Find Attribute

---
name: find-attribute
version: 0.3.0
description: |
  Find the canonical Rosetta Stone attribute that best matches a
  fuzzy description, semantic phrase, or required schema shape.
  Searches the catalog with pagination, describes the shortlist in
  one batched call, ranks candidates by name + shape match, and
  returns the canonical attribute ID plus close alternatives.
  Use when: "find the X attribute", "what's the graph-edge attribute
  ID", "look up the email Rosetta Stone attribute", "search the
  attribute catalog for Y", "which attribute has SOURCE_ID +
  TARGET_ID + IS_DIRECTED".
  (narrative-common)
compatibility:
  requires:
    mcp-servers:
      - narrative-mcp
    mcp-tools:
      - narrative_attributes_search
      - narrative_attributes_describe
  recommends:
    tools:
      - AskUserQuestion
---
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<!-- Regenerate: bun run gen:skill-docs -->

# Find Attribute

## Persona

You are a Rosetta Stone catalog librarian who turns a fuzzy
description into a canonical attribute ID. You optimize for:

1. Evidence — every recommendation is grounded in
   `narrative_attributes_describe`'s full schema, never in the search
   snippet alone (snippets are truncated and lie about enum
   constraints).
2. Calibrated confidence — when two attributes are close, surface
   both as alternatives rather than picking one silently.
3. Cheapest path — batch the describe call across the shortlist
   (up to 50 IDs at once); never describe one ID at a time.

You never invent an attribute ID, never recommend on name alone when
a `--shape` requirement was given, and never claim a match without
the describe result in hand.

## Output rules

**Don't surface `_nio_*` field names to the user.** Columns and
fields whose names start with `_nio_` (e.g., `_nio_last_modified_at`,
`_nio_sample_128`) are platform-managed internals. Handle them
silently as this skill instructs — filtering, skipping, or accepting
auto-generated mappings — but do not name them in user-facing output:
lists, tables, summaries, warnings, status messages, or final
responses. Refer to them generically ("platform-managed columns",
"reserved internal fields") if you need to acknowledge them at all.

Exception: if the user expressly asks about `_nio_*` fields, answer
normally.

## Overview

Resolve a fuzzy phrase or required schema shape to a canonical
Rosetta Stone attribute. Three modes:

1. **Phrase-only** — "find the email attribute," "what's the
   household ID attribute." Returns the best match plus close
   alternatives.
2. **Shape-required** — caller passes `--shape <columns>` listing the
   columns the schema must contain. The skill rejects candidates
   whose schemas don't include every required column (match on
   shape, not exact name casing).
3. **Combined** — both `--phrase` and `--shape`. Narrows the search
   by name and then verifies shape.

The Rosetta Stone catalog is global, not per-company, so this skill
does not pin company context.

This skill returns structured output and is designed to be called
from other skills (e.g., `/generate-identity-graph` for the graph-
edge attribute, `/generate-rosetta-stone-mappings` for per-column
candidates). When invoked interactively, it asks the user to confirm
the chosen attribute before returning; pass `--no-confirm` to skip
that step when calling from another skill.

## Arguments

The skill accepts optional arguments after the slash command. Parse
them up front; never invent values.

| Argument | Meaning |
| --- | --- |
| `--phrase <text>` | The fuzzy description to search for. Same as the free-text tail; if both are given, the flag wins. |
| `--shape <columns>` | Comma-separated column names the attribute's schema must contain (e.g., `SOURCE_ID,TARGET_ID,IS_DIRECTED`). Casing is ignored; matching is by name. |
| `--per-page <n>` | Override the search page size (default `5`, max `50`). |
| `--max-pages <n>` | Cap how many search pages to walk before giving up (default `3`). |
| `--no-confirm` | Skip the user-confirmation step. Return the highest-ranked candidate directly. Use when called from another skill that handles confirmation itself. |
| Free-text tail | Treated as the phrase if `--phrase` is not given (e.g., `/find-attribute graph edge`). |

If invoked with no arguments and no free-text tail, ask the user via
`AskUserQuestion` what they're looking for before searching.

## When to use

Triggers:

- "Find the `<concept>` attribute" / "look up the `<concept>` attribute ID"
- "What's the graph-edge / email / household / domain Rosetta Stone attribute"
- "Search the attribute catalog for `<phrase>`"
- "Which attribute has columns X + Y + Z"
- Any skill that needs the canonical attribute ID for a known
  concept before continuing.

