aside

name	aside
description	Capture a drive-by idea without interrupting your current work. Dispatches a background researcher by default, or use --quick for a simple note. Usage: /aside [--quick] <your thought>

Aside

Capture a drive-by idea without interrupting the current conversation. By default, dispatches a background subagent to research and expand the idea. Use --quick for a simple note with no research.

Parameters

• /aside <thought> — researched mode (default). Background subagent explores the idea.
• /aside --quick <thought> — note only. No subagent, no research. Just park the thought.

Everything after /aside (or /aside --quick) is the user's thought. No name parameter — the slug is generated from the content.

Quick Mode (--quick)

No subagent. Execute these steps directly:

1. Parse the user's thought from the arguments (everything after --quick).
2. Generate a kebab-case slug from the content (3-5 words that capture the core idea).
3. Compose the body using the Quick Mode template below (verbatim user thought + a Further Investigation section with 2-3 inferred threads).
4. Use the centralized helper to compute the path, apply the braindump_ prefix, write the frontmatter (with variant: aside), and stay gitignored:

echo "$BODY" | node .claude/scripts/capture-context.mjs \
  --type braindump \
  --topic {kebab-slug} \
  --scope team-member \
  --user {workspace.user} \
  --variant aside \
  --local-only

5. Report the printed path to the user: "Noted: {path}."

The helper handles collisions automatically by appending -2, -3, etc.

Quick Mode Body Template

## User's Original Thought
{Verbatim text from the user — copy exactly as provided}

## Further Investigation
{2-3 bullet points: threads worth pulling on, questions to explore,
related areas to check. Quick inference, not deep research.}

Research Mode (default)

Dispatch the aside-researcher agent in the background. The full mode uses --type research so the file is named local-only-research_{slug}.md, distinguishing it from quick asides.

1. Parse the user's thought from the arguments (everything after /aside).
2. Generate a kebab-case slug from the content.
3. Compute the target path with --print-only so you can hand it to the subagent:

   node .claude/scripts/capture-context.mjs \
     --type research \
     --topic {kebab-slug} \
     --scope team-member \
     --user {workspace.user} \
     --variant aside \
     --local-only \
     --print-only
   

4. Dispatch the aside-researcher agent using the Agent tool:
   • subagent_type: use the aside-researcher agent definition
   • run_in_background: true
   • Prompt must include:
     • The user's verbatim thought
     • The target file path (from step 3)
     • The workspace root path
     • The Research Mode body template (below)
   • Tell the agent to write the body via capture-context.mjs --update so the same path is reused, and to pipe the rendered body on stdin.
5. Confirm dispatch to the user: "Researching in the background. I'll let you know when it's done."
6. When the agent completes, report: file path and a one-line summary of what was found.

Research Mode Body Template

Include this template in the agent's prompt so it writes the correct format:

## User's Original Thought
{Verbatim text from the user — copy exactly as provided, never paraphrase}

## Agent Research
{Findings from the workspace, project repos, and web.
References specific file paths and prior art.
Structured as prose or sub-headings as the content demands.}

## Synthesis
{How the user's thought connects to what was found.
Proposed next steps, design considerations.
Clearly framed as agent analysis, not user intent.}

## Further Investigation
{Threads worth pulling on. What the agent couldn't answer.
Topics that would benefit from deeper exploration or user input.}

File Naming

• Quick mode: workspace-context/team-member/{user}/local-only-braindump_{slug}.md
• Research mode: workspace-context/team-member/{user}/local-only-research_{slug}.md
• Slug: Kebab-case, 3-5 words. E.g., refresh-token-caching, deploy-pipeline-idea.
• Collision handling: Helper auto-appends -2, -3, …
• Always local-only- — gitignored, never auto-committed.

Session Behavior

Asides are session-agnostic. Regardless of whether a work session is active:

• Files always go to workspace-context/team-member/{user}/
• No interaction with the session tracker
• No interaction with /complete-work synthesis

Lifecycle

Asides stay as local-only-* files until deliberately promoted:

• /promote discovers them during its local-only-* scan
• /maintenance can flag stale asides
• variant: aside frontmatter distinguishes them from other local-only files

Notes

• The subagent receives locked context automatically via the SubagentStart hook
• The subagent does NOT receive conversation history — the user provides context inline as part of their thought
• Asides never modify existing files
• One aside = one file, always