Ars Contexta A second brain for your agent. A Claude Code plugin that generates complete knowledge systems from conversation. You describe how you think and work. The engine derives a cognitive architecture -- folder structure, context files, processing pipeline, hooks, navigation maps, and note templates -- tailored to your domain and backed by 249 research claims. No templates. No configuration. Just conversation. v0.8.0 · Claude Code plugin · MIT Installation Add the marketplace to Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add agenticnotetaking/arscontexta Install the plugin: /plugin install arscontexta@agenticnotetaking Restart Claude Code, then run: /arscontexta:setup Answer 2-4 questions about your domain (~20 minutes -- token-intensive but one-time) The engine generates your complete knowledge system Restart Claude Code again to activate generated hooks and skills Run /arscontexta:help to see everything available What It Does Most AI tools start every session blank. Ars Contexta changes that by generating a persistent thinking system derived from how you actually work. What you get: A vault -- plain markdown files connected by wiki links, forming a traversable knowledge graph. No database, no cloud, no lock-in. A processing pipeline -- skills that extract insights, find connections, update old notes with new context, and verify quality. Automation -- hooks that enforce structure on every write, detect maintenance needs, capture session state, and auto-commit. Navigation -- Maps of Content (MOCs) at hub, domain, and topic levels. Templates -- note templates with _schema blocks as single source of truth. A user manual -- 7 pages of domain-native documentation generated alongside. The key differentiator: derivation, not templating. Every choice traces to specific research claims. The engine reasons from principles about what your domain needs and why. The Setup Flow /arscontexta:setup runs a 6-phase process: Phase What Happens Detection Detects Claude Code environment and capabilities Understanding 2-4 conversation turns where you describe your domain Derivation Maps signals to eight configuration dimensions with confidence scoring Proposal Shows what will be generated and why, in your vocabulary Generation Produces all files: context file, folders, templates, skills, hooks, manual Validation Checks all 15 kernel primitives, runs pipeline smoke test The whole process takes about 20 minutes. It's token-intensive because the engine reads research claims, reasons about your domain, and generates substantial output. This is a one-time investment -- after setup, your agent remembers. For advanced users: /arscontexta:setup --advanced to configure dimensions directly. Three-Space Architecture Every generated system separates content into three spaces: Space Purpose Growth self/ Agent persistent mind -- identity, methodology, goals Slow (tens of files) notes/ Knowledge graph -- the reason the system exists Steady (10-50/week) ops/ Operational coordination -- queue state, sessions Fluctuating Names adapt to your domain (notes/ might become reflections/, claims/, or decisions/), but the separation is invariant. Commands Plugin-Level (always available) Command What It Does /arscontexta:setup Conversational onboarding -- generates your full system /arscontexta:help Contextual guidance and command discovery /arscontexta:tutorial Interactive walkthrough (learn by doing) /arscontexta:ask Query the research graph for methodology answers /arscontexta:health Run diagnostic checks on your vault /arscontexta:recommend Get architecture advice for your use case /arscontexta:architect Research-backed evolution guidance /arscontexta:add-domain Add a new knowledge domain to an existing system /arscontexta:reseed Re-derive from first principles when drift accumulates /arscontexta:upgrade Apply plugin knowledge base updates to your system Generated (available after setup) Command What It Does /reduce Extract insights from sources /reflect Find connections, update MOCs /reweave Update older notes with new connections /verify Combined quality check: description + schema + health /validate Schema compliance checking /seed Create extraction task with duplicate detection /ralph Queue-based orchestration with fresh context per phase /pipeline End-to-end source processing /tasks Queue management /stats Vault metrics /graph Graph analysis /next Next-action recommendation /learn Research and grow /remember Mine session learnings /rethink Challenge system assumptions /refactor Structural improvements Processing Pipeline The vault implements the 6 Rs, extending Cornell Note-Taking's 5 Rs with a meta-cognitive layer: Phase What Happens Command Record Zero-friction capture into inbox/ Manual Reduce Extract insights with domain-native categories /reduce Reflect Find connections, update MOCs /reflect Reweave Update older notes with new context /reweave Verify Description + schema + health checks /verify Rethink Challenge system assumptions /rethink Fresh Context Per Phase Each phase runs in its own context window via subagent spawning. LLM attention degrades as context fills. By spawning a fresh subagent per phase, every phase operates in the "smart zone." /ralph 5 |-- Read queue, find