provenance: convert from enum to freeform string

The Provenance enum couldn't represent agents defined outside the
source code. Replace it with a Text field in the capnp schema so any
agent can write its own provenance label (e.g. "extractor:write",
"rename:tombstone") without a code change.

Schema: rename old enum fields to provenanceOld, add new Text
provenance fields. Old enum kept for reading legacy records.
Migration: from_capnp_migrate() falls back to old enum when the
new text field is empty.

Also adds `poc-memory tail` command for viewing recent store writes.

Co-Authored-By: ProofOfConcept <poc@bcachefs.org>

poc-memory/schema/memory.capnp

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@ struct ContentNode {
   version    @1  :UInt32;       # monotonic per UUID, latest wins
   timestamp  @2  :Int64;        # unix epoch seconds
   nodeType   @3  :NodeType;
-  provenance @4  :Provenance;
+  provenanceOld @4  :Provenance;  # deprecated — use provenance (@21)
   key        @5  :Text;         # "identity.md#boundaries" human-readable
   content    @6  :Text;         # markdown blob
   weight     @7  :Float32;
@@ -38,6 +38,10 @@ struct ContentNode {
   # Stable creation timestamp (unix epoch seconds). Set once when the
   # node is first created; never changes on rename or content update.
   createdAt @20 :Int64;
+
+  # Freeform provenance string: "extractor:write", "rename:tombstone", etc.
+  provenance @21 :Text;
+
 }
 
 enum NodeType {
@@ -79,12 +83,13 @@ struct Relation {
   timestamp  @2 :Int64;        # unix epoch seconds
   source     @3 :Data;         # content node UUID
   target     @4 :Data;         # content node UUID
-  relType    @5 :RelationType;
+  relType       @5  :RelationType;
-  strength   @6 :Float32;      # manual=1.0, auto=0.1-0.7
+  strength      @6  :Float32;      # manual=1.0, auto=0.1-0.7
-  provenance @7 :Provenance;
+  provenanceOld @7  :Provenance;   # deprecated — use provenance (@11)
-  deleted    @8 :Bool;         # soft delete
+  deleted       @8  :Bool;         # soft delete
-  sourceKey  @9 :Text;         # human-readable source key (for debugging)
+  sourceKey     @9  :Text;         # human-readable source key (for debugging)
-  targetKey  @10 :Text;        # human-readable target key (for debugging)
+  targetKey     @10 :Text;         # human-readable target key (for debugging)
+  provenance    @11 :Text;         # freeform provenance string
 }
 
 enum RelationType {

poc-memory/src/agents/consolidate.rs

@@ -178,7 +178,7 @@ pub fn consolidate_full_with_progress(
 
     // Store the log as a node
     store.upsert_provenance(&log_key, &log_buf,
-        store::Provenance::AgentConsolidate).ok();
+        "consolidate:write").ok();
     store.save()?;
 
     Ok(())

poc-memory/src/agents/daemon.rs

@@ -343,7 +343,7 @@ fn job_split_one(
                 continue;
             }
             store.upsert_provenance(child_key, content,
-                crate::store::Provenance::AgentConsolidate)?;
+                "consolidate:write")?;
             let uuid = store.nodes.get(child_key.as_str()).unwrap().uuid;
             child_uuids.push((uuid, child_key.clone()));
             ctx.log_line(&format!("  created: {} ({} chars)", child_key, content.len()));
@@ -905,7 +905,7 @@ pub fn run_daemon() -> Result<(), String> {
                                 let seg_key = format!("{}.{}", fname_key, i);
                                 let content = format!("Migrated from whole-file key for {}", path_str);
                                 let mut node = crate::store::new_node(&seg_key, &content);
-                                node.provenance = crate::store::Provenance::AgentExperienceMine;
+                                node.provenance = "experience-mine:write".to_string();
                                 match store.upsert_node(node) {
                                     Ok(()) => ok += 1,
                                     Err(e) => {

