| name | literature |
| description | Capture an external source as a literature note. Usage: /learning-loop:literature <URL> or /learning-loop:literature "paper title". Fetches content, extracts core ideas in vault voice, writes to 2-literature/ with vault links. |
Literature: Source Material Capture
Overview
Launches the literature-capturer agent to capture an external source as a literature note. The agent fetches the source, extracts core ideas in persona voice, finds vault connections and counterpoints, verifies claims, and writes to 2-literature/.
When to Use
/literature <URL>: fetch and capture a web source
/literature <paper title or citation>: search for and capture an academic source
/literature: no argument; asks the user what to capture
- When
/deepen flags uncaptured sources worth preserving
Process
Step 0: Parameter Resolution
No argument (/literature):
Use AskUserQuestion:
What source would you like to capture?
- A URL: I'll fetch and extract core ideas
- A paper title or citation: I'll search for it first
Argument provided:
Proceed immediately.
Step 1: Launch Agent
Launch the literature-capturer agent with:
- source: The URL, title, or citation provided by the user
- vault_path:
{{VAULT}}/
The agent definition is at ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/agents/literature-capturer.md (resolve to a literal path before dispatch — see agents-shared/vault-io.md → Placeholders).
Step 2: Handle Backlink Offers
The agent may identify existing vault notes that reference the source without wiki-links. Present these to the user and execute approved edits.
Step 2.5: Replay Post-Write Hooks
The literature-capturer is a subagent. The literature note it wrote to 2-literature/ bypassed PostToolUse, so backlinks and edge inference didn't run. Replay on the returned path:
printf '%s\n' "$LITERATURE_NOTE_PATH" \
| node "${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/scripts/sweep-hook-replay.mjs" --stdin
Where $LITERATURE_NOTE_PATH is constructed from the agent's response (e.g. {{VAULT}}/2-literature/<filename>, where <filename> is the kebab-case filename literature-capturer returned). The backlink edits from Step 2 happen via main-thread Edit and trigger PostToolUse normally: no replay needed for those. See skills-shared/hook-replay.md for the full pattern.
Step 3: Present Results
The agent returns a structured report with the captured note, connections, counterpoints, and related sources. Present it to the user.
Key Principles
- The skill is thin. All logic lives in the
literature-capturer agent and its agents-shared/.
- Literature captures the source, not commentary. Reactions go in separate notes.
- Backlink edits need approval. Never modify notes outside
2-literature/ without asking.
- Update over create. If a literature note already exists for this source, update it.