Summary
A pattern where LLMs incrementally build and maintain a structured, interlinked knowledge base (wiki) instead of relying on RAG for every query. Knowledge is “compiled” once from raw sources, then kept current — the LLM handles the bookkeeping humans tend to abandon.
Key Points
- Three layers: Raw Sources (immutable) → Wiki (LLM-maintained) → Schema (conventions)
- Three operations: Ingest (add knowledge), Query (retrieve + synthesize), Lint/Maintain (audit quality)
- Compiled truth pattern: Separate current conclusions from evidence timeline
- LLM’s sweet spot: Cross-referencing, consistency, multi-file updates — tedious work humans skip
- Schema as leverage: A well-written config file (CLAUDE.md) can drive the entire system without code
Implementations
- Karpathy (2025): Conceptual pattern, pure Markdown + CLAUDE.md
- Garry Tan / GBrain (2025): Full product spec — SQLite, FTS5, vectors, MCP server, CLI
Open Questions
- How to prevent error accumulation over many update cycles?
- At what scale does Markdown + grep stop being sufficient?
- Does LLM-maintained knowledge reduce the human’s own understanding?
Evidence Timeline
- 2026-04-07: Initial compilation from Karpathy’s LLM Wiki gist and Garry Tan’s GBrain spec