folder layout, page format, citation style, workflows) are fixed across projects; only the subject matter changes per-project, as defined by that project's own CLAUDE.md