# Idea Lineage

Trace one idea's evolution through the brain: first mention, best articulation, related...

- Repository: https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain (31427 stars)
- Category: Engineering
- License: MIT
- Last updated: 2026-11-01
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill idea-lineage -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill idea-lineage -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill idea-lineage -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add garrytan/gbrain --skill idea-lineage -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add garrytan/gbrain`

## Description

Trace one idea's evolution through the brain: first mention, best articulation, related concepts, reversals, contradictions, abandoned branches, and the current live version. Use for single-idea conceptual lineage, not broad concept-map synthesis or structured entity metrics.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# idea-lineage - Single-Idea Evolution Through the Brain

> **Convention:** see [conventions/quality.md](../conventions/quality.md) for
> citation rules, quote fidelity, and source-backed claims.
>
> **Boundary:** see [docs/takes-vs-facts.md](https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain/blob/master/docs/takes-vs-facts.md) for
> the distinction between holder-attributed takes and the brain owner's hot
> facts. Do not collapse those layers when summarizing lineage.

## What this solves

Users often want to understand how one idea changed across time: when it first
appeared, when it became sharp, what it displaced, what it contradicted, and
what version is alive now. That is different from building a whole concept map
and different from charting an entity's metric trajectory.

Use this skill when the user asks about one idea, topic, phrase, or concept
page and wants its evolution through the brain.

Canonical examples:

- "Run idea lineage on founder-led sales."
- "How has my thinking about compounding trust changed?"
- "What is my current version of this idea?"
- "Where did this idea come from, and what did I abandon along the way?"

## What this is not

- Not `concept-synthesis`: that skill deduplicates many concept stubs, tiers
  them, writes concept pages, and builds a broad intellectual map.
- Not `find_trajectory`: that operation charts typed facts or event rows for
  an entity, such as MRR, role, location, or status over time.
- Not a contradiction-probe runner: this skill may read cached contradiction
  findings when available, but it does not launch expensive probes.
- Not a writing mode by default: do not write a lineage page unless the user
  explicitly asks for a saved artifact after seeing the read-only answer.

## Contract

This skill guarantees:

The rest: https://github.com/garrytan/gbrain/blob/HEAD/plugin-variants/gbrain-coding/skills/idea-lineage/SKILL.md