poc-memory/src/agents/digest.rs

@@ -224,7 +224,7 @@ fn generate_digest(
     let digest = call_sonnet("digest", &prompt)?;
 
     let key = digest_node_key(level.name, label);
-    store.upsert_provenance(&key, &digest, store::Provenance::AgentDigest)?;
+    store.upsert_provenance(&key, &digest, "digest:write")?;
     store.save()?;
     println!("  Stored: {}", key);
 

poc-memory/src/agents/enrich.rs

@@ -241,7 +241,7 @@ pub fn experience_mine(
             let seg_key = format!("{}.{}", transcript_filename_key(jsonl_path), idx);
             if !store.nodes.contains_key(&seg_key) {
                 let mut node = new_node(&seg_key, &format!("Backfilled from {}", dedup_key));
-                node.provenance = store::Provenance::AgentExperienceMine;
+                node.provenance = "experience-mine:write".to_string();
                 let _ = store.upsert_node(node);
                 store.save()?;
             }
@@ -351,7 +351,7 @@ pub fn experience_mine(
         // Write to store — use event timestamp, not mining time
         let mut node = new_node(&key, &full_content);
         node.node_type = store::NodeType::EpisodicSession;
-        node.provenance = store::Provenance::AgentExperienceMine;
+        node.provenance = "experience-mine:write".to_string();
         if !ts.is_empty() {
             if let Some(epoch) = parse_timestamp_to_epoch(ts) {
                 node.created_at = epoch;
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ pub fn experience_mine(
             // Per-segment key: the daemon writes the whole-file key when all segments are done
             let seg_key = format!("{}.{}", transcript_filename_key(jsonl_path), idx);
             let mut node = new_node(&seg_key, &dedup_content);
-            node.provenance = store::Provenance::AgentExperienceMine;
+            node.provenance = "experience-mine:write".to_string();
             let _ = store.upsert_node(node);
         }
         None => {
@@ -379,7 +379,7 @@ pub fn experience_mine(
             // file may grow with new compaction segments later — the daemon handles
             // writing the whole-file filename key after verifying all segments are done)
             let mut node = new_node(&dedup_key, &dedup_content);
-            node.provenance = store::Provenance::AgentExperienceMine;
+            node.provenance = "experience-mine:write".to_string();
             let _ = store.upsert_node(node);
         }
     }

poc-memory/src/agents/fact_mine.rs

@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
 use crate::config;
 use super::llm;
 use super::transcript;
-use crate::store::{self, Provenance};
+use crate::store;
 
 use serde::{Deserialize, Serialize};
 use std::collections::HashSet;
@@ -266,7 +266,7 @@ pub fn mine_and_store(
             eprintln!("  Merging facts into existing node: {}", existing_key);
             if let Some(node) = store.nodes.get(existing_key.as_str()) {
                 let merged = format!("{}\n\n{}", node.content, json);
-                store.upsert_provenance(&existing_key, &merged, Provenance::AgentFactMine)?;
+                store.upsert_provenance(&existing_key, &merged, "fact-mine:write")?;
                 store.save()?;
                 return Ok(facts.len());
             }
@@ -275,7 +275,7 @@ pub fn mine_and_store(
         }
     };
 
-    store.upsert_provenance(&key, &json, Provenance::AgentFactMine)?;
+    store.upsert_provenance(&key, &json, "fact-mine:write")?;
     store.save()?;
 
     eprintln!("  Stored {} facts as {}", facts.len(), key);

poc-memory/src/agents/knowledge.rs

@@ -217,7 +217,7 @@ impl DepthDb {
     pub fn save(&self, store: &mut Store) {
         if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string(&self.depths) {
             store.upsert_provenance(DEPTH_DB_KEY, &json,
-                store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgeObservation).ok();
+                "observation:write").ok();
         }
     }
 
