Wiki Rebuild

---
name: wiki-rebuild
description: >
  Archive existing wiki knowledge and rebuild from scratch, or restore from a previous archive.
  Use this skill when the user wants to start fresh, rebuild the wiki from all sources, archive current
  knowledge before a major change, or restore an older version. Triggers on "rebuild the wiki",
  "start over", "archive and rebuild", "restore from archive", "nuke and repave", "clean rebuild".
  Also use when the wiki has drifted too far from sources and incremental fixes won't cut it.
---

# Wiki Rebuild — Archive, Rebuild, Restore

You are performing a destructive operation on the wiki. Always archive first, always confirm with the user before proceeding.

## Before You Start

1. **Resolve config** — follow the Config Resolution Protocol in `llm-wiki/SKILL.md` (walk up CWD for `.env` → `~/.obsidian-wiki/config` → prompt setup). This gives `OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH` and optional QMD settings such as `QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION`
2. Read `.manifest.json` to understand current state
3. **Confirm the user's intent.** This skill supports three modes:
   - **Archive only** — snapshot current wiki, no rebuild
   - **Archive + Rebuild** — snapshot, then reprocess all sources from scratch
   - **Restore** — bring back a previous archive

## The Archive System

Archives live at `$OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/_archives/`. Each archive is a timestamped directory containing a full copy of the wiki state at that point.

```
$OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH/
├── _archives/
│   ├── 2026-04-01T10-30-00Z/
│   │   ├── archive-meta.json
│   │   ├── concepts/
│   │   ├── entities/
│   │   ├── skills/
│   │   ├── references/
│   │   ├── synthesis/
│   │   ├── journal/
│   │   ├── projects/
│   │   ├── index.md
│   │   ├── log.md
│   │   └── .manifest.json
│   └── 2026-03-15T08-00-00Z/
│       └── ...
├── concepts/          ← live wiki
├── entities/
└── ...
```

### archive-meta.json

```json
{
  "archived_at": "2026-04-06T10:30:00Z",
  "reason": "rebuild",
  "total_pages": 87,
  "total_sources": 42,
  "total_projects": 6,
  "vault_path": "/Users/name/Knowledge",
  "manifest_snapshot": ".manifest.json"
}
```

## Mode 1: Archive Only

When the user wants to snapshot the current state without rebuilding.

### Steps:

1. Create archive directory: `_archives/YYYY-MM-DDTHH-MM-SSZ/`
2. Copy all category directories, `index.md`, `log.md`, `.manifest.json`, and `projects/` into the archive
3. Write `archive-meta.json` with reason `"snapshot"`
4. Append to `log.md`:
   ```
   - [TIMESTAMP] ARCHIVE reason="snapshot" pages=87 destination="_archives/2026-04-06T10-30-00Z"
   ```
5. Optionally refresh QMD if `log.md` is indexed and `QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION` is configured (see "QMD Refresh After Live Wiki Changes").
6. Report: "Archived 87 pages. Current wiki is untouched."

## Mode 2: Archive + Rebuild

When the user wants to start fresh. This is the full sequence:

### Step 1: Archive current state

Same as Mode 1 above, but with reason `"rebuild"`.

### Step 2: Clear live wiki

Remove all content from the category directories (`concepts/`, `entities/`, `skills/`, etc.) and the `projects/` directory. Keep:
- `_archives/` (obviously)
- `.obsidian/` (Obsidian config)
- `.env` (if present in vault)

Reset `index.md` to the empty template. Reset `log.md` with just the rebuild entry. Delete `.manifest.json` (it'll be recreated during ingest).

### Step 3: Rebuild

Tell the user the vault is cleared and ready for a full re-ingest. They can now run:

1. `wiki-status` — to see all sources as "new"
2. `claude-history-ingest` — to reprocess Claude history
3. `codex-history-ingest` — to reprocess Codex session history
4. `wiki-ingest` — to reprocess documents
5. `data-ingest` — to reprocess any other data

Each of these will rebuild the manifest as they go.

