| name | process-inbox |
| triggers | process my inbox, file my inbox notes, sort my captured notes |
| description | File notes captured on another device (memory/inbox/) into the right place in this AIOS, then clear them. |
| when_to_use | process my inbox · file my inbox notes · sort my captured notes |
process-inbox
Take notes that arrived from another device and file each one into the right
place in this AIOS folder.
What this does
- Reads every Markdown file in
memory/inbox/.
- Routes each note's content into the correct location (
vault/, context/,
memory/daily/, or a project) based on its hint and its content.
- Removes each inbox file once its content has been filed.
What this doesn't do
- It does not invent missing details. Unclear notes are left in the inbox for
the user to review.
- It does not delete a note before its content is safely filed somewhere else.
- It does not write durable identity or CRM knowledge without asking the user.
When to run it
Run this at the start of a work session whenever memory/inbox/ contains files.
The inbox/ folder is where notes written on a phone or another device land, cross-device sync drops them here so a local agent can file them properly.
Inbox file shape
A phone-side agent writes one file per note, named
memory/inbox/<ISO-timestamp>-<slug>.md, with frontmatter:
---
source: phone
device: claude-ios
captured_at: 2026-05-19T14:32:08Z
hint: "user wanted this saved as a reference"
---
<the note content>
The hint is the user's own words about why they saved it. Use it as the
primary routing signal. If a file has no frontmatter or is unreadable, treat it
as malformed (see below).
Agent steps
Read
- Use the current DotAIOS folder. If none is known, use
~/aios.
- List the files in
memory/inbox/. If the folder is missing or empty, tell
the user there is nothing to process and stop.
- Read each
.md file and note its hint, captured_at, and content.
Route
For each note, decide where it belongs and write its content there:
- A fact, link, document, or research note →
vault/raw/ (or summarise it with
the summarize-source skill if it is a URL or long source).
- Something about a person or company →
vault/org/, but ask the user first,
since that is durable knowledge.
- A task, idea, or thing that happened today → today's daily note in
memory/daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md.
- An update to who the user is, their priorities, or current work →
the matching file under
context/, ask the user before changing identity.
- Clearly tied to a project → that project's folder under
projects/.
When unsure, prefer vault/raw/ and tell the user where you put it.
Clear
- After a note's content is safely filed, remove its inbox file:
- If this folder is a git repo, run
git rm <file> so the deletion syncs.
- Otherwise delete the file normally.
- Leave any malformed or ambiguous file in
memory/inbox/ and list it for the
user to handle by hand.
Output
Tell the user, briefly:
- how many notes were filed and where each one went
- any notes left in the inbox for them to review
