log-to-daily

name	log-to-daily
description	Log conversation activity to today's daily note on demand. Use when wrapping up work, capturing decisions, or documenting session outcomes. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"aplaceforallmystuff"}

Append a structured summary of current session activity to today's daily note. This creates the data layer that vault-analyst reads to discover your work patterns.

<when_to_use>

• End of a work session (before closing Claude)
• After completing a significant piece of work
• When important decisions were made that should be recorded
• When the user explicitly requests logging
• Mid-session when switching contexts

NOT needed when:

• Just chatting without meaningful work output
• Quick questions with no decisions or outcomes </when_to_use>

<daily_note_location> Default path pattern: 00 Daily/YYYY/YYYYMMDD.md

Common alternatives:

• daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md
• Daily Notes/YYYY/YYYYMMDD.md
• journals/YYYY/MM/DD.md

If the default doesn't exist, check CLAUDE.md for the user's daily note configuration, or ask. </daily_note_location>

<log_format>

---

## Session Log - [TIME]

**Focus:** [1-2 sentence summary of main work]

### Completed
- [Concrete outcome 1]
- [Concrete outcome 2]

### Decisions Made
| Decision | Rationale |
|----------|-----------|
| [Decision] | [Why] |

### Files Created/Modified
- [[filename]] - [what/why]

### Next Steps
- [ ] [Follow-up task if any]

---

</log_format>

1. **Analyze the conversation** for: - Main topics/tasks worked on - Concrete outputs (files created, code written, research done) - Decisions made and their rationale - Outstanding items or next steps

2. Locate today's daily note

   • Check default path: 00 Daily/YYYY/YYYYMMDD.md
   • Create if it doesn't exist (use minimal frontmatter)
   • If path unclear, ask user

3. Append the session log using the format above

   • Use --- separator before the log
   • Include timestamp (user's local time)
   • Be specific about outcomes, not activities
   • Link to created files with [[wikilinks]]

4. Confirm what was logged

<quality_guidelines> Good entries:

• "Created YouTube analytics inbox item with 3 integration options"
• "Refactored authentication to use JWT instead of sessions"
• "Decision: Use Postgres over SQLite (need concurrent writes)"

Bad entries:

• "Worked on stuff"
• "Had a conversation about the project"
• "Did some research"

Be specific. Capture what was DONE, not what was discussed.

Why this matters: Vault-analyst reads these logs to find patterns. Vague entries = weak pattern detection. Specific entries = actionable automation recommendations. </quality_guidelines>

<example_output>

Session Log - 2:45 PM

Focus: Local LLM integration for cost optimization

Completed

• Overhauled inbox-processor with local_classify integration
• Created keep-warm launchd agent for Ollama (4-min interval)
• Tested classification accuracy on inbox items (~66%)

Decisions Made

Decision	Rationale
Hybrid local/cloud pattern	Local does mechanical work, Claude does judgment
4-minute keep-warm interval	Prevents cold start without wasting resources

Files Created/Modified

• [[inbox-processor]] - Added local LLM pre-classification
• [[local-llm-hybrid]] - NEW: Pattern documentation

Next Steps

• Monitor token savings over next week
• Apply pattern to slop-detector skill

---

</example_output>

<success_criteria>

• Today's daily note exists (create if not)
• Session log appended with separator
• Specific outcomes documented (not just activities)
• Any created files linked with wikilinks
• User informed of what was logged </success_criteria>

<companion_tool> This skill creates data. @vault-analyst reads it.

After 2+ weeks of consistent logging, run @vault-analyst to discover:

• Recurring tasks you could automate
• Time-of-day patterns in your work
• Friction points that keep appearing
• Specific skills/agents to build

The more you log, the better the pattern detection. </companion_tool>

---

Source: aplaceforallmystuff/daily-patterns-pack — distributed by TomeVault.