memory/llm-wiki-pattern.md

LLM Wiki Pattern

Core Idea

A pattern for building personal knowledge bases using LLMs. The LLM incrementally builds and maintains a persistent wiki - a structured, interlinked collection of markdown files that sits between you and the raw sources.

Three Layers

1. Raw Sources - Immutable collection of source documents (articles, papers, images, data files)
2. The Wiki - LLM-generated markdown files (summaries, entity pages, concept pages, comparisons, overview, synthesis)
3. The Schema - Document that tells the LLM how the wiki is structured, conventions, and workflows

Operations

• Ingest - Read source, discuss key takeaways, write summary page, update index, update relevant entity/concept pages, append entry to log
• Query - Search for relevant pages, read them, synthesize answer with citations
• Lint - Periodically health-check wiki for contradictions, stale claims, orphan pages, missing cross-references

Indexing and Logging

• index.md - Content-oriented catalog of everything in the wiki, organized by category
• log.md - Chronological append-only record of what happened and when

Benefits

• Knowledge is compiled once and kept current, not re-derived on every query
• Cross-references are already there
• Contradictions have already been flagged
• Synthesis reflects everything read
• Maintenance burden is near zero (LLMs don't get bored)

Tools

• qmd - Query Markup Documents: on-device search engine combining BM25, vector semantic search, and LLM reranking
• Obsidian - IDE for browsing and editing wiki
• Marp - Markdown-based slide decks
• Dataview - Run queries over page frontmatter