# Knowledge Lifecycle



<a id="section-stages"></a>

## From source to package

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  reg["Register"] --> cap["Capture"]
  cap --> idx["Indexer lifecycle"]
  idx --> cand["Candidates"]
  cand -->|approve| appr["Approved"]
  appr --> closed["Close"]
  closed --> built["Verify and build"]
```

| Stage | What happens | What it protects |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Register | A repository module, document folder or online document is recorded as a source boundary | Source identity and permission boundary; registration does not grant permission to read beyond it |
| Capture | Document bodies and embedded resources are saved as snapshots; repositories are read at a pinned commit | Complete bodies, resources and fingerprints, so later checks can detect stale inputs |
| Indexer lifecycle | Requirements are confirmed, a plan and work-start report are approved, then Indexer skills write articles in stages | Every section is bound to exact source locations |
| Review | You see the whole current batch of Candidates and approve, reject or ask for revisions | Approval is applied atomically; rejected material keeps a minimal fingerprint so it is not proposed again |
| Close | `knowledge/structure.yaml` is rebuilt from approved pages and their edges | The knowledge map matches the approved pages, without rewriting prose |
| Verify and build | Source references, frontmatter, structure and assets are checked, then packages and sites are produced | Distributed files map back to approved knowledge through a build inventory |


<a id="section-indexer"></a>

## Inside the Indexer lifecycle

The top-level workflow has a single production step, `run-indexer-lifecycle`, which hands over to the nested Indexer graph:

1. **Requirements.** The reader purpose, questions and authorized sources are recorded in `src/indexers.yaml`.
2. **Planning.** The Agent investigates and writes a plan of articles in batches.
3. **Work-start report.** The plan is presented for confirmation; managed authority does not waive a required decision.
4. **Stage writing.** Each task produces an article and its references; the CLI checks that every cited source is authorized for that task.
5. **Gaps and repair.** Missing evidence becomes further investigation or a repair, not an invented answer.

Code, Markdown, notes and session summaries all converge into one current Candidate batch, and one content Review admits it. See [The Indexer System](</context/llms/pages/3dab13da1f7192b75a2be5938cc815e2.txt>).


<a id="section-state"></a>

## Where state lives

| Location | Lifetime |
| --- | --- |
| `sources/` | Project state: registries and captured evidence |
| `.tmp/context-runtime/lifecycle/` | Disposable: structure drafts and the active Candidate ledger, removed after a successful close |
| `knowledge/` | Project state: approved pages and `structure.yaml` |
| `dist/` | Reproducible build output |

Candidate IDs are workflow state and never become the identity of approved knowledge; approved Markdown stores its stable identity in frontmatter and section metadata.


<a id="section-after"></a>

## After the build

Building completes the currently approved state; it does not freeze the Context knowledge workspace. The workflow records a new knowledge workspace version when content changes, before building. Later, `context revise` corrects a selected page and `context update` handles a selected source change; both run through Review and delivery again and touch only what is affected. See [Keeping Knowledge Current](</context/llms/pages/5ab69e04925afb8be867ea65ed680f86.txt>) and [Version-Aware Knowledge](</context/llms/pages/18ad2071817e654c495d330acc898bf9.txt>).

---

## Sources

- [context/packages/context-cli/README.md L113–L121 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context-cli/README.md#L113-L121>)
- [context/ARCHITECTURE.md L236–L257 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/ARCHITECTURE.md#L236-L257>)
- [context/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/workspace.yaml L351–L369 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/workspace.yaml#L351-L369>)
- [context/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/indexer.yaml L1–L67 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/indexer.yaml#L1-L67>)
- [context/docs/en/case-studies/agent-graph-workflow.md L57–L66 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/docs/en/case-studies/agent-graph-workflow.md#L57-L66>)
- [context/ARCHITECTURE.md L236–L252 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/ARCHITECTURE.md#L236-L252>)
- [context/ARCHITECTURE.md L151–L160 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/ARCHITECTURE.md#L151-L160>)
- [context/ARCHITECTURE.md L275–L277 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/ARCHITECTURE.md#L275-L277>)
- [context/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/workspace.yaml L343–L349 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context-cli/context-workflow/graphs/workspace.yaml#L343-L349>)
- [context/packages/context/docs/getting-started.md L150–L157 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context/docs/getting-started.md#L150-L157>)
- [context/packages/context-cli/README.md L123–L124 · 3b0ce0a](<https://github.com/context4ai/context/blob/3b0ce0a0a1761f5fceb3bb48fb9dc29b54c0786b/packages/context-cli/README.md#L123-L124>)