**Important:** Don't run the ingest yourself automatically. The user should choose what to re-ingest and in what order. Some sources may no longer be relevant.

### Step 4: Log the rebuild

Append to `log.md`:
```
- [TIMESTAMP] REBUILD archived_to="_archives/2026-04-06T10-30-00Z" previous_pages=87
```

Refresh QMD after clearing and logging the live wiki (see "QMD Refresh After Live Wiki Changes"), then report that the vault is ready for selected re-ingest skills.

## Mode 3: Restore from Archive

When the user wants to go back to a previous state.

### Step 1: List available archives

Read `_archives/` directory. For each archive, read `archive-meta.json` and present:

```markdown
## Available Archives

| Date | Reason | Pages | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-04-06 10:30 | rebuild | 87 | 42 |
| 2026-03-15 08:00 | snapshot | 65 | 31 |
```

### Step 2: Confirm which archive to restore

Ask the user which archive they want. Warn them that restoring will overwrite the current live wiki.

### Step 3: Archive current state first

Before restoring, archive the current state (reason: `"pre-restore"`) so nothing is lost.

### Step 4: Restore

1. Clear the live wiki (same as Mode 2, Step 2)
2. Copy all content from the chosen archive back into the live wiki directories
3. Restore `index.md`, `log.md`, and `.manifest.json` from the archive
4. Append to `log.md`:
   ```
   - [TIMESTAMP] RESTORE from="_archives/2026-03-15T08-00-00Z" pages_restored=65
   ```

### Step 5: Report

Refresh QMD after restore (see "QMD Refresh After Live Wiki Changes"), then tell the user what was restored and suggest running `wiki-lint` to check for any issues with the restored state.

## QMD Refresh After Live Wiki Changes

QMD is a search index, not the source of truth. If QMD refresh fails, do not roll back archive, rebuild, or restore work; report the failure and leave the markdown vault intact.

**GUARD: If `$QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION` is empty or unset, skip this step.**

When to run:

| Mode | Refresh QMD? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Archive only | Optional | Live wiki content is unchanged except `log.md`; refresh if `log.md` is indexed and QMD is configured. |
| Archive + Rebuild | Required after clearing live wiki | QMD must forget deleted pages or it will return stale search results. Later ingest skills will refresh again as sources are reprocessed. |
| Restore | Required after restore | The live wiki was replaced with archive content, so QMD must match the restored state. |

This refresh currently requires the local QMD CLI. Use `$QMD_CLI` if set; otherwise use `qmd`. If the CLI is unavailable, report `QMD skipped: qmd CLI unavailable`.

For CLI refresh:

```bash
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} update
```

If the output says new hashes need vectors, or if restore replaced live pages and embeddings may be stale, run:

```bash
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} embed
```

Verify the wiki collection reflects the operation:

```bash
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} ls "$QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION"
```

For restore, also verify one restored page if the archive has a known page path:

```bash
${QMD_CLI:-qmd} get "qmd://$QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION/<restored-page>.md" -l 5
```

Record QMD refresh in the final report as one of:
- `QMD refreshed: update + embed + verified`
- `QMD refreshed: update only + verified`
- `QMD skipped: QMD_WIKI_COLLECTION unset`
- `QMD skipped: archive-only live content unchanged`
- `QMD skipped: qmd CLI unavailable`
- `QMD failed: <short error summary>`

## Safety Rules

1. **Always archive before destructive operations.** No exceptions.
2. **Always confirm with the user** before clearing the live wiki.
3. **Never delete archives** unless the user explicitly asks. Archives are cheap insurance.
4. **The `.obsidian/` directory is sacred.** Never touch it during archive/rebuild/restore — it contains the user's Obsidian settings, plugins, and themes.
5. If something goes wrong mid-rebuild, the archive is there. Tell the user they can restore.