docs(okf): the work log is one file at the bundle root, and an entry is a lesson not a manifest

The spec listed `log.md` as a reserved name and the maintenance page said every bundle
"has a `log.md`" — neither said there is only one, so a subdirectory could invent its own
and look compliant. Which is how the sprawl Frank banned started: with fifty logs the
entry is never where the next reader looks, and every copy re-dates the same event.

The maintenance page also taught the wrong format: "one line per change with file path",
exampled as `/docs/ghostty.md — Updated keybind table`, i.e. a manifest duplicating git,
with absolute paths that kb-lint cannot resolve because OKF links are relative. Replaced
with the law this bundle already runs: what changed plus the durable lesson, a few lines,
relative links, laws and incidents rather than bookkeeping.
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Frank committed 2026-10-20 21:49:16 -07:00
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@@ -21,32 +21,46 @@ Knowledge bundles rot. It is the nature of knowledge to attract cobwebs, much li
## Change Tracking with `log.md`
Every OKF bundle has a `log.md` file. It is not optional. It is the bundle's memory.
Every OKF bundle has a `log.md`, and it is the bundle's **only** work log: one file,
at the bundle root. A subdirectory never gets its own — not `core/log.md`, not
`notes.md`, not a per-project, per-branch or per-run diary. Sprawl is not caution:
with fifty logs the entry is never where the next agent looks, and each copy re-dates
the same event on its own authority. `scripts/kb-lint.sh` reports any `log.md` that is
not the root's.
**Format:** Date-grouped entries, newest first. One line per change with timestamp, file path, and what changed.
**Format:** one dated section per day, newest first; a few lines per change — what
happened, and the durable lesson. It is not a file manifest.
```markdown
# Bundle Change Log
## 2026-01-15
- `/docs/ghostty.md` — Updated keybind table after v1.2 release
- `/docs/pi-permission-system/` — Added `policy.md` and `audit.md`
- `/docs/index.md` — Synced with directory contents
## 2026-01-15 — the gate was reading the wrong files
A gate that gets an empty file list reports success. Law: a check MUST fail closed;
a silently-passing gate is worse than none, because it buys the belief of safety.
Details: [secret gate](../tools/index.md).
```
**Rules:**
- **Newest entries first.** Putting old entries at the top inverts the timeline and makes it impossible to see what just happened.
- **One line per change.** A single line is sufficient. The git history is there if someone wants the gory details.
- **Group by date.** Batch all changes from the same day together.
- **Always date-stamp the section.** Use `## YYYY-MM-DD`.
- **Mention `index.md` whenever you change a bundle.** If you added or removed a file, update the index and note it in the log.
- **Newest entries first.** Old entries at the top invert the timeline.
- **What changed + the durable lesson, a few lines.** Full narratives are recoverable
from git (`git log --follow log.md`); never re-expand one in place.
- **Laws and incidents, never bookkeeping.** No per-file inventories, no run-by-run
numbers, no transcripts. Measured numbers still have to pass the purpose test.
- **Link, do not duplicate.** Knowledge that outlives the entry belongs on its concept
page; the entry points there.
- **One dated section per day** (`## YYYY-MM-DD`), and mention `index.md` whenever a
file is added or removed.
### Common Mistakes
- ❌ Writing `"Updated ghostty.md"` — Updated it with what? Be specific.
- ❌ Forgetting to write to `log.md` — This is the equivalent of doing surgery without keeping a record.
- ❌ Using relative paths — Use absolute paths (`/docs/ghostty.md`).
- ❌ Leaving stale entries from manual edits — The log is the single source of truth.
- ❌ `Updated ghostty.md` — updated it with what, and what did it teach?
- ❌ Forgetting the entry — the change lands undocumented and the next agent rediscovers
the failure the hard way.
- ❌ Starting a second log in a subdirectory — the sprawl that makes logging useless.
- ❌ Invented absolute paths in links — links resolve relative to the page, and the
linter checks them.
- ❌ Re-expanding an old entry in place — the entry is a pointer; git is the transcript.
---
@@ -84,6 +98,14 @@ OKF is built on the principle that a file is one concept.
- ❌ Don't create a file called `misc.md` — `misc` is a graveyard, not a category.
- ❌ Don't use `# Other` or `# Additional Notes` sections — these are taping things to the wall.
## Quarantine, Not Deletion
A page is never deleted outright: it moves to `.AGENTTRASH/` beside where it lived and
waits for a pruning session with Frank present. The quarantine is not part of the
bundle — `scripts/kb-lint.sh` and `scripts/kb-coverage.py` skip any path containing
`.AGENTTRASH`. That exemption is deliberate: a gate that goes green only once the
quarantined copy is gone is a gate that deletes history.
---
## Auto-Generation Strategies
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@@ -42,7 +42,7 @@ An OKF knowledge bundle is a directory tree. Every concept is one file. The file
```
my-bundle/
├── index.md # Optional directory listing
├── log.md # Optional update history
├── log.md # The bundle's ONE update history — root only
├── concept-one.md # A concept at the root level
└── subdirectory/
├── index.md # Optional subdirectory listing
@@ -55,7 +55,13 @@ my-bundle/
| Filename | Purpose |
|----------|---------|
| `index.md` | Directory listing for progressive disclosure |
| `log.md` | Chronological update history |
| `log.md` | Chronological update history — **exactly one, at the bundle root** |
**One work log per bundle.** `log.md` is reserved, and it is reserved for a single
file: the bundle root's. A subdirectory never keeps its own change log — a bundle
that logs in fifty places has no log, because the entry is never where the next
reader looks and every copy re-dates the same event. `scripts/kb-lint.sh` reports
any `log.md` that is not the root's.
---