ideas

name	ideas
description	Capture and integrate improvement ideas for the shared Claude Code and Codex infrastructure. Use when recording an infrastructure enhancement for later review rather than implementing it immediately.
allowed-tools	["Read","Write","Edit","Glob","Grep","Bash(ls*, mkdir*, date*)","AskUserQuestion","Task"]
argument-hint	capture [text] | integrate [since:YYYY-MM-DD] [dryrun]

Ideas: Capture & Integrate

An inbox for improvement ideas — the gap between [LEARN] tags (immediate corrections) and skill-extract (full skill creation). Captures raw improvement ideas and periodically integrates the best ones into the system.

Two Modes

Mode	Trigger	What it does
Capture	ideas capture [text]	Append a structured idea entry to log/ideas.md
Integrate	ideas integrate	Review unprocessed ideas and turn them into actions

---

Mode 1: Capture

With argument: ideas capture [text]

Parse the text and append a structured entry to log/ideas.md.

Without argument: ideas capture

Ask interactively:

1. "What's the idea?" (free text)
2. "Where did this come from?" (current session / external repo / user feedback / reading)

Entry Format

## [YYYY-MM-DD] [category] Idea title
- **Quality:** [high] | [medium]
- **Source:** [session | external:repo-name | user-feedback | reading:source]
- **Proposed action:** One-sentence description of what to do
- **Details:** [the idea text, expanded if needed]
- **Status:** unprocessed

Auto-Classification

Classify each idea into one of these categories based on content:

Category	Signal words / patterns
[skill-design]	"new skill", "workflow for", "automate", "slash command"
[rule]	"always", "never", "enforce", "prevent", "require"
[workflow]	"process", "steps for", "how to handle", "protocol"
[infrastructure]	"hook", "MCP", "settings", "permissions", "symlink"
[research]	"method", "analysis", "paper", "experiment", "data"

Quality Rating

Rating	Criteria
[high]	Specific, actionable, addresses a known friction point or recurring issue
[medium]	Interesting but needs more thought, or addresses a minor convenience issue

Skip [low] ideas — if it's not worth recording, don't record it.

After Capture

Confirm: "Idea captured in log/ideas.md. You have [N] unprocessed ideas — run ideas integrate when ready to act on them."

---

Mode 2: Integrate

Trigger: ideas integrate [since:YYYY-MM-DD] [dryrun]

Step 1: Read State

Read log/.ideas-state.json to find the last integration date. If since: argument is provided, use that instead. If no state file exists, process all entries.

Step 2: Gather Unprocessed Ideas

Read log/ideas.md and collect all entries with **Status:** unprocessed (optionally filtered by date).

Step 3: Classify Each Idea

For each unprocessed idea, classify as:

Type	Description	Action
Direct proposal	Specific edit to a known file — can be implemented now	Present the edit for approval
Investigation	Needs research or design before implementation	Create a vault task
Duplicate	Already covered by an existing skill, rule, or convention	Mark as duplicate with reference
Declined	Not worth pursuing after reflection	Mark as declined with reason

Step 4: Present for Approval

Show a summary table:

| # | Idea | Category | Quality | Proposed action | Classification |
|---|------|----------|---------|-----------------|---------------|
| 1 | ... | [rule] | [high] | ... | Direct proposal |
| 2 | ... | [skill-design] | [medium] | ... | Investigation |

Ask: "Which ideas should I act on? (all / numbers / skip)"

Step 5: Execute Approved Ideas

• Direct proposals: Make the edit, following break-the-glass rules for protected files
• Investigations: Create a vault task in the Tasks Tracker with:
  • Task name: "Investigate: [idea title]"
  • Source: "Ideas inbox"
  • Priority: High for [high] quality, Medium for [medium]
  • Description: Full idea text + proposed approach

Step 6: Update State

Update each processed entry's status in log/ideas.md:

• **Status:** implemented (YYYY-MM-DD) — direct proposal was executed
• **Status:** task-created (YYYY-MM-DD) — vault task created for investigation
• **Status:** duplicate → [reference] — already exists
• **Status:** declined — [reason] — not worth pursuing

Write log/.ideas-state.json:

{
  "last_integration": "YYYY-MM-DD",
  "total_captured": N,
  "total_implemented": N,
  "total_pending": N
}

Dry Run Mode

When dryrun is specified, run steps 1-4 only — classify and present, but don't execute or update state. Useful for reviewing the backlog without committing to action.

---

Important Notes

• Ideas are not tasks — they're raw material that may or may not become actionable
• The capture threshold is deliberately low — if something seems worth noting, capture it
• Integration should happen periodically (weekly or when the backlog reaches 10+ ideas)
• This skill complements [LEARN] tags (which record corrections) and skill-extract (which creates full skills)
• Break-the-glass rules still apply — direct proposals that modify protected files need confirmation