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Capture a quick note, finding, or result in a timestamped file under .claude-work/. Lightweight alternative to /scratchpad with no foundation skill dependencies
Install with Codex or Claude Copy this prompt, paste it into Codex, Claude, or another assistant, and let it review the skill page and install it for you.
Based on SOC occupation classification
| name | note |
| version | 2026.07.27@6dc7d1d |
| description | Capture a quick note, finding, or result in a timestamped file under .claude-work/. Lightweight alternative to /scratchpad with no foundation skill dependencies |
| argument-hint | <description> |
| allowed-tools | Read, Write, Glob, Bash(git branch --show-current), Bash(mkdir -p *), Bash(date *), Bash(*/skills/issue-context/claude-work-root.sh *) |
Capture a note, finding, or result in a lightweight timestamped file. Use this instead of /scratchpad when you need to record something without implementation plans, step tracking, or structured formats.
Input: $ARGUMENTS (a short description for the filename)
Run these three commands as parallel tool calls. They are independent:
~/.claude/skills/issue-context/claude-work-root.sh
git branch --show-current
date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S
Use the stdout of claude-work-root.sh as the base path (e.g., /Users/x/project/.claude-work). This script automatically detects git worktrees and returns the shared .claude-work/ location.
If the branch starts with issues/, extract the issue number (characters after issues/ up to the first - or _, only if those characters are purely numeric; otherwise use the full string after issues/):
<base>/issues/<ID>/notes/<base>/notes/Create the directory if it doesn't exist:
mkdir -p <target-directory>
Build the filename using the timestamp from Step 1 and a slug derived from $ARGUMENTS:
Slug rules: lowercase $ARGUMENTS, replace spaces and special characters with hyphens, collapse consecutive hyphens, trim leading/trailing hyphens. Keep it under 50 characters.
Filename: <YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS>-<slug>.txt
Example: 20260329-143022-api-audit-findings.txt
See /pre-write for the think-before-writing rule: complete all reasoning before writing the first word.
Write the note content to the file. The format is freeform. Structure it however best fits the content being captured. There are no required sections or templates.
The one rule: each paragraph is ONE continuous line. No line breaks at 72, 80, or any fixed column. Use line breaks only for structural separation (between paragraphs, around lists, around code blocks). Override your default instinct to wrap.
Format: freeform text. Length: unlimited. Perspective: whatever fits the content being captured.
Before printing the path in Step 4, re-read the file and verify no paragraph contains a mid-sentence line break. Rewrite any that do. Also skim for AI-writing tells: em dashes, filler phrases (in order to, due to the fact that), vague attributions, generic positive conclusions. Rewrite any you find.
Print only the absolute filepath:
<target-directory>/<filename>
Do NOT print the file contents.
Add a dependency relationship between GitHub issues using the native addBlockedBy mutation
Reusable file sequence numbering with prefix (NNNN-name) and suffix (name-NNNN) modes. Returns the next available zero-padded sequence number for a given directory.
Drop a timestamped note for the current issue - collected by /finish-issue for PR descriptions
Create or update CHANGELOG entries with tone guardrails, thematic grouping, and implementation-detail leak detection.
Delete an issue's working directory (.claude-work/issues/<ID>/) after confirming with the user via interactive prompt
Create a commit message file in .claude-work/commit-msgs/ with auto-numbered filenames. Focuses on WHY not WHAT. The diff already shows what changed. User reviews and commits manually.