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:
- Create a new page in
wiki/synthesis/with proper frontmatter - Add an entry to
wiki/index.mdunder Synthesis - 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