Locus

Step 2 — Navigate to a room

For each relevant room:

1. Read the room's main file:

   cat <palace-root>/<room-path>/<room-name>.md
   

2. Check the References section — read specialty files only if directly relevant.
3. Stop reading when you have enough information. Do not speculatively load files.

Report (internally):

• Which files were read
• Total lines loaded

Step 3 — Write: canonical fact

Use when recording a durable, verified fact that persists across sessions.

1. Identify the canonical file that owns this fact.
2. Read the file if not already loaded.
3. Edit the file in place:

   # Use your editor or patch tool to make a targeted edit
   

   • Update the relevant section in place.
   • Remove or supersede outdated entries — do not append alongside them.
   • Stay within the 200-line limit for room main files.
4. If the edit would push the file over its limit → extract the growing section into a specialty file and add a reference in the main file.
5. Verify INDEX.md still accurately describes the room. Update if needed.

Step 4 — Write: session log

Use for ephemeral findings or anything not yet confirmed as durable. Always write a session log at the end of any session that touched a room.

1. Determine the target room.
2. Open or create <room-name>/sessions/YYYY-MM-DD.md (today's date). If the file exists, append. If multiple sessions in one day: YYYY-MM-DD-2.md.
3. Append using this structure:

## <HH:MM> — <brief task description>

### Findings
<Specific facts learned.>

### Actions Taken
<What was written or changed, with file references.>

### Consolidation Notes
<What to promote to a canonical file. Be explicit. Leave blank if nothing.>

4. Never edit a session log entry after writing it.

Step 5 — Create a new room

Only when no existing room fits the information to be stored.

1. Create the directory:

   mkdir -p <palace-root>/<layer>/<room-name>/sessions
   # layer is "global" or "projects/<project-name>"
   

2. Copy and fill in the room template from templates/room/room-name.md.
3. Add the room to INDEX.md with a one-line description and path.
4. Verify INDEX.md remains under 50 lines.

Step 6 — Check consolidation triggers

After any write, check:

Output

At the end of every Locus operation, emit:

Locus: read <N> files (<M> lines). Wrote to <file(s)>. [Consolidation needed: yes/no]

Installation

Copy or symlink to your Codex skills directory:

cp skills/codex/locus/SKILL.md ~/.codex/skills/locus/SKILL.md