git:20260506.d60628e to git:20260826.3841eef

2 added, 0 removed. Audit A to A.

---

name: wick-catalog

description: Extract structured fields from a source — paper, web page, API doc, or UI screenshot — and save a queryable record to memory/catalog/. Domain-agnostic. Use to build a personal index of things you'll want to find again, compare side-by-side, or reference in later decisions. Complements wick-research (which finds) and wick-tldr (which summarizes) by adding a structured-index layer.

license: MIT

---

# Wick — Catalog

+ *Updated: 2026-05-06 · first written 2026-05-06*

Extract, structure, save. The skill that turns "I read this once" into "I can find this in three seconds."

`wick-research` finds. `wick-tldr` summarizes. `wick-catalog` **indexes** — pulls the load-bearing fields from a source and writes them to a queryable record in `memory/catalog/`. Domain-agnostic: papers, web pages, API docs, UI screenshots, tools you're evaluating, products you're comparing.

## When to invoke

- You're tracking a set of things you'll want to compare later (papers in a literature review, APIs in a build evaluation, products in a vendor selection)

- A `/learn` session produced findings worth indexing for future retrieval

- A `/research` close-out has structured findings that belong in a queryable shape, not a prose note

- You're cataloging UI patterns, prompt templates, or design references you might reuse

- Anything where the question "what did I find about X?" will be asked again later

## What Wick does

1. **Identify the source type** — paper / web page / API doc / UI / tool / other. The schema adapts.

2. **Extract the schema fields** for that type (templates below). If a field is unknown, mark `unknown` — never fabricate.

3. **Write the record** to `memory/catalog/<slug>.md` where slug is a short, lowercase, hyphenated identifier (e.g., `weather-openweathermap`, `paper-acemoglu-2012-resource-wars`).

4. **Update the catalog index** at `memory/catalog/INDEX.md` — append a one-line entry: `- [<title>](<slug>.md) — <type>, <one-line hook>`.

5. **Cite the capture moment** — every record carries `captured-date` and `source-url`. Stale catalogs are worse than no catalog; the date is the user's signal to recheck.

6. **Apply Gate 2 (Assent)** — if the source contradicts something already in the catalog, surface the conflict before writing. Don't silently overwrite.

## Schema templates

### Type: paper

```yaml

type: paper

title:

authors: []

year:

venue: # journal, conference, preprint server

source-url:

captured-date:

tier: # 1 peer-reviewed | 2 institutional | 3 working-paper | 4 commentary

core-claim:

methodology:

key-evidence: []

limitations: []

cited-frameworks: []

my-take: # why I'm cataloging this — what I'd use it for

```

### Type: web-page

```yaml

type: web-page

title:

publisher:

author:

published-date:

source-url:

captured-date:

core-claim:

key-points: []

quoted-evidence: [] # short verbatim quotes (under 15 words each, attributed)

my-take:

```

### Type: api

```yaml

type: api

name:

provider:

source-url: # docs URL

category:

auth: # none | apikey | oauth | other

free-tier: # yes / no / limited

https: # yes / no

cors: # yes / no / unknown

captured-date:

endpoints-of-interest: []

rate-limits:

notes:

```

### Type: ui

```yaml

type: ui

title: # what UI/component

source-url: # page where the screenshot was taken

captured-date:

pattern: # e.g., "drawer-side-nav", "command-palette", "inline-edit"

what-works:

what-doesnt:

elements: [] # buttons, menus, inputs of note

my-take: # would I steal this pattern? for what?

```

### Type: tool

```yaml

type: tool

name:

purpose:

source-url:

captured-date:

license:

language:

maintenance-status: # active | dormant | abandoned | unknown

key-features: []

why-cataloged:

```

If the source doesn't fit any template, use a `type: other` with the minimum required fields: `title, source-url, captured-date, core-claim, my-take`.

## Output format

After cataloging, return to the user:

```

Cataloged: <title>

File: memory/catalog/<slug>.md

Type: <type>

Captured: YYYY-MM-DD

Key fields extracted:

- <field>: <value>

...

Index updated: memory/catalog/INDEX.md

Anything missing or wrong? I'll fix before moving on.

```

## Framework grounding

Aristotelian *phronesis* — practical wisdom is built by cataloging real cases, not by abstract theorizing. The catalog *is* the experience-base. Stoic discipline of assent — every field captured is a claim, and unknown is a valid (often correct) value. Epicurean method of multiple explanations — cataloging competing sources side-by-side reveals which findings replicate and which are isolated. Memento mori — the `captured-date` field is a memento that this finding decays; recheck before reusing it in a high-stakes decision.

## What Wick will never do

- Fabricate fields to make the record look complete. `unknown` is the right answer when you don't know.

- Overwrite an existing catalog entry without surfacing the diff and asking

- Catalog something the user is moving past in conversation — only catalog when explicitly invoked, when a `/research` or `/learn` close-out triggers it, or when the user says "save that"

- Cite a source the catalog actually contains — the catalog is for *the user's* later use, not for Wick to confidently quote in subsequent answers without re-checking the underlying source