place-wiki

name

place-wiki

description

Decide where in `wiki/` to place a new or existing Wiki page, picking a topical subfolder rather than dumping it at the root. Use this skill whenever the user creates a Wiki note, asks where a topic should live, wants to relocate an existing Wiki page, or says anything like "place wiki", "organize wiki", "where should this wiki go", "move this wiki page", "find a home for X", "this should probably live somewhere else". Also invoked automatically by the `create-page` skill for Wiki type. Reads existing `wiki/` subfolders to ground placement, proposes 1-2 candidate homes, pushes back against kitchen-drawer root dumping, and executes the move/create via Obsidian CLI so the link index stays intact.

Place a wiki page

The vault CLAUDE.md at the repo root describes the Wiki type and the folder layout. This skill executes the pick-a-home-for-a-Wiki-note workflow.

For the heuristics behind subfolder choice, read references/placement-heuristics.md once at the start of a session that will use this skill. Don't re-read it on every invocation.

Workflow

1. Determine input mode

Two modes:

• Existing file: A path like wiki/<filename>.md or wiki/<some-folder>/<filename>.md was passed in. The file exists. The job is to (possibly) move it.
• New topic: A human topic string was passed in but no file exists yet. The job is to pick a subfolder, then create the file there.

If the input is ambiguous (e.g., the user said "place wiki for sourdough" without saying whether a file exists), check whether wiki/Sourdough.md or any wiki/**/Sourdough.md exists. If found, treat as existing-file mode. If not, treat as new-topic mode.

2. Survey existing wiki structure

obsidian files folder=wiki

Group results into:

• Subfolders present under wiki/ (e.g. wiki/cooking/, wiki/programming/).
• Root-level files directly in wiki/.

If wiki/ is empty or has only the file you're placing, you're in empty-state mode — see references/placement-heuristics.md § Empty state.

3. Propose candidate homes

Apply the heuristics in references/placement-heuristics.md to come up with 1-2 candidate subfolders that fit the topic. Prefer existing folders when there's a real semantic fit. Only propose a new folder if no existing folder genuinely matches — and when you do, sanity-check the proposed name against existing siblings to avoid near-duplicates (e.g., don't propose recipes/ when cooking/ already exists).

For each candidate, have a one-sentence rationale ready.

4. Present the choice

Use AskUserQuestion with up to four options:

1. Best-fit candidate (existing or new subfolder)
2. Alternate candidate, if a meaningful second exists
3. "Keep at wiki/ root" — only include this option if the topic genuinely resists categorization (a true one-off, an index page, a stub). When included, the description should briefly say why you think root might be defensible. Otherwise omit this option entirely so the user has to engage with the choice.
4. "Other — I'll specify" (always include)

Each option's description must be one short sentence — the rationale for that placement, not just the path.

5. Execute the placement

Existing-file mode (move):

obsidian move path="<current-path>" to="wiki/<chosen-subfolder>/"

obsidian move goes through Obsidian's API, so incoming wikilinks are updated automatically. If the destination subfolder doesn't exist yet, Obsidian creates it.

New-topic mode (create):

obsidian templater:create-from-template template="templates/wiki.md" file="wiki/<chosen-subfolder>/<Filename>.md"

Filename is Title Case matching the human topic (e.g., Sourdough Hydration.md), no Type prefix (Wiki doesn't use one per CLAUDE.md "Naming").

After creation, read the file to confirm type: wiki is present. If not, Templater did not fire — surface this to the user and stop.

6. Open the file

obsidian open path="wiki/<chosen-subfolder>/<Filename>.md"

Return control with one short sentence stating the chosen home.

Rules

• Never silently dump to wiki/ root. Root placement is only valid when the user explicitly picks it after seeing the alternatives, or when the topic is a genuine one-off (e.g., a top-level index for the whole Wiki). Even then, surface the choice — don't take it without asking.
• Prefer existing subfolders. A new folder is justified only when no existing one fits. Otherwise, the Wiki fragments into single-occupant folders and loses navigability.
• One folder = one topic cluster. Don't propose splitting an existing folder mid-flight ("cooking/ is getting too big, let's split into cooking/baking/ and cooking/grilling/"). That's reorganization work and belongs in a separate user-initiated pass (a future audit skill task).
• Use the Obsidian CLI for all file ops — obsidian move, obsidian create, obsidian open. Raw filesystem moves bypass Obsidian's link updater and orphan incoming wikilinks. Verified: rename only renames in-folder, move is the right command for relocation across folders.
• Stop on ambiguity. If you can't confidently classify the topic from the user's input (e.g., "place wiki for engagement"), ask one AskUserQuestion to clarify the domain before proposing folders. Don't guess.