index

ARC skill: index

/modules/index is Arc’s retrieval Index: structured discovery over path-addressed objects (FTS, anchors, optional semantic/vector). It exists so “looks like files on AFS” stays queryable without a full-tree scan.

Offline booklet only. Prefer live explain after a daemon is up.

Name disambiguation (read this)

Name	Meaning	This skill?
/modules/index	Retrieval provider — index / query / reindex (FTS, anchors, optional vectors)	Yes
AFS Index (manifest-of-manifests)	Federated routing / distributed naming of AFS sources	No — architecture docs only; do not mix into query recipes

If the task is “search my objects,” you want /modules/index.

Prefer

1. arc skill show space when you still need somewhere durable to write objects
2. Then this booklet for find / query
3. Live: arc afs explain /modules/index + list …/.actions

Discover (daemon up)

arc afs explain /modules/index --instance <name>
arc afs ls /modules/index --instance <name>
arc afs ls /modules/index/.actions --instance <name>
arc afs read /.knowledge/index --instance <name>   # when that knowledge entry exists

Always explain an action path before inventing --args.

Golden path: write object → index → FTS query

Space (or /user) holds the object; Index discovers it. Many mounts auto-index on write; you can also call index explicitly.

# 1) Persist a small object (confirm writable path with explain first)
arc afs write /user/notes/hello.md "arc space index golden path" --instance <name>

# 2) Optional explicit index (schema via explain …/index)
arc afs exec /modules/index/.actions/index --instance <name> \
  --args '{"entryPath":"/user/notes/hello.md","summary":"arc space index golden path"}'

# 3) FTS query
arc afs exec /modules/index/.actions/query --instance <name> \
  --args '{"mode":"fts","text":"golden path","opts":{"limit":10}}'

# Optional: semantic/vector when embeddings are configured in the live world
# arc afs exec /modules/index/.actions/query --args '{"mode":"semantic","text":"..."}' --instance <name>

Other useful actions (names only — take args from explain): reindex, get, cleanup, register-domain, discover.

Decision tree

• Know the path → arc afs ls / read / stat
• Need search / facets / recall → /modules/index/.actions/query
• Need durable store without DB+blob → arc skill show space
• Memory provider often delegates to Index — prefer memory tools when the product surface is “agent memory”; use /modules/index for explicit search

Related

• DID Space / data objects: arc skill show space
• Path ops: arc skill show afs
• Offline catalog: arc skill list
• Install: arc skill install index