capture-note

name	capture-note
description	Add raw, dictated, transcribed, or loosely structured material to a user's markdown notes, diary, journal, or second-brain collection. Use when Codex needs to create or append a dated markdown note, choose the proper destination folder by inspecting existing notes, preserve local filename/frontmatter conventions, or turn messy note input into a concise dated entry without inventing facts.

Capture Note

Purpose: add personal knowledge, diary, journal, meeting, or second-brain notes to the right markdown location with minimal friction and no forced folder convention.

Workflow

1. Identify the note material and any explicit target:
   • Treat spoken transcripts, rough bullets, pasted fragments, and polished prose as valid input.
   • Extract only the user's intended meaning, dates, people, decisions, tasks, and links.
   • Do not invent facts, summaries, dates, tags, or context that the user did not provide or that cannot be inferred from the target collection's local convention.
2. Find the note collection:
   • If the user gives a folder, inspect that folder first.
   • If the user only says "notes", "diary", "journal", "second brain", or similar, inspect the current workspace for likely markdown note roots before asking.
   • Prefer rg --files or find to list markdown files, then sample nearby files before editing.
3. Inspect folder structure before choosing a destination:
   • Look for directories with similar markdown files, such as daily notes, journals, inbox notes, meetings, people, projects, or topic folders.
   • Compare filename patterns, dates, title casing, frontmatter keys, heading levels, tag style, and whether notes are one file per day or one file per topic.
   • Choose the folder that already contains similar markdown notes.
   • Ask for clarification when multiple destinations are equally plausible or when writing would materially change a personal organization system.
4. Decide whether to append or create:
   • Append to an existing dated daily note when the collection clearly uses daily files and the target date already exists.
   • Create a new markdown file when the collection uses one file per entry, topic, meeting, or when no dated file exists.
   • Never overwrite unrelated notes. Preserve existing content order and local separators.
5. Write the note:
   • Use the target collection's existing filename and frontmatter conventions when present.
   • Include a date and title. Use frontmatter if similar notes use frontmatter; otherwise use a markdown heading with the date nearby.
   • Keep the body readable: short paragraphs, bullets for lists, and sections only when they add clarity.
   • Preserve uncertainty from the source text. Mark unclear items as unclear instead of resolving them by guesswork.

Destination Heuristics

Prefer the strongest local convention over a generic preference:

• Daily note folders: filenames like 2026-06-08.md, 2026-06-08 Monday.md, or Journal/2026/06/2026-06-08.md.
• Diary or journal folders: dated entries with reflective prose and simple headings.
• Meeting folders: filenames with people, company, project, or meeting titles.
• Inbox or capture folders: unprocessed notes, rough transcripts, or short dated captures.
• Topic folders: notes grouped by domain, project, person, or source.

If no convention is discoverable, create a conservative markdown file near the requested folder: YYYY-MM-DD-title-slug.md, with a top-level title and date.

Markdown Shape

Match existing notes first. When there is no clear pattern, use:

---
date: YYYY-MM-DD
title: Note title
---

# Note title

Source note content rewritten clearly, without adding new facts.

For daily-note append operations, prefer:

## Note title

- Captured: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
- ...

Use the user's local timezone when known from context. If the date is ambiguous, use today's date only for capture metadata and keep any event date uncertainty in the body.

Safety Rules

• Do not print sensitive personal note content in the final response unless the user asks.
• Do not normalize private folder structures into a new system.
• Do not create tags, categories, backlinks, or aliases unless similar notes already use them.
• Do not move or rename existing notes unless explicitly requested.
• After editing, summarize the file path changed and whether the note was appended or created.