@@ -295,12 +295,11 @@ pub fn apply_action(
     timestamp: &str,
     depth: i32,
 ) -> bool {
-    let provenance = agent_provenance(agent);
-
     match &action.kind {
         ActionKind::WriteNode { key, content, .. } => {
             let stamped = stamp_content(content, agent, timestamp, depth);
-            store.upsert_provenance(key, &stamped, provenance).is_ok()
+            let prov = format!("{}:write", agent);
+            store.upsert_provenance(key, &stamped, &prov).is_ok()
         }
         ActionKind::Link { source, target } => {
             if has_edge(store, source, target) {
@@ -320,15 +319,17 @@ pub fn apply_action(
                 0.3,
                 source, target,
             );
-            rel.provenance = provenance;
+            rel.provenance = format!("{}:link", agent);
             store.add_relation(rel).is_ok()
         }
         ActionKind::Refine { key, content } => {
             let stamped = stamp_content(content, agent, timestamp, depth);
-            store.upsert_provenance(key, &stamped, provenance).is_ok()
+            let prov = format!("{}:refine", agent);
+            store.upsert_provenance(key, &stamped, &prov).is_ok()
         }
         ActionKind::Demote { key } => {
             if let Some(node) = store.nodes.get_mut(key) {
+                node.provenance = format!("{}:demote", agent);
                 node.weight = (node.weight * 0.5).max(0.05);
                 true
             } else {
@@ -338,13 +339,13 @@ pub fn apply_action(
     }
 }
 
-fn agent_provenance(agent: &str) -> store::Provenance {
+fn agent_provenance(agent: &str) -> String {
     match agent {
-        "observation" => store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgeObservation,
+        "observation" => "agent:knowledge-observation".to_string(),
-        "extractor" | "pattern" => store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgePattern,
+        "extractor" | "pattern" => "agent:knowledge-pattern".to_string(),
-        "connector"  => store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgeConnector,
+        "connector"  => "agent:knowledge-connector".to_string(),
-        "challenger" => store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgeChallenger,
+        "challenger" => "agent:knowledge-challenger".to_string(),
-        _ => store::Provenance::Agent,
+        _ => format!("agent:{}", agent),
     }
 }
 
@@ -587,7 +588,7 @@ pub fn run_one_agent(
     let ts = store::compact_timestamp();
     let report_key = format!("_{}-{}-{}", llm_tag, agent_name, ts);
     let provenance = agent_provenance(agent_name);
-    store.upsert_provenance(&report_key, &output, provenance).ok();
+    store.upsert_provenance(&report_key, &output, &provenance).ok();
 
     let actions = parse_all_actions(&output);
     let no_ops = count_no_ops(&output);
@@ -824,7 +825,7 @@ pub fn run_knowledge_loop(config: &KnowledgeLoopConfig) -> Result<Vec<CycleResul
         if let Ok(json) = serde_json::to_string_pretty(&history) {
             store = Store::load()?;
             store.upsert_provenance(&key, &json,
-                store::Provenance::AgentKnowledgeObservation).ok();
+                "observation:write").ok();
             depth_db.save(&mut store);
             store.save()?;
         }

poc-memory/src/main.rs

@@ -366,6 +366,15 @@ enum Command {
         /// Node key
         key: Vec<String>,
     },
+    /// Show most recent writes to the node log
+    Tail {
+        /// Number of entries (default: 20)
+        #[arg(default_value_t = 20)]
+        n: usize,
+        /// Show full content
+        #[arg(long)]
+        full: bool,
+    },
     /// Upsert node content from stdin
     Write {
         /// Node key
@@ -567,6 +576,8 @@ fn main() {
         Command::Render { key } => cmd_render(&key),
         Command::History { full, key }
             => cmd_history(&key, full),
+        Command::Tail { n, full }
+            => cmd_tail(n, full),
         Command::Write { key } => cmd_write(&key),
         Command::Import { files }
             => cmd_import(&files),
@@ -2017,10 +2028,10 @@ fn cmd_render(key: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
     }
     let key = key.join(" ");
     let store = store::Store::load()?;
-    let resolved = store.resolve_key(&key)?;
+    let bare = store::strip_md_suffix(&key);
 