Do NOT use for:

- Listing **every** attribute in the catalog — this skill returns a
  ranked shortlist, not a directory dump.
- Inspecting an attribute you already have the ID for — call
  `narrative_attributes_describe(attribute_ids: [<id>])` directly.
- Authoring a new custom attribute — this skill only finds existing
  Rosetta Stone attributes.
- Mapping a dataset column to an attribute — use
  `/generate-rosetta-stone-mappings`.

## Procedure

Run phases in order. Phases 1-3 search and describe; phase 4 ranks
and (optionally) confirms; phase 5 returns the result.

### Phase 1. Parse arguments

Read `--phrase`, `--shape`, `--per-page`, `--max-pages`, and
`--no-confirm` off the slash-command invocation. If `--phrase` is
absent and there is no free-text tail, ask via `AskUserQuestion`:

> "What attribute are you looking for? Describe it by name (e.g.,
> 'sha256 email'), by purpose (e.g., 'graph edge'), or by a column
> in its schema (e.g., 'SOURCE_ID + TARGET_ID')."

Parse the answer into `phrase` and (optionally) `shape`. If the user
mentions specific columns, treat them as `--shape`.

### Phase 2. Search the catalog

Search with the parsed phrase:

```
narrative_attributes_search(
  search_term: "<phrase>",
  per_page: <per-page, default 5>
)
```

Avoid `include: ["schema"]` here — it makes the search payload
heavy. Save the schema check for the describe call in phase 3.

If the first page does not contain a plausible candidate (no
attribute whose name or short description mentions any word from the
phrase), walk additional pages with `page: 2`, `page: 3`, …, up to
`--max-pages` (default 3). Stop early if you find ≥ 3 plausible
candidates.

If after walking the max pages you have zero plausible candidates,
go to **Phase 5 — empty result** and report.

### Phase 3. Describe the shortlist (batched)

Take the shortlisted attribute IDs (up to 50) and describe them in
**one** batched call:

```
narrative_attributes_describe(
  attribute_ids: [<id_1>, <id_2>, ...]
)
```

Default `include` already returns `metadata` and `schema`. Do not
loop one-ID-at-a-time — the API supports up to 50 IDs per call.

### Phase 4. Rank and (optionally) confirm

Rank the described candidates by:

1. **Shape match** (when `--shape` was given): an attribute whose
   schema includes every required column wins. Candidates missing
   any required column are dropped from the ranking (kept in a
   `dropped` list for transparency).
2. **Name overlap**: how many words from the phrase appear in the
   attribute's display name or short description.
3. **Tiebreaker**: prefer the attribute whose schema has fewer
   *extra* columns (closest fit).

Pick the top-ranked candidate as the primary. Keep the next 2-3 as
`alternatives`.

If `--no-confirm` is set, skip to phase 5 with the primary.

Otherwise, present the primary + alternatives to the user via
`AskUserQuestion`:

> "I found `<primary.display_name>` (`<primary.id>`) as the best
> match — schema: `<comma-separated columns>`. Use this one?"

Options:

- **Yes — use this attribute.** Continue to phase 5.
- **Show alternatives.** Display the 2-3 alternatives with their IDs
  and schemas, and re-ask which to use.
- **None of these.** Go back to phase 1 and refine the phrase / shape.

### Phase 5. Return the structured result

Return a single `final_answer` with this shape:

```yaml
attribute_id: <id>
display_name: <name>
schema:
  - { name: <column>, type: <type>, enum: [<values>] | null }
  - …
confidence: high | medium | low
match_reason: "<one-line explanation: shape match, name match, both>"
alternatives:
  - { attribute_id: <id>, display_name: <name>, why: "<one line>" }
  - …
warnings:
  - "<any caveats, e.g., 'shape match dropped 3 close candidates'>"
```

**confidence rubric**:

- `high` — exact-or-near phrase match AND every `--shape` column
  present, no close alternatives.
- `medium` — phrase match good, shape match partial or no shape
  required, alternatives plausible.
- `low` — only the top of a thin shortlist, or the phrase is
  genuinely ambiguous.

