| name | idea-capturer |
| description | Structured system for capturing fleeting thoughts, developing raw ideas into actionable concepts, and organizing creative thinking. Use when the user wants to capture an idea, brain-dump, develop or explore a half-formed concept, run a brainstorming session, organize scattered notes, synthesize ideas, or build a Zettelkasten/second-brain workflow. Trigger phrases: "capture idea", "save this idea", "idea dump", "brain dump", "develop idea", "brainstorm", "connect ideas", "review my ideas", "tag idea", "find ideas about". |
Idea Capturer
Audience: Agents helping users externalize, develop, and connect ideas without losing them.
Goal: Minimize capture friction, then apply the right structure at the right moment — capture, develop, or organize — without over-processing.
The Core Heuristic
At the moment a thought arrives, do not ask "is this worth saving?" — ask "could I forget this?". If yes, capture first, judge later. Judgement at capture time kills the 80% of ideas that only reveal their value in retrospect.
Mode Decision Tree
Pick exactly one mode per interaction. Switching modes mid-flow destroys the capture discipline.
| User signal | Mode | What to do |
|---|
| "capture", "save this", "idea dump", thought fragment | Capture | Minimum friction. Load Quick Capture template. Ask at most one clarifying question. |
| "develop", "flesh out", "what if", half-formed concept | Develop | Load Developed Idea template. Ask sharpening questions one at a time. |
| "review", "organize", "connect", "what have I been thinking about" | Organize | Surface patterns across existing captures. Propose links, not answers. |
| "brainstorm", "generate ideas about X" | Brainstorm | Divergent first (quantity), converge only on explicit request. |
| "synthesize", "what's the pattern across these" | Synthesize | Multi-idea input required. Produce one insight, not a list. |
If the user mixes signals, stay in the earliest mode (Capture > Develop > Organize) — you can always develop later; you cannot un-critique a capture.
Methodology Pointers
Claude already knows these frameworks. Invoke by name; do not re-explain in output:
- Zettelkasten — four tiers (fleeting, literature, permanent, project). Tier decides lifespan and review cadence, not how to write the note.
- SCAMPER — for the Develop mode when the user asks "how could this be different?".
- 5 Whys — for the Develop mode when the surface idea is vague ("build a productivity app"); stop at the first answer that names a concrete constraint.
- Divergent then convergent — for Brainstorm mode; never interleave.
See references/templates.md for all capture and development templates. Load the section matching the active mode.
NEVER List
- NEVER batch-process captures more than 24 hours old without re-grounding with the user — stale context leaks into synthesis and produces confident-sounding insights the user never had.
- NEVER link a new idea to more than 3 existing notes without explicit user confirmation — over-linking collapses the idea graph into one homogeneous blob where nothing stands out.
- NEVER critique an idea during Capture mode — even gently ("have you considered..."). The critique is remembered; the idea is lost.
- NEVER ask the user to pick a Zettelkasten tier at capture time. Default to Fleeting. Tier promotion happens during Organize mode, not Capture.
- NEVER convert a capture into a project plan unsolicited. "Save this idea" is not "help me build this".
- NEVER write more than the user wrote, in Capture mode. If the user typed two sentences, your structured capture is two sentences plus metadata — not a page of development.
- NEVER run Synthesize mode on fewer than three related captures — two ideas is a connection, not a synthesis, and the pattern you invent will be noise.
- NEVER tag with more than 5 tags per note. Tag proliferation destroys findability faster than no tags at all.
- NEVER discard an idea because it duplicates an existing note — flag it as a cross-link candidate. Repeated captures of the same thought mean it matters to the user.
- NEVER use the Develop mode's sharpening questions as an interrogation — ask one, wait, respond to the answer, then ask the next. Batch questions fail.
Idea Types and Development Focus
| Type | Signal | Development pivot |
|---|
| Project | "build", "make", "create" | Feasibility + narrowest-wedge user |
| Question | "why", "how come", "I wonder" | Research direction, not answer |
| Insight | "I realized", "turns out" | Connection to prior notes, application |
| Observation | "I noticed", "pattern I see" | Pattern-naming, not interpretation |
| Spark | "reminds me of", "what if" | Capture now, explore only on request |
Quick Reference
| Action | Trigger |
|---|
| Quick capture | "capture idea", "save this" |
| Develop | "develop idea about X" |
| Brainstorm | "brainstorm X" |
| Review captures | "review my ideas" |
| Find related | "find ideas about X" |
| Synthesize | "synthesize these" |
Integration Points
- Journal/reflection tools surface ideas worth capturing.
- Obsidian or second-brain vaults are the storage layer; this skill is the ingestion discipline on top.
concept-cartographer can visualize the idea graph once enough captures accumulate.
