zettel

name	zettel
description	Create and manage Zettelkasten notes in the second brain inbox — capture ideas, document projects, and write structured notes with frontmatter metadata. Use this skill when the user wants to take notes, save ideas, or write to their Obsidian vault, even if they don't say note or zettel.
compatibility	Requires either local write access to $SECOND_BRAIN/0-inbox/ or the obsidian-remote MCP server.
allowed-tools	mcp__obsidian-remote__update_note, mcp__obsidian-remote__append_note, mcp__obsidian-remote__list_notes

Zettelkasten Workflow

This skill provides a structured way to create new Zettelkasten notes directly in your inbox at 0-inbox/.

Writing a New Zettel

When asked to create a new note, follow this structure strictly:

1. Metadata (Front Matter):

   • id: A hyphenated, lowercase version of the note title (e.g., my-new-idea).
   • aliases: An empty array [] unless aliases are provided.
   • tags: An array of tag names WITHOUT the # prefix (e.g., [idea, research]). Tags must be thoughtful and capture any practical or philosophical concepts; they are used to form a knowledge graph.
   • date: Current date in YYYY-MM-DD format.

2. Markdown Structure:

   ---
   id: my-new-idea
   aliases: []
   tags:
     - tag1
     - tag2
   date: 2026-03-05
   ---
   
   # Note Title
   
   [Content]
   

3. Content Handling:

   • Preservation: If the user provides text to be saved, preserve the original language and structure exactly. Do not rewrite, summarize, or "improve" the text unless explicitly requested to "refactor" or "clean up".
   • Generation: If the user asks you to "write" or "flesh out" a thought, you may generate the content. Maintain a professional, technical tone and avoid generic AI conversational patterns. Never use bold-beginning bullet points (e.g., - **Title:** Description); prefer plain lists or well-structured headers.

4. Filename: The filename MUST be the note's title, converted to lowercase and hyphenated (e.g., "My New Idea" becomes my-new-idea.md).

5. Storage: Always save to the 0-inbox/ directory. NEVER write to inbox/, Inbox/, or any other variation. The correct MCP path is 0-inbox/<filename>.md. If unsure, call list_notes first to verify the directory structure.

Gotchas

• Directory is 0-inbox/, not inbox/ — the path must start with 0-inbox/. The MCP will 404 on inbox/, Inbox/, or any other variation.
• Tags exclude the # prefix — [idea, research] not [#idea, #research]. The # is prepended by the rendering layer.
• Filename = lowercase hyphenated title — "My New Idea" → my-new-idea.md. If you use spaces or different casing, links from other notes won't resolve.
• Preserve user text exactly — don't rewrite or "improve" content the user provides unless they explicitly ask for refactoring.

Tools

Before writing, check whether $SECOND_BRAIN/0-inbox/ exists on the local filesystem.

• Local vault exists ($SECOND_BRAIN/0-inbox/ is a directory): Use the native create_file (or write_file) tool to create the note at $SECOND_BRAIN/0-inbox/<filename>.md. Always resolve the absolute path using the $SECOND_BRAIN environment variable, never use the skill's base directory.
• No local vault (directory does not exist): Use the obsidian-remote MCP tool update_note with path set to 0-inbox/<filename>.md and content set to the full note content (front matter + body). The path MUST start with 0-inbox/ — never use bare inbox/ or any other directory. To add content to an existing note, use append_note instead.

For searching existing notes:

• Local vault exists: Use qmd (supports semantic and keyword search across the full vault).
• No local vault: Use the obsidian-remote MCP tool list_notes.