/preserve

name: preserve
description: >
  Single write point for the vault. Centralizes entity detection, textual matching,
  entity creation/update, and bidirectional linking. Accepts structured input
  (list of entities), free-form input (text, meeting notes, session context),
  or graphify output (graph.json + obsidian markdown from /graphify pipeline).
  Use when: "bedrock preserve", "bedrock-preserve", "save to vault", "record in vault", "/bedrock:preserve",
  or when another skill (e.g., /bedrock:learn) needs to persist entities in the vault.
user_invocable: true
allowed-tools: Bash, Read, Write, Edit, Glob, Grep, Agent, mcp__plugin_github_github__*, mcp__plugin_atlassian_atlassian__*

/bedrock:preserve — Single Write Point for the Vault

Plugin Paths

Entity definitions and templates are in the plugin directory, not in the vault root. Use the "Base directory for this skill" provided at invocation to resolve paths:

• Entity definitions: `<base_dir>/../../entities/`
• Templates: `<base_dir>/../../templates/{type}/_template.md`
• Plugin CLAUDE.md: `<base_dir>/../../CLAUDE.md` (already injected automatically into context)

Where `<base_dir>` is the path provided in "Base directory for this skill".

---

Vault Resolution

Resolve which vault to operate on. This skill can be invoked from any directory.

**Step 1 — Parse `--vault` flag:** Check if the input arguments include `--vault <name>`. If found, extract the vault name and remove it from the arguments before further parsing.

**Step 2 — Resolve vault path:**

1. **If `--vault <name>` was provided:** Read the vault registry at `<base_dir>/../../vaults.json`. Find the entry matching the name. If not found: error — "Vault `<name>` is not registered. Run `/bedrock:vaults` to see available vaults." If found: set `VAULT_PATH` to the entry's `path` value.

2. **If no `--vault` flag — CWD detection:** Read `<base_dir>/../../vaults.json`. Check if the current working directory is inside any registered vault path (CWD starts with a registered vault's absolute path). If multiple match, use the longest path (most specific). If found: set `VAULT_PATH` to the matching vault's `path`.

3. **If CWD detection fails — default vault:** From the registry, find the vault with `"default": true`. If found: set `VAULT_PATH` to the default vault's `path`.

4. **If no resolution:** Error — "No vault resolved. Available vaults:" followed by the registry listing. "Use `--vault <name>` to specify, or run `/bedrock:setup` to register a vault."

**Step 3 — Validate vault path:**

test -d "<VAULT_PATH>" && echo "exists" || echo "missing"

If missing: error — "Vault path `<VAULT_PATH>` does not exist on disk. Run `/bedrock:setup` to re-register."

**Step 4 — Read vault config:**

cat <VAULT_PATH>/.bedrock/config.json 2>/dev/null

Extract `language`, `git.strategy`, and other relevant fields for use in later phases.

**From this point forward, ALL vault file operations use `<VAULT_PATH>` as the root.**

• Entity directories: `<VAULT_PATH>/actors/`, `<VAULT_PATH>/people/`, etc.
• Vault config: `<VAULT_PATH>/.bedrock/config.json`
• Git operations: `git -C <VAULT_PATH> <command>`

---

Overview

This skill centralizes ALL write logic for the vault. It receives input (structured, free-form, or graphify output), identifies entities, correlates with the existing vault, proposes changes to the user, and executes after confirmation. It is the only path to create or update entities in the vault (except `/sync-people` which handles people/teams via GitHub API).

**You are an execution agent.** Follow the phases below in order, without skipping steps.

---

Phase 0 — Pre-Write Setup

Two pre-flight steps run before any input parsing: synchronize the vault with its remote, then (when applicable) merge an incoming graphify output directory into the vault's cumulative `graphify-out/`.

0.1 Vault Sync

Execute:

git -C <VAULT_PATH> pull --rebase origin main

If the pull fails:

• No remote configured: warn "No remote configured. Working locally." and proceed.
• Pull conflict: `git -C <VAULT_PATH> rebase --abort` and warn the user. DO NOT proceed without resolving.
• Otherwise: proceed.

0.2 Merge Incoming Graphify Output

**When this runs:** Only when the skill was invoked with a `graphify_output_path` argument pointing at a graphify output directory (e.g., `/bedrock:learn` passes `$TEACH_TMP/graphify-out-new/`). Free-form text input and structured entity-list input skip this sub-phase entirely.

**Skip condition (backward compat):** If the input's `graphify_output_path` resolves to the same absolute path as `<VAULT_PATH>/graphify-out/`, skip this sub-phase. Legacy callers (and `/bedrock:sync` in its current form) point at the vault's own output directory — there is nothing to merge. Use `realpath` (or equivalent) to compare:

incoming_real=$(cd "<graphify_output_path>" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)
vault_real=$(cd "<VAULT_PATH>/graphify-out" 2>/dev/null && pwd -P)
if [ "$incoming_real" = "$vault_real" ]; then
  echo "Phase 0.2: graphify_output_path already points at the vault — skipping merge."
  # proceed to Phase 1 with graphify_output_path unchanged
fi

**Skip condition (no graphify input):** If the input is free-form text, structured entity list, or otherwise does not include `graphify_output_path`, skip.

---

**Step 1 — Validate incoming directory.** Verify that `<graphify_output_path>/graph.json` exists, is non-empty, and parses as valid JSON. If invalid, abort with a clear error and do NOT mutate the vault:

if [ ! -s "<graphify_output_path>/graph.json" ]; then
  echo "ERROR: graph.json missing or empty in <graphify_output_path>. Aborting before vault mutation."
  exit 1
fi
python3 -c "import json,sys; json.load(open('<graphify_output_path>/graph.json'))" || { echo "ERROR: graph.json is not valid JSON."; exit 1; }

**Step 2 — First-ingestion edge case.** If `<VAULT_PATH>/grap