note

name	note
version	2026.07.27@6dc7d1d
description	Capture a quick note, finding, or result in a timestamped file under .claude-work/. Lightweight alternative to /scratchpad with no foundation skill dependencies
argument-hint	<description>
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Glob, Bash(git branch --show-current), Bash(mkdir -p *), Bash(date *), Bash(*/skills/issue-context/claude-work-root.sh *)

Note

Capture a note, finding, or result in a lightweight timestamped file. Use this instead of /scratchpad when you need to record something without implementation plans, step tracking, or structured formats.

Input: $ARGUMENTS (a short description for the filename)

Step 1: Determine Target Directory and Timestamp

Run these three commands as parallel tool calls. They are independent:

~/.claude/skills/issue-context/claude-work-root.sh

git branch --show-current

date +%Y%m%d-%H%M%S

Use the stdout of claude-work-root.sh as the base path (e.g., /Users/x/project/.claude-work). This script automatically detects git worktrees and returns the shared .claude-work/ location.

If the branch starts with issues/, extract the issue number (characters after issues/ up to the first - or _, only if those characters are purely numeric; otherwise use the full string after issues/):

• On an issue branch: <base>/issues/<ID>/notes/
• Otherwise: <base>/notes/

Create the directory if it doesn't exist:

mkdir -p <target-directory>

Step 2: Generate Filename

Build the filename using the timestamp from Step 1 and a slug derived from $ARGUMENTS:

Slug rules: lowercase $ARGUMENTS, replace spaces and special characters with hyphens, collapse consecutive hyphens, trim leading/trailing hyphens. Keep it under 50 characters.

Filename: <YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS>-<slug>.txt

Example: 20260329-143022-api-audit-findings.txt

Step 3: Write the File

See /pre-write for the think-before-writing rule: complete all reasoning before writing the first word.

Write the note content to the file. The format is freeform. Structure it however best fits the content being captured. There are no required sections or templates.

The one rule: each paragraph is ONE continuous line. No line breaks at 72, 80, or any fixed column. Use line breaks only for structural separation (between paragraphs, around lists, around code blocks). Override your default instinct to wrap.

Output Anchors

Format: freeform text. Length: unlimited. Perspective: whatever fits the content being captured.

Before printing the path in Step 4, re-read the file and verify no paragraph contains a mid-sentence line break. Rewrite any that do. Also skim for AI-writing tells: em dashes, filler phrases (in order to, due to the fact that), vague attributions, generic positive conclusions. Rewrite any you find.

Step 4: Confirm

Print only the absolute filepath:

<target-directory>/<filename>

Do NOT print the file contents.