-    let node = store.nodes.get(&resolved)
+    let node = store.nodes.get(&bare)
-        .ok_or_else(|| format!("Node not found: {}", resolved))?;
+        .ok_or_else(|| format!("Node not found: {}", bare))?;
 
     print!("{}", node.content);
     Ok(())
@@ -2052,7 +2063,7 @@ fn cmd_history(key: &[String], full: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
             .map_err(|e| format!("read log: {}", e))?;
         for node_reader in log.get_nodes()
             .map_err(|e| format!("get nodes: {}", e))? {
-            let node = store::Node::from_capnp(node_reader)?;
+            let node = store::Node::from_capnp_migrate(node_reader)?;
             if node.key == key {
                 versions.push(node);
             }
@@ -2073,13 +2084,13 @@ fn cmd_history(key: &[String], full: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
         let content_len = node.content.len();
         if full {
             eprintln!("=== v{} {} {} w={:.3} {}b ===",
-                node.version, ts, node.provenance.label(), node.weight, content_len);
+                node.version, ts, node.provenance, node.weight, content_len);
             eprintln!("{}", node.content);
         } else {
             let preview = util::first_n_chars(&node.content, 120);
             let preview = preview.replace('\n', "\\n");
             eprintln!("  v{:<3} {}  {:24} w={:.3}  {}b",
-                node.version, ts, node.provenance.label(), node.weight, content_len);
+                node.version, ts, node.provenance, node.weight, content_len);
             eprintln!("       {}", preview);
         }
     }
@@ -2087,7 +2098,7 @@ fn cmd_history(key: &[String], full: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
     if !full {
         if let Some(latest) = versions.last() {
             eprintln!("\n--- Latest content (v{}, {}) ---",
-                latest.version, latest.provenance.label());
+                latest.version, latest.provenance);
             print!("{}", latest.content);
         }
     }
@@ -2095,6 +2106,56 @@ fn cmd_history(key: &[String], full: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
     Ok(())
 }
 
+fn cmd_tail(n: usize, full: bool) -> Result<(), String> {
+    let path = store::nodes_path();
+    if !path.exists() {
+        return Err("No node log found".into());
+    }
+
+    use std::io::BufReader;
+    let file = std::fs::File::open(&path)
+        .map_err(|e| format!("open {}: {}", path.display(), e))?;
+    let mut reader = BufReader::new(file);
+
+    // Read all entries, keep last N
+    let mut entries: Vec<store::Node> = Vec::new();
+    while let Ok(msg) = capnp::serialize::read_message(&mut reader, capnp::message::ReaderOptions::new()) {
+        let log = msg.get_root::<poc_memory::memory_capnp::node_log::Reader>()
+            .map_err(|e| format!("read log: {}", e))?;
+        for node_reader in log.get_nodes()
+            .map_err(|e| format!("get nodes: {}", e))? {
+            let node = store::Node::from_capnp_migrate(node_reader)?;
+            entries.push(node);
+        }
+    }
+
+    let start = entries.len().saturating_sub(n);
+    for node in &entries[start..] {
+        let ts = if node.timestamp > 0 && node.timestamp < 4_000_000_000 {
+            store::format_datetime(node.timestamp)
+        } else {
+            format!("(raw:{})", node.timestamp)
+        };
+        let del = if node.deleted { " [DELETED]" } else { "" };
+        if full {
+            eprintln!("--- {} (v{}) {} via {} w={:.3}{} ---",
+                node.key, node.version, ts, node.provenance, node.weight, del);
+            eprintln!("{}\n", node.content);
+        } else {
+            let preview = util::first_n_chars(&node.content, 100).replace('\n', "\\n");
+            eprintln!("  {}  v{}  w={:.2}{}",
+                ts, node.version, node.weight, del);
+            eprintln!("  {}  via {}", node.key, node.provenance);
+            if !preview.is_empty() {
+                eprintln!("  {}", preview);
+            }
+            eprintln!();
+        }
+    }
+
+    Ok(())
+}
+
 fn cmd_write(key: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
     if key.is_empty() {
         return Err("write requires a key (reads content from stdin)".into());
@@ -2218,7 +2279,7 @@ fn cmd_journal_write(text: &[String]) -> Result<(), String> {
 
