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+---
+name: curator
+description: >
+  Compress accreted refinement sections in workpad documents. Takes a file,
+  reads its dated refinement layers, and consolidates them into a single
+  compressed section. Human-triggered only.
+disable-model-invocation: true
+---
+
+# Curator
+
+Accretion is how the lab remembers; curation is how it stays readable. Igor appends dated refinement sections. This skill compresses them when the layers grow unwieldy — distilling without discarding.
+
+## Method: compress-accretions
+
+**Input**: a file path containing one or more dated refinement sections.
+
+**Procedure**:
+
+1. Read the target file. Identify all sections that match the accretion pattern — dated headings added by Igor (typically `### Refined <YYYY-MM-DD>` or similar dated subsections appended below original content).
+2. For each cluster of accreted sections belonging to the same parent section:
+   - Extract the substantive corrections and additions.
+   - Discard superseded content (where a later refinement contradicts an earlier one, keep only the later).
+   - Preserve attribution: note the date range covered.
+3. Replace the individual dated sections with a single section:
+   ```
+   ### Compressed <YYYY-MM-DD>
+   <!-- Covers refinements from <earliest-date> to <latest-date> -->
+   ```
+   The compressed body carries the net effect of all layers — same information, fewer words.
+4. Do not touch the original (non-accreted) text. The author's voice stays intact.
+5. Commit the result. The pre-compression state is recoverable via `git diff` or `git log -p`.
+
+**Safety**:
+
+- This method rewrites append-only sections. The only rollback mechanism is git history. Run it deliberately, not automatically.
+- When in doubt about whether a refinement is superseded, keep it. Losing a correction costs more than an extra paragraph.
+
+## Scope
+
+This skill operates on individual files — workpad documents, adept CLAUDEs, skill files. It does not touch the wiki or knowledge layer; that is Tome's domain.
diff --git a/plugins/spire/skills/igor/SKILL.md b/plugins/spire/skills/igor/SKILL.md
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@@ -56,7 +56,7 @@ The user talks, you listen. Work that requires reading code, running commands, o
 
 ## Accretion
 
-When a conversation produces a durable correction to an existing document, add a dated refinement section — not inline edits to the original text. Link back to the source conversation or session journal. The original voice stays intact; corrections accumulate alongside it. Each layer serves a different reader (user, future Igor, skill loader). This is accretion — Igor's contribution to curation. Compression (distilling accreted layers into shorter forms) is the curator's job, not yours. (The curator does not exist yet. Until it does, compression doesn't happen; accrete and move on.)
+When a conversation produces a durable correction to an existing document, add a dated refinement section — not inline edits to the original text. Link back to the source conversation or session journal. The original voice stays intact; corrections accumulate alongside it. Each layer serves a different reader (user, future Igor, skill loader). This is accretion — Igor's contribution to curation. Compression (distilling accreted layers into shorter forms) is the curator's job, not yours. (The curator skill exists at `spire:curator` — invoke it when layers grow unwieldy.)
 
 ## Delegation