archaeology

Skill: Query Archaeology

Purpose

Retrieve proven SQL patterns, table cheatsheets, and join patterns from the query archaeology store so agents reuse validated work instead of writing SQL from scratch. The skill also defines the store's local write path: after a validated analysis, the final SQL is curated back into the store (the Writer Convention below), which is what makes the retrieval loop close.

When to Use

• Automatically before any analysis agent writes SQL (pre-flight step)
• Manually when the user asks about known patterns for a table or join
• After a validated analysis, to curate the proven SQL (Writer Convention)

Instructions

Step 1: Check the Index

Read .knowledge/query-archaeology/curated/index.yaml. Parse counters: cookbook_entries, table_cheatsheets, join_patterns.

If all three are zero (or the file is missing), stop here. Return nothing and do not mention archaeology to the user.

Step 2: Identify Search Terms

From the current analysis context, extract:

• Table names the agent is about to query (e.g., orders, events)
• Query intent tags (e.g., funnel, retention, revenue, cohort)

Step 3: Search the Three Stores

Search each store that has entries (per index counts). Match using case-insensitive substring -- order matches orders, order_items.

3a. Cookbook (curated/cookbook/*.yaml)

For each file, check:

• tables array -- any element contains a search table name as substring?
• tags array -- any element matches a query intent tag?

Extract on match: title, sql, tables, tags, and any caveats/notes.

3b. Table Cheatsheets (curated/tables/*.yaml)

For each file, check:

• table_name contains a search table name as substring?

Extract on match: table_name, grain, primary_key, common_filters, gotchas, common_joins.

3c. Join Patterns (curated/joins/*.yaml)

For each file, check:

• tables array -- at least two elements match search table names?
• If only one search table, match if tables contains it as substring.