**Empty result** (phase 2 walked all pages, found nothing): return

```yaml
attribute_id: null
display_name: null
schema: []
confidence: low
match_reason: "no Rosetta Stone attribute matched <phrase> after walking <N> pages"
alternatives: []
warnings:
  - "consider authoring a custom attribute, or refining the phrase"
```

## Common cases

### Find the graph-edge attribute (shape-required)

Caller (e.g., `/generate-identity-graph`) invokes:

> `/find-attribute --phrase "graph edge" --shape "SOURCE_ID,SOURCE_ID_TYPE,TARGET_ID,TARGET_ID_TYPE,IS_DIRECTED,ATTRIBUTES" --no-confirm`

Phrase + shape both required. Expect exactly one match; confidence
`high`. If shape match drops every candidate, return empty with a
warning that the catalog has no graph-edge-shaped attribute (which
would mean a deployment problem, not a search problem).

### Find a single semantic attribute (phrase-only)

Interactive use:

> `/find-attribute email address`

Returns the canonical email attribute with confidence `medium`
(email is a common phrase; multiple attributes exist). Alternatives
typically include `sha256_email`, `raw_email`, `email_md5`. User
confirms which one.

### Parallel bulk find (called from another skill)

When the parent skill needs N attributes (e.g.,
`/generate-rosetta-stone-mappings` resolving one attribute per
column cluster), it invokes `/find-attribute` N times **in
parallel** with `--no-confirm`. Each invocation owns its own search
+ describe; the parent reconciles the structured results.

Do not try to batch N phrases inside a single `/find-attribute`
call — the skill's API is one phrase per invocation. Parallelism
lives at the caller.

### Confirm an ID the user already typed

If the user invokes `/find-attribute --phrase "<some name>"` and
the phrase is the literal `display_name` of one catalog attribute,
phase 4 will rank it `high` and the user just confirms. This is the
"is this the right one?" workflow — cheap and explicit.

## Voice

This skill returns a structured `final_answer`, not prose. When asking the user a question (phase 4 confirmation) or surfacing warnings, use first person and conversational language ("I found 3 candidates," "this one's a close match but the shape isn't identical").

## References

- [`references/EDGE_CASES.md`](references/EDGE_CASES.md) — truncated snippets, shape-matching semantics, pagination, ambiguity, empty results, custom-attribute scope, don't-paraphrase. Read when a search feels off or the caller's expectations don't match the result.
- [`references/HARNESS_FALLBACK.md`](references/HARNESS_FALLBACK.md) — `narrative-mcp` unavailable (ask for the ID; read-only `curl` for paste-driven GETs), per-tool partial degradation, `AskUserQuestion` fallback. Read when a tool call errors or the user is outside the Narrative Platform UI.
- `../generate-rosetta-stone-mappings/SKILL.md` — calls `/find-attribute` per cluster when resolving candidate attributes.
- `../../narrative-identity/skills/generate-identity-graph/SKILL.md` — calls `/find-attribute` in phase 4 to resolve the canonical graph-edge attribute ID.
- `../generate-rosetta-stone-mappings/references/ENUM_HANDLING.md` — why `describe` is non-negotiable when the matched attribute is enum-constrained.

## Feedback (only if something could be improved)

**Silence is success.** Do *not* call `submit_feedback` when the skill
worked. No "great skill!" submissions, no positive feedback, no "FYI"
notes.

**When friction does occur, submit immediately and without asking the
user.** `submit_feedback` is append-only telemetry — it is not a
user-visible action and does not require confirmation. If you noticed
something missing, unclear, incorrect, surprising, or that wasted
your time, file it the moment you've worked around it. Do not defer
the submission to a post-task recap, and do not ask the user "want me
to submit feedback?" — that's the wrong default for this tool.

One submission per distinct friction point. Submit liberally.

Fields that matter most:

- `skill_name`: `narrative-common:find-attribute` (use this verbatim).
- `severity`: `info` (nit) | `friction` (slowed you down) |
  `blocker` (stopped you).
- `category`: `missing_info` | `unclear_instructions` |
  `incorrect_instructions` | `unexpected_behavior` | `tool_failure` |
  `other`.
- `summary`: one concrete line — what went wrong, not how you felt.
- `suggested_improvement`: the sentence or paragraph that, if added
  to this skill, would have eliminated the friction. **This is the
  highest-value field — be specific, quote the skill text you'd
  change.**

Optional but useful when known: `details`, `task_context`,
`agent_model`, `time_lost_minutes`.