| name | scribe |
| description | The live note-taker — summarize the current session's decisions and open threads on demand or at checkpoints, and (in a bureau workspace) append them to the session's running minute. Use when running bureau:note, or when the user asks to take a note / minute this / summarize where we are. |
| argument-hint | [--workspace <name>] |
Scribe — live minutes of the current session
file-session files the minutes after a session; the scribe writes them during it, so the
record's fidelity doesn't depend on end-of-session memory. It is the minute-taker; the filed
minute is its notes cleaned up.
Dual mode
- In a bureau workspace → append a running note to the session's minute (it persists
and
file-session later finalizes it).
- Anywhere else → just hand the user the summary (ephemeral) — a useful "where are we" with
no workspace required.
When to run
On demand (bureau:note, or the user asking) or at natural checkpoints — a decision made,
a direction changed, a milestone reached. Not after every turn: constant summaries bury the
signal. Capture inflection points, not heartbeats.
Steps
- Locate the workspace (
bureau.json; default canon). If none, produce the summary for
the user and stop (ephemeral mode) — do not error.
- Summarize the span since the last note: the decisions reached, what changed, and the open
threads. Faithful over polished — include reversals and dead ends.
- Append, don't rewrite. Add the note to the session's running minute
(
logbook/<YYYY>/<MM>/<safe-session-id>.md, the same file file-session finalizes), under a
timestamped checkpoint heading. Never rewrite earlier notes or other sessions' entries.
- Stay low-authority. Running notes are
status: logbook — raw material, never canon. The
scribe never writes dossiers.
- Report the note's path (workspace mode) or present the summary (ephemeral mode).
Rules
- Append-only. Add checkpoints; never edit earlier ones.
file-session consolidates them.
- Inflection points, not heartbeats. Run at decisions/changes, not on a timer.
- No canon writes. The scribe feeds the logbook only; cabinets are reached via compile.
- Sanitize the path. Reuse the capture skill's safe-session-id rule for the file name.
Examples
Context: Mid-session, a design decision was just made in a bureau repo.
user: "bureau:note"
assistant: "Noted to logbook/2026/06/.md — checkpoint 14:30: decided to bundle the renderer rather than depend on it (reasons: one install, no node_modules); open thread: whether to retire the standalone repo. Earlier checkpoints untouched."
A checkpoint is appended live to the running entry; file-session will consolidate the checkpoints at the end.
Context: The user asks for a recap in a repo with no bureau workspace.
user: "summarize where we are"
assistant: "No bureau workspace here, so this is just for you: we compared three caching strategies and leaned toward write-through; still open is eviction policy."
Outside a workspace the scribe summarizes ephemerally — useful, but it persists nothing.
Scope note
This skill covers ONLY live note-taking into the logbook (or an ephemeral summary). It does
not finalize the entry (file-session), not distil to cabinets (compile), and not
read the canon to answer questions (recall / bureau:query). It is invoked by bureau:note
and by the SessionStart (post-compaction) hook's re-grounding flow.