     let mut node = store::new_node(&key, &content);
     node.node_type = store::NodeType::EpisodicSession;
-    node.provenance = store::Provenance::Journal;
+    node.provenance = "journal".to_string();
     if let Some(src) = source_ref {
         node.source_ref = src;
     }

poc-memory/src/migrate.rs

@@ -12,7 +12,7 @@
 // Old files are preserved as backup. Run once.
 
 use crate::store::{
-    self, Store, Node, NodeType, Provenance, RelationType,
+    self, Store, Node, NodeType, RelationType,
     parse_units, new_relation,
 };
 
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ pub fn migrate() -> Result<(), String> {
             } else {
                 NodeType::Semantic
             },
-            provenance: Provenance::Manual,
+            provenance: "manual".to_string(),
             key: key.clone(),
             content,
             weight: old_entry.weight as f32,
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ pub fn migrate() -> Result<(), String> {
             } else {
                 NodeType::Semantic
             },
-            provenance: Provenance::Manual,
+            provenance: "manual".to_string(),
             key: key.clone(),
             content: unit.content.clone(),
             weight: 0.7,

poc-memory/src/query.rs

@@ -173,7 +173,7 @@ fn resolve_field(field: &str, key: &str, store: &Store, graph: &Graph) -> Option
         "weight"        => Some(Value::Num(node.weight as f64)),
         "category"      => None, // vestigial, kept for query compat
         "node_type"     => Some(Value::Str(node_type_label(node.node_type).to_string())),
-        "provenance"    => Some(Value::Str(node.provenance.label().to_string())),
+        "provenance"    => Some(Value::Str(node.provenance.clone())),
         "emotion"       => Some(Value::Num(node.emotion as f64)),
         "retrievals"    => Some(Value::Num(node.retrievals as f64)),
         "uses"          => Some(Value::Num(node.uses as f64)),

poc-memory/src/search.rs

@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@
 // Stages are parsed from strings and composed via the -p flag or
 // pipe-separated in agent definitions.
 
-use crate::store::{Store, StoreView, NodeType, Provenance};
+use crate::store::{Store, StoreView, NodeType};
 use crate::graph::Graph;
 use crate::spectral;
 
@@ -147,7 +147,7 @@ pub enum Filter {
     Weight(Cmp),
     Age(Cmp),                   // vs now - timestamp (seconds)
     ContentLen(Cmp),
-    Provenance(Provenance),
+    Provenance(String),
     NotVisited { agent: String, duration: i64 },  // seconds
     Visited { agent: String },
     Negated(Box<Filter>),
@@ -280,9 +280,7 @@ impl Stage {
             "age" => Stage::Filter(Filter::Age(parse_cmp(value)?)),
             "content-len" => Stage::Filter(Filter::ContentLen(parse_cmp(value)?)),
             "provenance" => {
-                let prov = Provenance::from_label(value)
+                Stage::Filter(Filter::Provenance(value.to_string()))
-                    .ok_or_else(|| format!("unknown provenance: {}", value))?;
-                Stage::Filter(Filter::Provenance(prov))
             }
             "not-visited" => {
                 let (agent, dur) = value.split_once(',')
@@ -363,7 +361,7 @@ impl fmt::Display for Filter {
             Filter::Weight(c) => write!(f, "weight:{}", c),
             Filter::Age(c) => write!(f, "age:{}", c),
             Filter::ContentLen(c) => write!(f, "content-len:{}", c),
-            Filter::Provenance(p) => write!(f, "provenance:{}", p.label()),
+            Filter::Provenance(p) => write!(f, "provenance:{}", p),
             Filter::NotVisited { agent, duration } => write!(f, "not-visited:{},{}s", agent, duration),
             Filter::Visited { agent } => write!(f, "visited:{}", agent),
             Filter::Negated(inner) => write!(f, "!{}", inner),

