LLM Wiki for Codebases

Build a persistent, interlinked markdown wiki that captures the architecture, modules, patterns, and APIs of a codebase. The wiki lives in .llm-wiki/ at the project root. Humans curate and direct; the LLM handles all bookkeeping.

Based on Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern: raw sources are "compiled" into a structured wiki that compounds over time.

Mode Detection

Determine the mode based on current state:

• No .llm-wiki/ directory exists -> Full Build mode
• .llm-wiki/ exists -> Update mode (diff and refresh)

Full Build Workflow

Phase 1: Reconnaissance

1. Read top-level files: README, package.json/Cargo.toml/go.mod/pyproject.toml/build.gradle etc.
2. Run find or Glob to map the directory tree (ignore node_modules, .git, vendor, dist, build, pycache, .venv)
3. Identify: language(s), framework(s), build system, entry point(s), test framework
4. Count files per directory to gauge module boundaries
5. Read CLAUDE.md / AGENTS.md / .cursor/rules if present - they contain valuable architectural context

Record findings in .llm-wiki/_schema.md (see references/wiki-schema.md for format).

Phase 2: Skeleton

Create the directory structure:

.llm-wiki/
  _schema.md          # Wiki conventions and project metadata
  _index.md           # Content-oriented catalog by category
  _log.md             # Chronological build/update log
  architecture/       # High-level design docs
  modules/            # Per-module deep dives
  concepts/           # Cross-cutting concepts (auth, caching, error handling...)
  apis/               # API surface docs (REST endpoints, CLI commands, exported functions)
  guides/             # How-to guides (setup, deployment, testing)

Phase 3: Core Articles

Write articles in priority order. See references/article-templates.md for templates.

Priority 1 - Architecture:

• architecture/overview.md - System architecture, component diagram (ASCII), tech stack
• architecture/data-flow.md - How data flows through the system
• architecture/directory-structure.md - Annotated directory tree

Priority 2 - Modules:

• One modules/<name>.md per major module/package/directory
• Cover: purpose, key files, public interface, internal patterns, dependencies

Priority 3 - Concepts:

• Cross-cutting concerns that span modules (auth, logging, error handling, state management, config)
• One concepts/<name>.md per concept

Priority 4 - APIs:

• External-facing API surfaces (REST routes, CLI commands, SDK exports)
• One apis/<name>.md per API group

Priority 5 - Guides:

• guides/setup.md - Dev environment setup
• guides/testing.md - How to run and write tests
• Other guides as relevant

Phase 4: Index and Cross-link

1. Build _index.md - organized by category with one-line descriptions and links
2. Ensure every article has a ## See Also section linking to related articles
3. Add backlinks: if A references B, B should reference A

Phase 5: Lint

Run a health check over the wiki:

• Broken internal links (references to non-existent .md files)
• Orphan pages (not linked from _index.md or any other page)
• Missing coverage (directories/modules with no corresponding article)
• Stale references (mentions of files/functions that don't exist in codebase)
• Inconsistent terminology

Fix issues found. Log the lint run in _log.md.

Update Workflow

When .llm-wiki/ already exists:

1. Read _schema.md to understand project metadata and conventions
2. Read _log.md to see last update timestamp
3. Detect changes since last wiki build:
   • git log --since="<last_update>" --name-status if git available
   • Otherwise, compare directory tree against architecture/directory-structure.md
4. Triage changes:
   • New files/directories -> create new articles or update existing ones
   • Modified files -> re-read and update affected articles
   • Deleted files -> remove references, mark articles for cleanup
   • Renamed/moved files -> update paths in all referencing articles
5. Update affected articles - re-read source, rewrite sections as needed
6. Update _index.md if new articles added or old ones removed
7. Run lint (same as Phase 5 above)
8. Append to _log.md with timestamp, summary of changes

Writing Guidelines

• Be factual: describe what the code does, not what it should do. Cite file paths and line ranges.
• Use code snippets: short inline examples from actual source, not invented ones.
• Link aggressively: every mention of another module/concept should be a markdown link to its article.
• Keep articles focused: one topic per article, 100-500 lines. Split if longer.
• Frontmatter: every article starts with a YAML frontmatter block:

  ---
  title: Module Name
  updated: 2026-04-09
  sources:
    - src/module/index.ts
    - src/module/utils.ts
  ---
  

• ASCII diagrams over external images - they live in version control and render anywhere.
• Language: match the project's primary language. If the codebase comments are in English, write in English. If Chinese, write in Chinese.

Agent Coordination

For large codebases (>500 source files), consider dispatching parallel agents:

• Agent per top-level module to write module articles concurrently
• One agent for architecture overview after modules are documented
• One agent for cross-linking and lint

Gitignore

Add .llm-wiki/ to .gitignore only if the user prefers it. By default, the wiki is intended to be committed alongside the code so the team benefits.

Key Principles (from Karpathy)

1. The wiki is the LLM's domain - humans rarely edit it directly
2. Knowledge compounds - each query and exploration enriches the wiki
3. Index files are critical - _index.md enables the LLM to navigate efficiently
4. Lint regularly - catch rot before it spreads
5. Log everything - _log.md provides temporal context for future updates