note-taking

name	note-taking
description	Create, read, update, and organize personal notes. Use when the user asks to take a note, jot something down, save information for later, or manage their notes.
metadata	{"verb":"note"}

Note Taking Skill

Manage the user's notes as plain text/markdown files in the data directory.

Storage

All notes are stored as plain .md files in the home (data) directory at ~/notes/. Do NOT use a database, JSON blob, or any other structured format -- just simple files on disk. This makes notes portable, grep-able, and easy to back up.

Directory Structure

~/notes/
  quick.md            # Scratch pad for quick one-liners
  ideas.md            # Ideas and brainstorming
  meetings/
    2026-02-09.md     # Meeting notes by date
  projects/
    <project-name>.md # Per-project notes
  topics/
    <topic>.md        # Notes organized by topic

Create subdirectories as needed. Default to the top-level ~/notes/ for simple notes.

Creating a Note

1. Determine the appropriate file based on context:

   • Quick thought or no category specified: append to ~/notes/quick.md
   • Meeting notes: ~/notes/meetings/<date>.md
   • Project-specific: ~/notes/projects/<project>.md
   • Topic-specific: ~/notes/topics/<topic>.md

2. Ensure the directory exists:

   mkdir -p ~/notes/meetings ~/notes/projects ~/notes/topics
   

3. Append the note with a timestamp header:

   echo -e "\n## $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')\n\n<content>" >> ~/notes/<file>.md
   

Reading Notes

• Show a specific note file:

  cat ~/notes/<file>.md
  

• List all notes:

  find ~/notes -name '*.md' -type f | sort
  

• Search across all notes:

  grep -rl "<search term>" ~/notes/
  

Updating Notes

• To edit an existing note, read the file, modify the content, and write it back.
• When appending, always add a new timestamped section rather than overwriting.

Deleting Notes

• Only delete when the user explicitly asks:

  rm ~/notes/<file>.md
  

Tips

• Always confirm with the user before deleting or overwriting notes.
• When the user says "note that..." or "remember that...", save it to quick.md unless a better category is obvious.
• Keep note content concise but complete -- capture the user's intent faithfully.
• Use markdown formatting (headers, lists, bold) to keep notes scannable.