---
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   - Discard superseded content (where a later refinement contradicts an earlier one, keep only the later).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- When in doubt about whether a refinement is superseded, keep it.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.

**Adept knowledge docs** (`key-files.md`, `conventions.md`, `architecture.md`, `gotchas.md`, etc.) accrete refinement sections and are curator targets. `handoff.md` and `journal/` entries are **not** curator targets — `handoff.md` is overwritten by the living adept, and journals are append-only session records.