poc-memory/src/store/ops.rs

@@ -37,13 +37,15 @@ impl Store {
     /// Provenance is determined by the POC_PROVENANCE env var if set,
     /// otherwise defaults to Manual.
     pub fn upsert(&mut self, key: &str, content: &str) -> Result<&'static str, String> {
-        let prov = Provenance::from_env().unwrap_or(Provenance::Manual);
+        let prov = Provenance::from_env()
-        self.upsert_provenance(key, content, prov)
+            .map(|p| p.label().to_string())
+            .unwrap_or_else(|| "manual".to_string());
+        self.upsert_provenance(key, content, &prov)
     }
 
     /// Upsert with explicit provenance (for agent-created nodes).
     /// Holds StoreLock across refresh + check + write to prevent duplicate UUIDs.
-    pub fn upsert_provenance(&mut self, key: &str, content: &str, provenance: Provenance) -> Result<&'static str, String> {
+    pub fn upsert_provenance(&mut self, key: &str, content: &str, provenance: &str) -> Result<&'static str, String> {
         let _lock = StoreLock::acquire()?;
         self.refresh_nodes()?;
 
@@ -53,14 +55,14 @@ impl Store {
             }
             let mut node = existing.clone();
             node.content = content.to_string();
-            node.provenance = provenance;
+            node.provenance = provenance.to_string();
             node.version += 1;
             self.append_nodes_unlocked(std::slice::from_ref(&node))?;
             self.nodes.insert(key.to_string(), node);
             Ok("updated")
         } else {
             let mut node = new_node(key, content);
-            node.provenance = provenance;
+            node.provenance = provenance.to_string();
             self.append_nodes_unlocked(std::slice::from_ref(&node))?;
             self.uuid_to_key.insert(node.uuid, node.key.clone());
             self.nodes.insert(key.to_string(), node);

poc-memory/src/store/persist.rs

@@ -117,7 +117,7 @@ impl Store {
                 .map_err(|e| format!("read node log: {}", e))?;
             for node_reader in log.get_nodes()
                 .map_err(|e| format!("get nodes: {}", e))? {
-                let node = Node::from_capnp(node_reader)?;
+                let node = Node::from_capnp_migrate(node_reader)?;
                 let existing_version = self.nodes.get(&node.key)
                     .map(|n| n.version)
                     .unwrap_or(0);
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ impl Store {
                 .map_err(|e| format!("read relation log: {}", e))?;
             for rel_reader in log.get_relations()
                 .map_err(|e| format!("get relations: {}", e))? {
-                let rel = Relation::from_capnp(rel_reader)?;
+                let rel = Relation::from_capnp_migrate(rel_reader)?;
                 let existing_version = by_uuid.get(&rel.uuid)
                     .map(|r| r.version)
                     .unwrap_or(0);
@@ -199,7 +199,7 @@ impl Store {
                 .map_err(|e| format!("read node log: {}", e))?;
             for node_reader in log.get_nodes()
                 .map_err(|e| format!("get nodes: {}", e))? {
-                let node = Node::from_capnp(node_reader)?;
+                let node = Node::from_capnp_migrate(node_reader)?;
                 let dominated = by_uuid.get(&node.uuid)
                     .map(|n| node.version >= n.version)
                     .unwrap_or(true);
@@ -276,7 +276,7 @@ impl Store {
                 .map_err(|e| format!("read node log delta: {}", e))?;
             for node_reader in log.get_nodes()
                 .map_err(|e| format!("get nodes delta: {}", e))? {
-                let node = Node::from_capnp(node_reader)?;
+                let node = Node::from_capnp_migrate(node_reader)?;
                 let dominated = self.nodes.get(&node.key)
                     .map(|n| node.version >= n.version)
                     .unwrap_or(true);

