weekly-synthesis

name	weekly-synthesis
description	Extract time-window meaning from recent Obsidian notes: emerging thesis, contradictions, gaps, exactly one action, exactly one question. Load when user asks for weekly synthesis, what recent notes mean, or next action. Do NOT use for inbox triage, link-only review, or note promotion.
license	Apache-2.0
compatibility	opencode; requires obsidian-mcp
metadata	{"version":"4.1.0","last-reviewed":"2026-05-14","owner":"r007b34r"}

weekly-synthesis

Constraints

• Output is NOT a recap; must contain thesis + evidence
• EXACTLY one action, EXACTLY one question (not zero, not many)
• NEVER let old notes dominate; they are calibration only
• NEVER write synthesis note without user confirmation
• If signal is weak: say "conclusion is uncertain" — do NOT force a thesis
• Default time window: 7 days unless user specifies otherwise

Trigger Boundary

Use when: weekly synthesis, what recent notes mean, emerging thesis, one most valuable next action/question, time-window meaning-making.

Do NOT use for:

• Raw material routing → inbox-triage
• Link-only or relationship review → connection-review
• Project status reporting (not synthesis)
• Promoting result into stable note → note-promotion

Boundaries

• Owns: time-window meaning extraction, thesis formation, gap identification
• Delegates to: note-promotion (synthesis ready for stable note), opencode-context-maintenance (thesis reveals drift)
• Never absorbs: inbox routing, link-only review, health diagnosis

Continuations

Condition	Next skill
User wants to preserve synthesis as stable note	note-promotion
Thesis or gaps reveal context drift	opencode-context-maintenance
Insufficient signal; try relationships first	connection-review
Signal too weak to form any thesis	Escalate to human

Companion Skill

All vault operations follow obsidian-mcp. Forbidden: obsidian_patch_note, obsidian_append_to_note. Verify every write through readback.

Procedure

Phase 1: Scope

1. Identify time window (default: 7 days; respect user-specified period)
2. obsidian_list_notes or obsidian_search_notes → notes in window
3. Count and report scope before proceeding

Phase 2: Read

1. obsidian_get_note format:"document-map" → theme distribution
2. Deep-read only notes that support thesis, contradiction, or gap claims
3. Use older notes only for calibration (not primary signal)

Phase 3: Synthesize

When extracting meaning, read references/examples.md for thesis quality calibration.

Six dimensions:

1. Emerging thesis: one claim + supporting evidence (or "uncertain" if weak)
2. Contradictions: only tensions that matter for reasoning
3. Gaps: missing perspective, evidence, decision, or experiment
4. One action: exactly one highest-value next move
5. One question: exactly one question worth preserving
6. Follow-up note suggestions: optional downstream notes

Weak Signal Handling (expand when theme stability is low)

• Fewer than 3 notes in window: report insufficient data, suggest expanding window
• Notes all on different topics: report fragmentation, no forced thesis
• Contradictions only surface-level: report "no meaningful contradictions found"
• Acceptable: "Thesis uncertain. Strongest signal is [X] but evidence is thin."
• One action can be "gather more data on [X]" when signal is genuinely weak

Phase 4: Report

When formatting output, read references/templates.md for the exact synthesis format.

Do not write synthesis note by default. After user approval, create with obsidian_write_note overwrite:false and read back.

Gotchas

Gotcha 1: Recap disguised as synthesis

What happens: Agent lists what happened this week without extracting meaning Why it's wrong: A recap has zero cognitive return; user already knows what happened Correct approach: Force a thesis claim with supporting evidence, even if uncertain

Gotcha 2: Multiple actions and questions

What happens: Agent returns 3-5 actions and 2-3 questions Why it's wrong: Defeats the purpose of synthesis (focus); user loses signal in noise Correct approach: Force exactly one action and one question; pick highest-value

Gotcha 3: Old notes dominate the thesis

What happens: Agent builds thesis primarily from notes older than the time window Why it's wrong: Recent signal disappears; synthesis becomes rehash of established knowledge Correct approach: Use older notes only as calibration; thesis must be grounded in recent evidence

Validators (CI only, not runtime)

• validators/post-check.sh: Verifies exactly one "One action:" and one "One question:" in output

Exit Criteria

• Output is not a recap (has thesis + evidence)
• Exactly one action and exactly one question
• Thesis has evidence; contradictions are not forced
• Any written note has been read back and verified