Knowledge Skill

Execution Steps

/knowledge <query>

Step 1: Search with ao CLI (if available)

ao forge search "<query>" --limit 10 2>/dev/null

Step 2: Search .agents/ Directory

# Search learnings
grep -r "<query>" .agents/learnings/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

# Search patterns
grep -r "<query>" .agents/patterns/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

# Search research
grep -r "<query>" .agents/research/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

# Search retros
grep -r "<query>" .agents/retros/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

Step 3: Search Plans

# Local plans
grep -r "<query>" .agents/plans/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

# Global plans
grep -r "<query>" ~/.claude/plans/ 2>/dev/null | head -10

Step 4: Use Semantic Search (if MCP available)

Tool: mcp__smart-connections-work__lookup
Parameters:
  query: "<query>"
  limit: 10

Step 5: Read Relevant Files

Step 6: Synthesize Results

• What do we know about this topic?
• What learnings are relevant?
• What patterns apply?
• What past decisions were made?

Step 7: Report to User

1. Summary of findings
2. Key learnings (with IDs)
3. Relevant patterns
4. Links to source files
5. Confidence level (how much we know)

Knowledge Locations

.agents/learnings/

.agents/patterns/

.agents/research/

.agents/retros/

.agents/plans/

~/.claude/plans/

Key Rules

• Search multiple locations - knowledge may be scattered
• Use ao CLI first - semantic search is better
• Fall back to grep - if ao not available
• Read full files - don't just report matches
• Synthesize - combine findings into useful answer

Example Queries

/knowledge authentication    # Find auth-related learnings
/knowledge "rate limiting"   # Find rate limit patterns
/knowledge kubernetes        # Find K8s knowledge
/knowledge "what do we know about caching"

Examples

Finding Past Learnings

/knowledge "error handling patterns"

1. Agent tries

   ao forge search "error handling patterns"

   , finds 3 matches
2. Agent searches

   .agents/learnings/

   with grep, finds 5 additional matches
3. Agent searches

   .agents/patterns/

   for related patterns, finds 2 matches
4. Agent reads all matched files using Read tool
5. Agent synthesizes findings into coherent response
6. Agent reports: "We have 5 learnings about error handling: L1 (always wrap errors), L3 (use typed errors), L12 (log before returning), L15 (context propagation), L22 (retry with backoff)"
7. Agent provides links to source files and confidence level: high (multiple confirmations)

Querying Without ao CLI

/knowledge "database migrations"

1. Agent tries

   ao forge search

   , command not found
2. Agent falls back to grep search across

   .agents/

   directories
3. Agent finds 2 matches in learnings, 1 in research, 0 in patterns
4. Agent reads matched files
5. Agent synthesizes: "Limited knowledge found. L8 recommends using transaction-wrapped migrations. Research doc from 2026-01-20 analyzed migration tools."
6. Agent reports medium confidence (only 2 sources)

Troubleshooting

/retro

/trace

/research