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 includegenerators/features/*.md -- composable feature blocksskill-sources/*/SKILL.md -- generated command templatesskills/setup/SKILL.md -- the derivation enginereference/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.
Llull's rotating wheels generated truth through combination. Bruno's memory wheels
created millions of image combinations. They were external thinking systems -- tools
to think with rather than just store in. The missing piece: they required a human
mind to do the traversing. Now LLMs can traverse. The wheels can spin again.
Built on Tools for Thought for Agents research.
License
MIT
Ars Contexta 是一个 Claude Code 插件：它通过一场关于你如何思考和工作的对话，生成个性化的知识系统（“第二大脑”），产出为你的领域量身定制的 markdown 文件、文件夹结构、技能和自动化。