qmd

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• SKILL.md
• mcp-setup.md · references/

SKILL.md (first lines)

# QMD - Query Markdown Documents

## How search works

QMD searches local markdown collections: notes, docs, wikis, transcripts, and
project knowledge bases. Use it before web search when the answer may already be
in indexed local files.

The workflow is always:

1. Search for candidate documents.
2. Retrieve the full source with `qmd get` or `qmd multi-get`.
3. Answer from retrieved text, citing paths or docids.

Do not answer from snippets alone when the user needs facts, decisions, quotes,
or nuance. Snippets are only leads.

Typical loop:

```bash
qmd search "merchant reality support interviews" -n 5
# leads: #abc123 concepts/customer-proximity.md; #def432 sources/merchant-call.md
qmd multi-get "#abc123,#def432" --format md
```

**Default to structured `qmd query` with `intent:`, `lex:`, `vec:`, and `hyde:`
fields that you write yourself.** You are a better query expander than the
built-in model: you know the user's actual goal, the domain vocabulary, and the
nearby-but-wrong concepts to avoid. Do not just paste the user's words into
`qmd query "..."` and hope the expansion model guesses right — supply the
`intent:` and craft the lexical and semantic terms deliberately (see
[Pick the right search mode](#pick-the-right-search-mode)).

When reporting what you retrieved, a compact note is enough; do not paste whole
files unless needed:

```text
Retrieved:
- #abc123 concepts/customer-proximity.md
- #def432 sources/merchant-call.md
```

## Pick the right search mode

Use **BM25 lexical search** when you know exact words, titles, names, code
symbols, or rare phrases:

```bash
qmd search "cockpit OKR Goodhart" -n 10
qmd search '"AI Before Headcount"' -c concepts -n 5
```

Use **`qmd query` with structured fields** when the user describes an idea
indirectly, uses different wording than the source, or needs conceptual recall.
**This is the default mode — write the fields yourself rather than leaning on
query expansion.** Combine exact anchors with semantic recall:

```bash
qmd query $'intent: Find the concept note about metrics as instruments without letting OKRs replace judgment.\nlex: cockpit instruments OKR Goodhart metrics judgment\nvec: data informed not metric driven product judgment\nhyde: A concept note says metrics are useful like cockpit instruments, but leaders should remain data-informed rather than metric-driven because OKRs and dashboards can Goodhart product judgment.'
```

Structured query fields (you author each one — do not delegate this to the
expansion model):

- `intent:` states what you are trying to find **and what to avoid**. Always
  supply this. It steers ranking away from nearby-but-wrong concepts.
- `lex:` exact terms, aliases, titles, code symbols, and rare words you expect
  in the source. This is your own keyword expansion.
- `vec:` paraphrases the idea in natural language, in source-like wording.
- `hyde:` describes the document or answer that would satisfy the request.

You do not need all four every time, but you should almost always write at least
`intent:` plus one of `lex:`/`vec:`. A bare `qmd query "the user's sentence"`
throws away the context only you have and relies on the built-in expander to
reconstruct it — prefer the structured form.

If you genuinely have nothing to expand (a single rare token, a verbatim phrase),
that is a job for `qmd search`, not bare `qmd query`:

```bash
qmd query --format json --explain $'intent: ...\nlex: ...\nvec: ...'  # inspect ranking
```

If `qmd query` is slow or model/GPU setup fails, fall back to `qmd search` with
better lexical terms.

## Retrieve sources

Search results include docids like `#abc123` and `qmd://...` paths. Fetch them:

```bash
qmd get "#abc123"
qmd get qmd://concepts/ai-before-headcount.md
qmd multi-get "#abc123,#def432" --format md
qmd multi-get 'concepts/{ai-before-headcount.md,data-informed-not-metric-driven.md}' --format md
qmd multi-get 'sources/podcast-2025-*.md' -l 80
```

Use `multi-get` when comparing several hits or gathering context across pages.

### Output is line-numbered and carries the docid — cite both

`get` and `multi-get` are **line-numbered by default** and always print the
document's `#docid` and `qmd://` path. So `get` output looks like:

```text
qmd://concepts/note.md  #abc123
---

1: # Metrics as instruments
2:
3: Treat dashboards like cockpit instruments...
```

Cite the docid and exact line numbers in your answer, and use the numbers to ask
for the next slice. Pass `--no-line-numbers` only when you need raw content to
copy verbatim (e.g. reproducing a code block).

When you need to open or edit the underlying file (e.g. hand a path to `Read`,

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