The Indexer System

What an Indexer is

An Indexer is an Agent skill that helps the Agent expose a source's skeleton and write source-grounded articles from it. It is guidance for reading and writing, not a mandatory full scan and not a classifier inside the CLI. The CLI prepares each stage, supplies its material and acceptance rules, and checks the result; the Indexer contributes how to investigate and explain one kind of source.

Four built-in Indexers

Indexer	Reads	Starts from
context-code-indexer	Repository modules	Directory and file navigation, manifests, entries and registrations; detailed code reading during writing
context-markdown-indexer	Captured documents and same-repository docs	Titles, bounded opening excerpts and H2/H3 outlines; full text before writing
context-note-indexer	Saved notes, excerpts and observations	Direct reading, no parser
context-sessions-indexer	Saved conversation summaries	Direct reading, no parser

All four are installed with the plugin and discoverable in every supported host. Installing an Indexer makes it available; it does not select it. Community Indexers describes each one in more detail.

How the workflow uses them

flowchart LR
  req["Requirements"] --> plan["Planning"]
  plan -->|"picks Indexers"| usage["indexer_usage"]
  usage --> write["Stage writing"]
  write -->|"CLI checks"| cand["Candidates"]

• src/indexers.yaml holds only confirmed requirements: purpose, reader goals, coverage domains and authorized sources.
• During planning the Agent chooses the relevant Indexers and records them as indexer_usage in the temporary plan; that choice is not persisted on articles.
• Several Indexers may explain different aspects of the same module, and their findings can support one article. There is no primary owner, no Provider resolution step and no version or hash pinning of skills.
• Each writing task produces Markdown and references in a temporary directory; the CLI accepts them and owns Candidates, Review and formal output.

Creating your own

When a technology or document family needs specialist guidance, /c4a:context-indexer-create writes a new reusable Indexer skill in a directory you choose. A new Indexer starts with a useful skeleton — source structure, recognizable features, names, established counts and entry locations — and may add a bounded helper for its technology. It delivers a SKILL.md plus only the references, templates or scripts that help, and is validated against realistic anonymous material. It does not register a Provider manifest or start production; after installation it is available for the Agent to select. See Creating an Indexer for the step-by-step guide and Providers and Customization for combining, replacing and disabling Indexers.

Where a needed structural fact is missing, writing guidance cannot create it — that calls for a parser. See Code Extraction.

Indexer 体系

Indexer 是什么

Indexer 是一种 Agent 技能，帮助 Agent 展示来源的骨架，并据此撰写基于来源的文章。它是阅读和写作的指引，既不是强制的全量扫描，也不是 CLI 内部的分类器。CLI 负责准备每个阶段、提供资料和验收规则并检查结果；Indexer 贡献的是如何调查和讲解某一类来源。

四个内置 Indexer

Indexer	读取	起点
context-code-indexer	仓库模块	目录和文件导航、清单文件、入口和注册点；撰写时再详细阅读代码
context-markdown-indexer	采集的文档和同仓库文档	标题、有限的开头摘录以及 H2/H3 大纲；撰写前阅读全文
context-note-indexer	保存的笔记、摘录和观察记录	直接阅读，无解析器
context-sessions-indexer	保存的会话摘要	直接阅读，无解析器

这四个 Indexer 都随插件安装，在所有支持的宿主中都可被发现。安装 Indexer 只是让它可用，并不代表选中它。社区 Indexer 一览对每个 Indexer 有更详细的介绍。

工作流如何使用它们

flowchart LR
  req["需求"] --> plan["计划"]
  plan -->|"选择 Indexer"| usage["indexer_usage"]
  usage --> write["阶段撰写"]
  write -->|"CLI 检查"| cand["候选"]

• src/indexers.yaml 只保存已确认的需求：目的、读者目标、覆盖领域和已授权的来源。
• 在计划阶段，Agent 选择相关的 Indexer，并在临时计划中记录为 indexer_usage；这一选择不会持久化到文章上。
• 多个 Indexer 可以讲解同一模块的不同方面，它们的发现可以共同支撑一篇文章。没有主负责方，没有 Provider 解析步骤，也不对技能做版本或哈希固定。
• 每个撰写任务在临时目录中产出 Markdown 和引用；CLI 接收它们，并负责候选、审核和正式输出。

创建自己的 Indexer

当某种技术或某类文档需要专门指引时，/c4a:context-indexer-create 会在你选择的目录中编写一个新的可复用 Indexer 技能。新 Indexer 从有用的骨架起步——来源结构、可识别特征、名称、已确定的数量和入口位置——并可以为其技术添加一个范围有限的辅助工具。它交付一个 SKILL.md，外加确实有帮助的参考资料、模板或脚本，并用真实的匿名资料进行验证。它不会登记 Provider 清单，也不会启动知识生产；安装后即可供 Agent 选择。分步指南见创建 Indexer；组合、替换和禁用 Indexer 的方法见 Provider 与定制。

如果缺少所需的结构性事实，写作指引无法凭空创造——那需要解析器。参见代码抽取。