Capabilities
Context
Context is what MAIA remembers between runs. Skills hold your method, and knowledge holds what MAIA should know about you and your work.
Why it matters#
Context is what makes Compound work. A skill carries your method to the next county. Knowledge carries your context to the next project. A run starts better when MAIA already knows how you work and who you are.
Two kinds of context#
Those are two different things, and MAIA stores them apart.
| Ask | Skills | Knowledge |
|---|---|---|
| Holds | SkillsA method: criteria, thresholds, steps, and output format | KnowledgeContext: your business, your markets, your terms |
| Answers | SkillsHow do we do this? | KnowledgeWho is asking? |
| Loaded | SkillsWhen a run needs it | KnowledgeThe core file on every turn, other entries when a run needs them |
| Tied to a place | SkillsNo. A skill runs in any county, so it must not name one | KnowledgeProject knowledge is. It ends with the project |
| Read more | SkillsSkills | KnowledgeKnowledge |
Scopes side by side#
Both are scoped. The scope decides who can see an entry and where MAIA uses it.
| Scope | Skills | Knowledge |
|---|---|---|
| Personal | SkillsPrivate to you, in every project | KnowledgePrivate to you, in every project |
| Workspace | SkillsEveryone in the workspace can run it | KnowledgeEveryone in the workspace, on every turn |
| Project | SkillsNone | KnowledgeProject memory, which lives and ends with the project |
| System | SkillsMAIA's ready-made skills, which are read-only | KnowledgeNone |
How context reaches a run#
Only the core knowledge files load on every turn, one per scope. Everything else waits until a run asks for it: MAIA sees one line per skill, a name and a description, and loads a skill's full instructions only when a run calls for it. That keeps a run focused on the question in front of it.
Three things follow:
- What you put in a core file costs attention on every run. Keep it to what is true of all your work.
- A skill that names a county or city will not carry to the next county. Leave the place out.
- MAIA saves a lasting fact to knowledge on its own when you state one. Read what it holds from time to time.
In the app and over MCP#
Both kinds live under your account, on the Knowledge & skills tab. A project's own memory is on the project's Project memory tab. Over MCP, list_skills and save_skill handle skills, and save_to_maia_memory writes knowledge. The teach_maia prompt fills in a profile of your work. See Tools and Prompts.
In this section
- SkillsA MAIA skill takes a method you have worked out and returns a run you can repeat. It records the criteria, the steps, and the output format, and it runs in any county.
- KnowledgeMAIA's knowledge takes what you tell it about your business and returns it as context on every turn. It is filled in automatically, open to inspection, and yours to edit.