---
name: ai-brain-kb
description: "Read and write the ai_brain_kb Qdrant collection — the fleet's one brain. Every write goes through ai_brain_kb.py; the better_qdrant MCP write tool is FORBIDDEN because it produces unsearchable points."
version: 2.0.0
author: Hermes Agent
license: MIT
platforms: [linux]
metadata:
  hermes:
    tags: [qdrant, knowledge-base, ai-brain, search, rag, bm25]
    related_skills: [research-knowledge-management, deep-web-research, qdrant-collection-management]
---

# AI Brain KB — the fleet's one brain

`ai_brain_kb` is the single Qdrant collection holding all AI/ML knowledge: research,
pipeline state, model configs, prompts, decisions, bugs, hardware facts. One brain,
one collection — never a topic-specific collection.

## THE ONE RULE — writes go through `ai_brain_kb.py`, nothing else

```bash
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py add --type <t> --title "..." --content "..." [flags]
```

That helper is **the only interface that produces a usable, searchable record.**

### Why `mcp__better_qdrant__add_documents` is FORBIDDEN for this collection

It performs a **bare-vector upsert**. For every chunk it writes it produces:

| | `ai_brain_kb.py add` | `mcp__better_qdrant__add_documents` |
|---|---|---|
| dense vector (unnamed slot) | yes | yes |
| **`bm25` sparse vector** | **yes** | **NO** |
| `doc_type` / `title` / `tags` | yes | **NO** |
| `trust` / `host` / `path` / `doc_id` / `pipeline_stage` | yes | **NO** |

A point with no `bm25` slot **cannot be returned by a keyword/BM25 search** — paste an
exact error string, model filename or node name and it will never match. A point with
no `doc_type` **cannot be returned by any typed search** (`--type research`,
`--type issue`, …) or by any faceted list. It survives only in the dense half of a
hybrid query and renders as `[?] (untitled)`.

**It looks ingested and it cannot be found.** This is not a style preference — roughly
4,700 points in this collection were created that way and had to be repaired. Do not
create more. There is no file size, no hurry and no MCP convenience that justifies it.

If you catch yourself reaching for `add_documents` because the helper is awkward for a
big file: the helper takes `--file` and chunks it itself, with no MCP 120 s timeout.

## Writing

```bash
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py add \
  --type finding --title "LTX 2.3 audio desync above 121 frames" \
  --content "..." \
  --stage t2v --tool ltx-video --host 10.0.0.202 \
  --trust official --importance 0.7 --tags "ltx-2.3,audio,desync"
```

Long documents: `--file /abs/path/report.md` instead of `--content` (auto-chunked,
one shared `doc_id` across the chunks). `--json` prints `{"doc_id":…, "chunks":N}`.

| Flag | Meaning |
|---|---|
| `--type` **(required)** | `tool` `setting` `workflow` `host` `model` `technique` `issue` `decision` `research` `asset` `prompt` `finding` |
| `--title` **(required)** | what a future search will read as the headline |
| `--content` / `--file` | body text, or a file to chunk |
| `--stage` | `story` `script` `character` `keyframe` `t2v` `i2v` `upscale` `interpolate` `tts` `lipsync` `music` `assembly` `publish` `infra` |
| `--tool` `--host` `--path` `--url` `--version` | provenance; `--host` is the box the fact is about |
| `--status` | `active` `candidate` `deprecated` `broken` `planned` (default `active`) |
| `--trust` | `official` `github` `community` `social` (default `official`) |
| `--tags` | comma-separated; **tags are an exact-match keyword index** — put the slug, the filename, the error code here |
| `--importance` | 0.0–1.0 |
| `--doc-id` | append more chunks to an existing document |

Unknown vocabulary values warn but are accepted — the schema is faceted, not strict.
A warning is not a failure; do **not** switch to the MCP tool because of one.

### Mandatory before every write: dedup-first

```bash
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py search --query "<the thing you are about to save>"
```

- score **≥ 0.85** — already recorded, skip
- **0.70–0.84** — add only if meaningfully new
- **< 0.70** — always add

### Host records

`--type host`, one stable `--doc-id` per box. Re-add with the same `--doc-id` to update
or append a dated chunk, rather than creating a second record for the same machine.

## Reading

```bash
# hybrid (dense + BM25, RRF fusion) — the default, use it
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py search --query "ltx 2.3 native audio"

# pure keyword — exact filenames, error strings, node names
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py search --query "ltxv-097-dev-fp8.safetensors" --mode bm25

# typed / faceted
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py list --type issue --tool comfyui --limit 20
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py list --tag 2026-08-09-horizon-scan
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py facet --field tool
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py stats            # points, doc_type inventory, health
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py stale --days 30
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py get --id <point-id>
```

`mcp__better_qdrant__search` is **read-only and therefore allowed**, but it is
dense-only — it silently misses anything a keyword query would have found. Prefer the
helper's `search`. Use the MCP one only when you have no shell.

## Deleting

```bash
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py delete --doc-id <uuid> --yes   # a whole document
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py delete --id <point-id> --yes   # one chunk
```

Per-document delete **exists**. Never
`mcp__better_qdrant__delete_collection(collection="ai_brain_kb")` — that destroys the
fleet's entire brain and there is no undo. Earlier versions of this skill described the
nuke as the only option; that was wrong.

## Verify the write landed

A write is not done until it is retrievable **both ways**. The BM25 leg is the one a
bare upsert cannot pass, so it is the real test:

```bash
D=<doc_id from --json>
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py search --query "<distinctive phrase>" --mode bm25 --doc-id $D
python3 /home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py list --type <the type you used> --doc-id $D
```

Zero hits on the BM25 leg means something other than `ai_brain_kb.py` wrote it.

## Deep-research reports

Do not ingest them by hand. `publish_report.py` (in the `deep-web-research` skill) is
the only sanctioned path — it publishes, ingests via this helper, verifies hybrid+BM25,
and writes the `.meta.json` receipt in one action.

A `.meta.json` sidecar is a **receipt written after verification, not proof**. Sidecars
written before that rule exists claim `doc_id`s that were never upserted. If you need
to know whether a report is in the brain, ask the brain (`list --tag <slug>`), never the
directory listing.

## Infrastructure

| Setting | Value |
|---|---|
| Qdrant | `http://10.0.0.22:6333`, collection `ai_brain_kb` |
| Embeddings | `snowflake-arctic-embed2` on **mini, `10.0.0.30:11434`** — the fleet's only embedder |
| Helper | `/home/n8n/bin/ai_brain_kb.py` (zero deps, urllib only) |
| Vectors | unnamed dense 1024-dim + named sparse `bm25` |

**The CARE rule for mini:** every ingest embeds there and nothing else in the fleet can.
Batch your writes, keep them bounded, never hammer it.

## Pitfalls

- **Never hand-roll raw Qdrant HTTP for a write.** A `PUT /collections/ai_brain_kb/points`
  with a bare vector reproduces the exact defect the MCP tool causes. Reads
  (`GET /collections/...`, `POST .../points/scroll`, `.../points/count`) are fine.
- **Absolute paths** for `--file` / `--path`.
- **Collection name is exact** — `ai_brain_kb`, not `ai-brain-kb`.
- **Don't create topic-specific collections.** No `ltx-research`, no `comfyui-workflows`.
- **`fact_store` and the `memories` collection are not the brain.** Research findings,
  model configs, prompt guides and infra facts all go here.
- **A search that returns nothing is a real answer.** Say "not in the brain" and go
  research it — do not assume the record exists but is hiding.