# Cortex Navigate Knowledge

> Navigate the knowledge graph — trace entity relationships, explore causal chains, drill into memory clusters, and traverse co-access paths. Use when the user asks 'how are these related', 'what connects X to Y', 'show me the knowledge graph', 'trace the relationship', 'what caused X', 'drill down into', 'explore connections', or when you need to understand the web of relationships between concept…

- **Type:** Skill
- **Install:** `agentstack add skill-cdeust-cortex-cortex-navigate-knowledge`
- **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior
- **Seller:** [cdeust](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/cdeust)
- **Installs:** 0
- **Category:** [AI & ML](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/ai-and-ml)
- **Latest version:** 0.1.0
- **License:** MIT
- **Upstream author:** [cdeust](https://github.com/cdeust)
- **Source:** https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex/tree/main/skills/cortex-navigate-knowledge
- **Website:** https://ai-architect.tools

## Install

```sh
agentstack add skill-cdeust-cortex-cortex-navigate-knowledge
```

Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent.

## About

# Navigate Knowledge — Graph Exploration and Causal Chains

## Keywords
knowledge graph, relationships, connections, causal chain, how are these related, what connects, drill down, explore, navigate, entity graph, trace, cause and effect, related to, linked to, co-access, cluster

## Overview

Cortex maintains a knowledge graph of entities (people, technologies, concepts, files) and their relationships extracted from memories. This skill lets you traverse that graph — follow causal chains, explore co-access patterns, drill into fractal memory clusters, and understand how different pieces of knowledge connect.

**Use this skill when:** You need to understand relationships between concepts, trace cause-and-effect chains, or explore a topic area systematically.

## Workflow

### Step 1: Trace Causal Chains

Follow entity relationships through the knowledge graph:

```
cortex:get_causal_chain({
  "entity": "PostgreSQL",
  "direction": "both",
  "max_depth": 3
})
```

Returns a chain of entities connected by typed relationships (causes, uses, depends_on, related_to, etc.). Direction can be `"forward"` (effects), `"backward"` (causes), or `"both"`.

### Step 2: Navigate Co-Access Paths

Find memories frequently accessed together using Successor Representation:

```
cortex:navigate_memory({
  "memory_id": ,
  "depth": 2,
  "max_nodes": 20
})
```

Returns a graph of memories connected by co-access frequency — revealing implicit relationships that aren't in the explicit knowledge graph.

### Step 3: Hierarchical Exploration

Browse memories through fractal clusters (L0 = broad, L1 = mid, L2 = specific):

```
cortex:recall_hierarchical({
  "query": "authentication system",
  "levels": 3
})
```

Then drill into any interesting cluster:

```
cortex:drill_down({
  "cluster_id": "",
  "level": "L1"
})
```

### Step 4: Detect Structural Gaps

Find disconnected or under-connected areas:

```
cortex:detect_gaps({
  "domain": ""
})
```

Returns isolated entities, sparse domains, and temporal drift — areas where your knowledge graph has holes.

## Use Cases

**Understanding a new codebase:**
1. Recall hierarchical to get broad topic clusters
2. Drill down into the most relevant cluster
3. Navigate co-access paths from key memories
4. Trace causal chains for core entities

**Debugging with context:**
1. Recall memories about the error/module
2. Get causal chain for the affected entity
3. Navigate to co-accessed memories (past fixes, related patterns)

**Architecture review:**
1. Get causal chains for key components
2. Detect gaps in architectural documentation
3. Assess coverage for each module

## Tips

- **Start broad, go narrow**: Use hierarchical recall first, then drill down and navigate from specific memories
- **Causal chains reveal architecture**: The knowledge graph captures how components depend on each other — useful for impact analysis
- **Co-access reveals workflow**: Memories accessed together often represent a workflow or related concern, even if they're not explicitly linked

## Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

- **Author:** [cdeust](https://github.com/cdeust)
- **Source:** [cdeust/Cortex](https://github.com/cdeust/Cortex)
- **License:** MIT
- **Homepage:** https://ai-architect.tools

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.

## Pricing

- **Free** — Free

## Security capabilities

Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access:

- **Network access:** no
- **Filesystem access:** no
- **Shell / process execution:** no
- **Environment & secrets:** no
- **Dynamic code execution:** no

*"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.*


## Versions

- **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source.

## Links

- Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-cdeust-cortex-cortex-navigate-knowledge
- Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/cdeust
- Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse

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