# How curation works

> The queue memex keeps, the curation instructions, the record of every pass, flags, and how a pass is started.

Page: https://docs.memex.tools/how-curation-works

Most people never need this page. Notes go stale, tags drift, links break; memex finds that, keeps a queue of it, keeps the instructions a curating assistant should follow, and keeps a record of every pass. It never runs one. Curation happens when you ask one of your assistants for it.

## The queue

Every note is checked for defects: no tags, no description, not yet searchable by meaning, no links either way, links that lead nowhere, tag names to tidy, a title that looks like a filename, and anything you flagged.

The queue ranks them: flagged first, then the most defective, then notes whose neighbours changed, then notes no pass has read, then the longest unseen. A note that comes through a pass clean earns a rest that doubles each time, so a settled knowledge base produces a short queue.

## The instructions

The `memex-curation` skill: who may do what, what to hunt and in what order, how to close a pass. Every assistant loads the same text; what differs is the role.

## The record

**Activity** › **Curation** shows one row per pass: what was read, what was applied, what was filed for you, and whether the assistant's own account of the pass matches what memex logged. Open a pass and it lists the notes it changed and the notes it read, each linked. Rows waiting on you link to the inbox.

## Flags

On any note, **Flag for curation** with a comment saying what is wrong and what you want done. The next pass starts there. A curator closes the flag by saying what it did, and disagreeing with you is a valid answer.

## Asking for a pass

**Settings › Assistants** › **Note maintenance** › **Choose a curator** promotes a connection; below it, **Start a maintenance pass** provides a message to copy into a chat with that assistant or into a scheduled task: load the `memex-curation` skill and follow it, noting the start time. The section links to scheduled tasks in ChatGPT and in Claude, because a pass works best on a schedule the assistant runs. **Last run** shows when each curator last loaded the instructions.

An agent-role connection can run the same pass; everything it does is held for you, and it cannot write the run record.

After a pass, the assistant reports to you in the chat you started it from. memex reports nothing on its own.

## Related

- [Run a maintenance pass](https://docs.memex.tools/maintenance-pass): Have your curator find and fix notes that need work, and how to repeat it on a schedule.
- [Make a curator](https://docs.memex.tools/make-a-curator): Let one assistant save new notes and edits without waiting for your approval.
- [Flag a note](https://docs.memex.tools/flag-a-note): Tell your curator what is wrong with a note, so the next pass starts with it.
- [How roles work](https://docs.memex.tools/roles): The agent and curator roles in full: what each may do without you, and how the curator role is granted.