next unblocked task |-- Spawn subagent (fresh context) | +-- Runs skill, updates task file, returns handoff |-- Parse handoff, capture learnings |-- Advance phase in queue +-- Repeat for 5 tasks Hooks Four hooks automate quality enforcement: Hook Event What It Does Session Orient SessionStart Injects workspace tree, loads identity, surfaces maintenance signals Write Validate PostToolUse (Write) Schema enforcement on every note write Auto Commit PostToolUse (Write, async) Git auto-commit, non-blocking Session Capture Stop Persists session state to ops/sessions/ The Research Graph The methodology/ directory contains 249 interconnected research claims about tools for thought, knowledge management, and agent-native cognitive architecture. These claims back every configuration decision. Synthesizes Zettelkasten -- Cornell Note-Taking -- Evergreen Notes -- PARA -- GTD -- Memory Palaces -- Cognitive Science (extended mind, spreading activation, generation effect) -- Network Theory (small-world topology, betweenness centrality) -- Agent Architecture (context windows, session boundaries, multi-agent patterns) How Claims Back Decisions Every kernel primitive includes cognitive_grounding linking to specific research: MOC hierarchy -- context-switching cost research (Leroy 2009) Description field -- progressive disclosure principles Wiki links -- spreading activation theory Query directly: /arscontexta:ask "Why does my system use atomic notes?" Semantic Search (optional) qmd adds concept matching across vocabularies. Not required -- the system works fully with ripgrep + MOC traversal. /setup should perform this configuration automatically when semantic search is active. The commands below are manual fallback/setup verification. # Install qmd npm install -g @tobilu/qmd # or bun install -g @tobilu/qmd cd your-vault/ qmd init qmd collection add . --name <notes_directory_name> --mask "<notes_directory_name>/**/*.md" qmd embed Create or merge .mcp.json in the vault root: { "mcpServers": { "qmd": { "command": "qmd", "args": ["mcp"], "autoapprove": [ "mcp__qmd__search", "mcp__qmd__vector_search", "mcp__qmd__deep_search", "mcp__qmd__get", "mcp__qmd__multi_get", "mcp__qmd__status" ] } } } Keep qmd MCP configuration and tool preapproval in .mcp.json. Prerequisites Dependency Required Purpose Claude Code v1.0.33+ Yes Plugin host tree Yes Workspace structure injection ripgrep (rg) Yes YAML queries, schema validation qmd Optional Semantic search Project Structure arscontexta/ |-- .claude-plugin/ | |-- plugin.json # Plugin manifest | +-- marketplace.json # Marketplace listing |-- skills/ # 10 plugin-level commands | |-- setup/ # Conversational onboarding | |-- help/ # Contextual guidance | |-- tutorial/ # Interactive walkthrough | |-- ask/ # Query the research graph | |-- health/ # Diagnostic checks | |-- recommend/ # Architecture advice | |-- architect/ # Evolution guidance | |-- reseed/ # Re-derive from first principles | |-- upgrade/ # Apply knowledge base updates | +-- add-domain/ # Multi-domain extension |-- skill-sources/ # 16 generated command templates | |-- reduce/ # Extract insights | |-- reflect/ # Find connections | |-- reweave/ # Backward pass | |-- verify/ # Combined quality check | +-- ... # 12 more processing commands |-- agents/ | +-- knowledge-guide.md # Pipeline subagent |-- hooks/ | |-- hooks.json # Hook configuration | +-- scripts/ # Hook implementations |-- generators/ | |-- claude-md.md # CLAUDE.md template | +-- features/ # 17 composable feature blocks |-- methodology/ # 249 research claims |-- reference/ # Core reference documents | |-- kernel.yaml # 15 kernel primitives | |-- three-spaces.md # Architecture spec | +-- use-case-presets.md # Pre-validated configs |-- platforms/ # Platform-specific adapters | |-- claude-code/ | +-- shared/ |-- presets/ # Pre-validated configurations |-- scripts/ # Utility scripts +-- README.md Development Clone this repo and add the marketplace to Claude Code: /plugin marketplace add ~/path-to-arscontexta Install the plugin: /plugin install arscontexta@agenticnotetaking Every time you make changes, re-install the plugin: /plugin uninstall arscontexta@agenticnotetaking /plugin install arscontexta@agenticnotetaking Key Files for Contributors reference/kernel.yaml -- 15 primitives every system must include generators/features/*.md -- composable feature blocks skill-sources/*/SKILL.md -- generated command templates skills/setup/SKILL.md -- the derivation engine reference/use-case-presets.md -- preset definitions Presets Three pre-validated configurations for common use cases: Preset For What You Get Research Academic work, literature reviews, synthesis Atomic claims, citation tracking, methodology MOCs Personal Life management, journaling, relationships Reflective notes, goal tracking, relationship MOCs Experimental Testing, iteration, rapid prototyping Lightweight structure, fast capture, minimal ceremony Presets provide starting defaults. The derivation engine adapts from there based on your conversation. Roadmap Feature Status Claude Code plugin Available Marketplace listing Available Multi-agent processing In progress Philosophy The name connects to a tradition. Ars Combinatoria, Ars Memoria, Ars Contexta: the art of context.


