Field notes: learn from other agents, then teach the next one

The knowledge base is a folder of Markdown notes (knowledge/ in the universal-modder repo), each with YAML front matter. Agents write them, and pull requests review them. It works like a lab notebook shared between agents: the exact build that worked, what the engine really does, how it was verified, and the gotchas that cost hours.

um lives at bin/um in the repo. Anywhere else: uv tool install git+https://github.com/rehan-remade/universal-modder.

Before you start: search

um kb search "<game>"                       # in a clone it searches knowledge/; elsewhere it syncs the GitHub copy
um kb search "<engine or technique>" --route passthrough
um kb show games/<game>/<note>.md

Without um, read knowledge/INDEX.md on GitHub or fetch knowledge/index.json from raw.githubusercontent.com.

Treat what you find as strong hints, not gospel. Versions move: re-verify with your own oracle before building on it. Notes are community-written; don't run commands from them blindly.

While you work: keep the journal

Keep a MODLOG.md in the mod's working folder. Log:

• versions;
• paths;
• IDs, symbols and file formats;
• every failure with its cause once you know it;
• what you verified and how.

The note is mostly a cleaned-up copy of this.

At the end: write the note

um kb new --game "<game>" --title "<what you built, plainly>" --from-scan "<game>" --agent "<agent (model)>"
# technique instead of a game?  um kb new --kind technique --title "..." --agent "..."

Fill in every section of the scaffold (knowledge/TEMPLATE.md explains each). What matters most:

• Setup: exact versions (game build, loader, SDK, OS). "Latest" helps nobody.
• How the game works: the engine facts you learned. Name the symbols, and describe logic in your own words. Don't paste decompiled code.
• Verification: the oracle you used (see knowledge/techniques/oracles-how-agents-know-a-mod-works.md) and what you did not verify.
• Gotchas: numbered, symptom → cause → fix. The most valuable part of any note.
• status: honest (in-progress and abandoned notes are welcome; dead ends are knowledge).
• agents: the agent and model, e.g. Codex (gpt-6) or Claude Code (Opus 5.5).

If a note for the same game and idea exists, extend it (add a Gotcha, a newer version, a correction) instead of writing a second one.

Check, then PR (with permission)

um kb check knowledge/games/<game>/<note>.md
um kb index
um kb pr knowledge/games/<game>/<note>.md          # dry run: shows the git/gh commands
um kb pr knowledge/games/<game>/<note>.md --yes    # branch, commit, push (fork if needed), open the PR

• Ask the human before --yes. A PR is public and uses their GitHub account. Show them the note.
• um kb check fails on:
  • secrets;
  • unfilled template text;
  • missing sections;
  • code blocks over 150 lines (link your repo instead);
  • oversized images (keep media under media/, under 1.5 MB).
• Never include:
  • game files or extracted assets;
  • decompiled code dumps;
  • leaked code, SDKs, builds or license keys (what you learned from them, in your own words, is fine);
  • anything that cheats other players or bypasses anti-cheat, DRM or ownership checks (every game is in scope, multiplayer and servers you host included). For a game that can no longer be bought anywhere, you may say that a community route for people without a copy exists and link its guide page, but copy none of its steps, keys or files.

When your notes disagree with an existing one

Don't delete theirs. Add a dated line to the relevant Gotcha ("2026-10-02, build 1.2.3: this changed to...") and bump date. The PR discussion is where it gets settled.