Scope

Ariadne Scope

Use this skill when a vault already exists and the user wants a new durable scope or child scope.

Start

1. Read root instructions and every applicable ancestor scope instruction through the intended parent.
2. Read root/local indexes, agent navigation, task routing, and the parent hub.
3. In a multi-scope vault, require the new scope name and parent to be named or confirmed in the current turn.
4. Run the validator-owned sync_scope_topology.js --check in zero-write mode. Use scope-operation-request.md for the exact schema-v1 request and CLI.
5. If the vault is Git-backed, inspect status before writing. Preserve unrelated modified and untracked files, never use broad staging, and stage only paths in the declared write set when the user explicitly authorizes a commit.

Minimal Questions

Ask only what is missing:

1. What is the scope name?
2. Where should it live?
3. What recurring job does it serve?
4. Does it need intake infrastructure — Raw/Sources/, Inbox/, Processing Queue/, local Ingest Compile Workflow?
5. Does it need local rules, templates, Bases, or only a hub?

Promotion Threshold

Promote only when repeated work needs a durable route, local lifecycle, or local operating rules. A useful folder, a one-off project, or a possible future route stays a normal folder.

Create, Adopt, Move, Or Change Status

1. Confirm the target scope and requested lifecycle action in the current turn. Audit/check is always zero-write; create, adopt, move, set-status, and repair require confirmation.
2. Build the exact request with allowed_write_paths: []. Run it to obtain the refusal/disclosure, then show every proposed content_write_paths entry. Generated-only checkpoints do not waive confirmation.
3. After confirmation, copy exactly those paths into allowed_write_paths and invoke sync_scope_topology.js --write --request. Never directly edit descriptors, generated files, generated blocks, registry/map artifacts, physical moves, parent relationships, or redirects.
4. For create, prepare the destination directory and user-owned content, then let the engine create the descriptor and generated wiring. Non-registry root Base formulas are report-only: the synchronizer detects missing or misordered scope branches but does not authorize or rewrite these user-authored formulas. After the engine write, update each reported Base outside generated blocks only when it is named in an explicit allowed_write_set. Insert the most-specific child branch before its parent branch; first-match formulas otherwise classify the child as its parent.
5. For adopt, choose ancestor-chain (target plus required ancestors) or whole-vault explicitly. Do not adopt candidates marked ariadne_scope_adoption: dismissed.
6. For move/reparent, provide the exact current source_path and new destination_path. The engine performs the physical move, reparents the subtree, records former paths, and writes the redirect; never emulate those steps manually.
7. For status, use only supported transitions: active to archived, archived to active or retired, and retired to archived. A retired scope cannot have active children. A replacement is valid only when retiring.
8. If interrupted, report the operation ID and use --resume or --abort; never manipulate engine control files. Reconcile any abort reconciliation_paths before another operation.
9. Run scoped validation first, then whole-vault validation. The scoped run must report routing-matrix-warnings: 0 and base-scope-formula-warnings: 0 for the subtree. Report unrelated pre-existing whole-vault warnings separately.
10. Run a second check with sync_scope_topology.js --check. It must disclose no changes; this is the idempotency checkpoint.
11. If the parent vault is not globally registered, or its global discovery block is stale, offer ariadne:global-discovery for the parent vault. Scope creation should not write global files or add scope-specific global discovery rules.
12. If an external code repository or folder should point to this scope, offer ariadne:workspace-instructions. Scope-specific workspace links require a current-turn explicit target or user confirmation and belong in workspace files, not global discovery.

Import Existing Vault As Scope

1. Confirm target scope path.
2. Copy source vault into that scope path.
3. Preserve local instructions as local deltas.
4. Rewrite cross-scope links only when needed for validation or ambiguity.
5. Scope local Bases to the imported path.
6. Route adoption and generated parent/child wiring through the synchronizer workflow above.
7. Validate twice and require the second check to be empty.

Rules

• Parent scope policy is inherited.
• Child scopes add deltas only.
• When a child needs local instructions, state explicit inheritance from both the nearest parent scope and the vault root; a wikilink alone is not a complete inheritance declaration.
• Preserve unrelated modified and untracked files throughout creation, validation, and any authorized staging.
• Do not copy global boilerplate into local files.
• Use path-qualified wikilinks across scope boundaries.
• Do not create child scopes just because they might be useful.
• Wire new scopes into vault-local navigation and routing only. Global discovery registers vaults, not individual scopes.
• Workspace instruction files may link to a confirmed scope, but they must not replace vault-local scope navigation.
• If global discovery produces multiple plausible parent vault matches, show the top matches with short reasons and ask before creating, updating, or filing artifacts.

Related Skills

• Use ariadne:vault for new vault bootstrap.
• Use ariadne:workspace-instructions when an external workspace needs instruction files or a link to this scope.
• Use ariadne:navigation for route and hub design.
• Use ariadne:research-pipeline when an existing scope needs a full research pipeline after creation.
• Use ariadne:research-ingest for the first research source after the scope exists.
• Use obsidian-bases for Base syntax.
• Use ariadne:validator for deterministic checks.