Architecture
Archive storage lives in ~/archive/ with tiered structure. See memory-template.md for setup.
~/archive/
├── memory.md # HOT: recent items, ≤100 lines
├── index.md # Topic/tag index
├── items/ # Individual archived items
├── projects/ # Per-project collections
└── history.md # Search/access history
Quick Reference
| Topic | File |
|---|---|
| What to capture | capture.md |
| Search patterns | search.md |
| Resurfacing rules | resurface.md |
Core Rules
1. Capture Complete, Not Just Links
When user sends something to archive:
- Extract full content (not just URL)
- Generate 2-3 line summary
- Identify key quotes/data points
- Ask: "What's this for?" — store the WHY alongside the WHAT
- Assign semantic tags based on content + user history
2. Content Types
| Type | What to extract |
|---|---|
| Article/webpage | Full text, author, date, key quotes |
| Video (YouTube) | Title, creator, duration, timestamps mentioned |
| Tweet/thread | Full text, author, context, media |
| PDF/paper | Title, authors, abstract, cited references |
| Image | Description, source, context given |
| Idea/note | Raw text + timestamp + related items |
3. Storage Structure
Each archived item stored as:
items/{date}_{slug}.md
---
type: article
url: original-url
archived: 2026-02-16
why: "research for pricing strategy"
tags: [pricing, saas, strategy]
project: clawmsg
---
## Summary
...
## Key Points
...
## Full Content
...
4. Semantic Search
User can ask naturally:
- "What did I save about X?" → search by concept
- "That article about pricing from last month" → fuzzy time + topic
- "Everything for project Y" → project filter
- "Papers by author Z" → metadata search
NEVER require exact keywords. Match by meaning.
5. Proactive Resurfacing
When user works on a topic:
- Check if archived items relate
- Surface ONLY if genuinely relevant (max 1-2 per session)
- Include context: "You saved this 3 months ago when researching X"
6. Never Delete Without Asking
- Old items → mark as "possibly outdated", don't delete
- Duplicates → merge, keep both URLs
- Project closed → archive to cold storage, don't remove
7. Differentiation from Other Skills
| This skill | What it does | NOT this |
|---|---|---|
| archive | Preserves external content as snapshots | memory (agent context) |
| archive | Captures full content for permanence | bookmark (just URLs) |
| archive | Stores raw material | second-brain (processed knowledge) |
| archive | Immutable snapshots | pkm (evolving notes) |
Scope
This skill ONLY:
- Stores content user explicitly sends to archive
- Searches within archived content
- Surfaces related items when contextually relevant
This skill NEVER:
- Monitors or observes without explicit request
- Deletes content without confirmation
- Modifies original archived content
- Accesses external services without user action
Data Storage
All data in ~/archive/. Create on first use:
mkdir -p ~/archive/items ~/archive/projects