Table Filler (index tables, evidence-first)

Goal: produce outline/tables_index.md as an internal, citation-backed index.

This file is a planning/traceability artifact:

• it is useful for debugging coverage and for quickly seeing what evidence exists
• it should NOT be pasted into the paper verbatim

Reader-facing tables belong in outline/tables_appendix.md and are curated by appendix-table-writer.

Default mode: semantic (LLM-first)

Treat this as filling a table artifact from evidence packs:

• restate evidence pack content in compact cells
• attach citations in the row (avoid cite-dump paragraphs)

Workflow (explicit inputs)

• Read outline/table_schema.md first (it defines what each table must answer).
• Read queries.md:draft_profile when present (course_paper requires one index table; survey / deep require two).
• Use outline/subsection_briefs.jsonl + outline/evidence_drafts.jsonl to fill the subsection map and pick in-scope citations.
• Use outline/anchor_sheet.jsonl to fill the anchor-fact table (prefer quant/eval hooks).
• Validate cite keys against citations/ref.bib.

Inputs

• outline/table_schema.md
• outline/subsection_briefs.jsonl
• outline/evidence_drafts.jsonl
• outline/anchor_sheet.jsonl
• citations/ref.bib

Output

• outline/tables_index.md

Output format contract

outline/tables_index.md must:

• contain >=1 Markdown table for course_paper, or >=2 for survey / deep
• use a caption line before each table, e.g. **Index Table 1. ...**
• contain no Markdown headings (#, ##, ###) unless you explicitly want them for internal readability
• include citations in rows using [@BibKey]
• avoid placeholders (TODO, ..., …, scaffold comments)
• avoid paragraph cells (short phrases; use <br> sparingly)

What to fill (recommended defaults)

1. Subsection map (axes + representative works)

• Axes come from subsection_briefs.axes.
• Representative works come from citations in the evidence pack.

2. Concrete anchors (benchmarks / numbers / caveats)

• Anchor facts come from outline/anchor_sheet.jsonl (curated, citation-backed).
• Representative works come from citations in the anchor sheet (or the evidence pack as fallback).

Common failure modes

• Cells become long prose

  • Fix: compress into short phrases; move narrative explanation into prose sections.

• Rows cannot be filled without guessing

  • Fix: treat as an evidence gap (route to evidence-selfloop / evidence-draft) OR narrow the schema.

Script (optional bootstrap)

Quick Start

• uv run python .codex/skills/table-filler/scripts/run.py --help
• uv run python .codex/skills/table-filler/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace>

All Options

• --workspace <workspace> (required)
• --unit-id <id> (optional; used only for runner bookkeeping)
• --inputs <schema;briefs;packs;anchors;bib> (optional; override inputs)
• --outputs <relpath> (optional; defaults to outline/tables_index.md)
• --checkpoint <C#> (optional; ignored by the bootstrapper)

Examples

• Bootstrap index tables (default output path):

  uv run python .codex/skills/table-filler/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace>

• Write to a custom index file (rare):

  uv run python .codex/skills/table-filler/scripts/run.py --workspace <workspace> --outputs outline/tables_index.md

Notes:

• The script is deterministic bootstrap; treat the result as an internal index artifact.
• Curate reader-facing Appendix tables separately via appendix-table-writer.