write

name	write
description	Write trigger phrases from .claude/triggers.json into file frontmatter as model-scoped trigger_phrase fields. Bridges trigger generation (scan) with scheduled injection (total-recall:schedule).
allowed-tools	Read, Edit, Glob, Grep, Bash, AskUserQuestion

Write — Inject Triggers Into Frontmatter

Overview

Read .claude/triggers.json and write each file's trigger phrases into its YAML frontmatter as model-scoped trigger_phrase fields. This makes triggers discoverable by tools that read frontmatter (like total-recall:schedule) without requiring a separate JSON lookup.

Target Format

After writing, a file's frontmatter will include:

---
name: some-skill
description: "..."
trigger_phrase:
  opus: "reverse word index builder"
  sonnet: "word lookup reverse mapping"
  haiku: "index word files"
---

Only models with triggers are included. Existing frontmatter fields are preserved.

Process

1. Read Triggers

Read .claude/triggers.json. If it doesn't exist, report: "No triggers found. Run /total-recall:scan first to generate triggers."

Parse the version 2 format:

{
  "version": 2,
  "triggers": {
    "path/to/file.md": {
      "models": {
        "opus": { "phrase": "...", ... },
        "sonnet": { "phrase": "...", ... }
      }
    }
  }
}

2. Check Each File

For each file in triggers.json:

1. Check if the file exists. If not, note it as skipped (file may have been deleted or moved since scanning).
2. Read the file and parse its YAML frontmatter (content between --- delimiters).
3. Compare the existing trigger_phrase in frontmatter (if any) against triggers.json.
4. Classify the file as:
   • Up to date — frontmatter trigger_phrase matches triggers.json exactly
   • Needs update — frontmatter is missing trigger_phrase or has stale values
   • No frontmatter — file has no YAML frontmatter at all
   • Missing file — file no longer exists

3. Present to User

Present the results in batches of up to 5 files via AskUserQuestion (multi-select).

For each file, show:

• File path
• Status (needs update / no frontmatter / up to date)
• The trigger phrases that will be written, per model

Example question:

"These files have triggers ready to write into frontmatter. Select which to update:"

Options per batch:

• Each file as a selectable option with description showing the phrases
• "Skip all" option

Files that are already up to date are not shown — only files that need changes.

If all files are up to date, report: "All triggers are already written to frontmatter. Nothing to update."

4. Write Frontmatter

For each selected file:

If the file has existing frontmatter:

1. Read the full file content
2. Parse the YAML frontmatter block (between the first --- and second ---)
3. If trigger_phrase already exists in frontmatter, replace it
4. If trigger_phrase doesn't exist, add it as the last field before the closing ---
5. Use the Edit tool to make the change — replace the old frontmatter block with the updated one
6. Preserve all other frontmatter fields exactly as they are

If the file has no frontmatter:

Use AskUserQuestion to confirm: "This file has no frontmatter. Add frontmatter with just the trigger_phrase field?"

If confirmed, prepend:

---
trigger_phrase:
  opus: "phrase here"
---

Frontmatter format for trigger_phrase:

trigger_phrase:
  opus: "reverse word index builder"
  sonnet: "word lookup reverse mapping"

• One line per model, indented with 2 spaces
• Models in alphabetical order (haiku, opus, sonnet)
• Only include models that have triggers — don't add empty keys
• Phrases are quoted strings

5. Report Results

After all writes complete, summarize:

Trigger phrases written to frontmatter:

  Updated:
    ✓ skills/index/SKILL.md (opus)
    ✓ skills/scan/SKILL.md (opus, sonnet)

  Skipped (already current):
    - skills/list/SKILL.md

  Skipped (user declined):
    - skills/forget/SKILL.md

  Skipped (file missing):
    - some/old-path.md

  Total: N updated, N skipped

Edge Cases

• File deleted since scan: Skip and note. Don't error.
• File has no frontmatter: Ask user before adding. Some files (like plain markdown docs) shouldn't get frontmatter.
• Frontmatter has unusual formatting: Preserve the original indentation style. If parsing fails, skip the file and report the error.
• triggers.json is version 1 (no model scoping): Report "triggers.json is version 1 (no model scoping). Run /total-recall:scan --models to generate model-scoped triggers first."
• Empty triggers.json: Report "No triggers stored. Run /total-recall:scan to generate some."

What Not to Do

• Don't modify file content below the frontmatter. Only touch the YAML between --- delimiters.
• Don't reorder existing frontmatter fields. Add trigger_phrase at the end, before the closing ---.
• Don't write without user confirmation. Always present changes via AskUserQuestion first.
• Don't silently skip errors. If a file can't be parsed, tell the user which file and why.
• Don't create backup files. The user has git for that.