---
type: concept
title: "Pipeline Mirroring"
description: "Noun-form counterpart of the pattern [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]] — the rule that a new knowledge subsystem should reuse the shape of an existing pipeline."
status: superseded
superseded_by: [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]]
confidence: low
source_authority: inferred
timestamp: 2026-07-03T05:41:37
---
# Pipeline Mirroring

One-sentence summary: Noun-form counterpart of the pattern [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]] — the rule that a new knowledge subsystem should reuse the shape of an existing pipeline.

## Status
**Stub.** To avoid duplication with the imperative-form pattern, the full discussion lives in [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]] (per the vault tiebreaker *patterns > concepts* when both would describe the same rule).

This page is kept only as a redirect so existing wikilinks continue to resolve.

## Why this page exists as a stub
When the first compile pass extracted the rule from `knowledge/daily/2026-04-13.md`, it was lifted twice — once as a noun-shaped concept ("pipeline mirroring is when…") and once as a verb-shaped pattern ("when introducing a new subsystem, mirror…"). Both framings are legitimate and both were registered in the memory index.

The tiebreaker in `docs/AGENTS.md` resolves this: *patterns > concepts* when both would describe the same rule. The pattern form is strictly more actionable — it carries an "apply when" heuristic that the concept form lacks — so it wins canonical status. The concept remains as a stub rather than being deleted so that any existing wikilink anchored on the noun form still resolves, and so the historical trace of "we considered both framings and chose one" survives.

Future compile passes should prefer creating new entries under `knowledge/notes/` when the rule is actionable, and only create a sibling concept entry if the concept carries meaning beyond the apply-when heuristic.

## Source
- Concept identified during the 2026-04-13 memory-review session. See [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]] for the canonical pattern page (patterns > concepts tiebreaker).

## Related
- [[knowledge/notes/mirror-existing-pipelines]] — canonical page (verb-shaped pattern).
- [[2026-04-13 Three Conventions One Root|Three Conventions, One Root]] — connection page placing this convention alongside its siblings.
- [[Global Multi-Project Migration Plan]] — the migration plan applied pipeline mirroring to extend the single-project vault.
- [[Memory Subsystem Action Plan]] — the memory subsystem was built by mirroring existing pipeline shapes.
- [[Preliminary Flagging]] — pipeline mirroring as a concept was itself flagged preliminary until grounded in practice.
