extract-insights

name	extract-insights
description	Extract actionable lessons, key insights, emergent todos, and best practices from a note (e.g. a video transcript or article in an Obsidian vault, for example). Use when asked to "extract insights / lessons / takeaways" from a note or document. Outputs bullet lists in chat, or writes them to a markdown file if asked.
allowed-tools	Read, Write, Edit
argument-hint	<path to note> [→ optional output file path]

Extract insights from a note

Purpose

Read one note (transcript, article, clipping, meeting notes — anything) and pull out what's worth keeping, as bullet lists under four headings:

• Actionable lessons — things to do differently, stated as guidance.
• Key insights — the non-obvious ideas worth remembering.
• Todos — concrete next actions that emerge for the reader/user.
• Best practices — repeatable rules or standards worth adopting.

Instructions

1. Read the note in full. Take the path the user gave (default to the file they @-referenced or the active note). Page through long files — don't extract from a partial read.

2. Extract. For each of the four headings, write a bullet list. Rules:

   • Omit a heading entirely if the note genuinely has nothing for it. Don't pad.
   • One idea per bullet, declarative and self-contained (readable without the source open).
   • No fixed count necessary. Capture what's real, skip sponsor reads, filler, and biography.
   • Quote a memorable line only when it earns its place.

3. Output — composable, decided by how you were asked:

   • Default (no output file mentioned): print the bullet lists directly in the chat. Nothing is written to disk.

   • If the user asks for a markdown file (e.g. "save it", "create a note", or gives a path): write the lists to a .md file.

     • Title / filename: Insights from <source title>.md — keep it consistent so these notes are easy to spot.
     • Location: if the user gave a path, use it. Otherwise default to an Inbox/ folder at the vault root if one exists (so the user can triage it later), falling back to the source note's own folder.
     • Body: link back to the source note in the first line, then the lists.
     • Include light frontmatter:

     ---
     source: "[[<source note title>]]"
     created: <today's date, YYYY-MM-DD>
     tags:
       - insights
     ---
     
     # Insights from <source title>
     
     Extracted from [[<source note title>]].
     
     ## Actionable lessons
     - ...
     
     ## Key insights
     - ...
     

     (Drop empty sections here too.) Then tell the user the path you wrote.

Notes

• Keep it minimal. The model already knows how to extract — this skill just fixes the four buckets, the bar for inclusion, and the chat-vs-file output choice.
• Adapt to the vault: if the user's notes use different tags or folders, match them.