poc-memory/src/store/types.rs

@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ pub struct Node {
     pub version: u32,
     pub timestamp: i64,
     pub node_type: NodeType,
-    pub provenance: Provenance,
+    pub provenance: String,
     pub key: String,
     pub content: String,
     pub weight: f32,
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ pub struct Relation {
     pub target: [u8; 16],
     pub rel_type: RelationType,
     pub strength: f32,
-    pub provenance: Provenance,
+    pub provenance: String,
     pub deleted: bool,
     pub source_key: String,
     pub target_key: String,
@@ -338,25 +338,51 @@ capnp_enum!(RelationType, memory_capnp::RelationType,
 capnp_message!(Node,
     reader: memory_capnp::content_node::Reader<'_>,
     builder: memory_capnp::content_node::Builder<'_>,
-    text: [key, content, source_ref, created, state_tag],
+    text: [key, content, source_ref, created, state_tag, provenance],
     uuid: [uuid],
     prim: [version, timestamp, weight, emotion, deleted,
            retrievals, uses, wrongs, last_replayed,
            spaced_repetition_interval, position, created_at],
-    enm:  [node_type: NodeType, provenance: Provenance],
+    enm:  [node_type: NodeType],
     skip: [community_id, clustering_coefficient, degree],
 );
 
+impl Node {
+    /// Read from capnp with migration: if the new provenance text field
+    /// is empty (old record), fall back to the deprecated provenanceOld enum.
+    pub fn from_capnp_migrate(r: memory_capnp::content_node::Reader<'_>) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        let mut node = Self::from_capnp(r)?;
+        if node.provenance.is_empty() {
+            if let Ok(old) = r.get_provenance_old() {
+                node.provenance = Provenance::from_capnp(old).label().to_string();
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(node)
+    }
+}
+
 capnp_message!(Relation,
     reader: memory_capnp::relation::Reader<'_>,
     builder: memory_capnp::relation::Builder<'_>,
-    text: [source_key, target_key],
+    text: [source_key, target_key, provenance],
     uuid: [uuid, source, target],
     prim: [version, timestamp, strength, deleted],
-    enm:  [rel_type: RelationType, provenance: Provenance],
+    enm:  [rel_type: RelationType],
     skip: [],
 );
 
+impl Relation {
+    pub fn from_capnp_migrate(r: memory_capnp::relation::Reader<'_>) -> Result<Self, String> {
+        let mut rel = Self::from_capnp(r)?;
+        if rel.provenance.is_empty() {
+            if let Ok(old) = r.get_provenance_old() {
+                rel.provenance = Provenance::from_capnp(old).label().to_string();
+            }
+        }
+        Ok(rel)
+    }
+}
+
 #[derive(Clone, Debug, Serialize, Deserialize, rkyv::Archive, rkyv::Serialize, rkyv::Deserialize)]
 #[archive(check_bytes)]
 pub struct RetrievalEvent {
@@ -480,7 +506,7 @@ pub fn new_node(key: &str, content: &str) -> Node {
         version: 1,
         timestamp: now_epoch(),
         node_type: NodeType::Semantic,
-        provenance: Provenance::Manual,
+        provenance: "manual".to_string(),
         key: key.to_string(),
         content: content.to_string(),
         weight: 0.7,
@@ -551,7 +577,7 @@ pub fn new_relation(
         target: target_uuid,
         rel_type,
         strength,
-        provenance: Provenance::Manual,
+        provenance: "manual".to_string(),
         deleted: false,
         source_key: source_key.to_string(),
         target_key: target_key.to_string(),