cache-notes

name	cache-notes
description	Fetch & embed AI transcripts as Obsidian callouts. Args: <path>, all, refresh <path>. Prompts for URLs if empty.
license	MIT
compatibility	Requires Obsidian CLI (property:read/set, outline, base:query) with Obsidian running, gws CLI for Google Docs/Drive (read-only), and Meetings.base (CachePending view). QMD optional fallback. See [google-workspace-cli](../_shared/google-workspace-cli.md).

Cache Notes

Usage

• /cache-notes all — Scan all meetings with Notes: links that haven't been cached yet, fetch and embed them.
• /cache-notes <path> — Cache notes for a specific meeting file.
• /cache-notes refresh <path> — Re-fetch and overwrite existing cached content for a file.

If the target file has an empty Notes: property (no URLs yet), run /mail-transcripts first when doing a full wrap (see meeting Mode C) — it may populate Notes: from the Gemini inbox mail. If still empty, prompt the user to paste the external resource URLs (Google Docs, Otter.ai, etc.). Add them to the Notes: frontmatter, then proceed with fetching and caching as normal.

How It Works

Supported external transcript providers are Google Docs (Gemini notes) and Otter.ai. When a URL from either provider appears in frontmatter Notes:, the agent fetches the transcript using that provider's instructions and embeds it as collapsible Obsidian callouts in the meeting note. A NotesCached: frontmatter timestamp marks the file as cached.

Frontmatter Convention

Before caching:

Notes:
  - https://docs.google.com/document/d/{id}/edit?tab=t.{tab}
  - https://otter.ai/u/{id}

After caching:

Notes:
  - https://docs.google.com/document/d/{id}/edit?tab=t.{tab}
  - https://otter.ai/u/{id}
NotesCached: 2026-02-25T15:00:00+00:00

Provider: Gemini (Google Docs)

Fetching

1. Extract document ID from the Google Docs URL in Notes:.
2. Run gws in the terminal to fetch the document (read-only). See google-workspace-cli for exact commands.
3. Prefer gws docs documents get with includeTabsContent: true and parse the JSON into text (optionally inserting --- TAB: … --- separators from tab titles), or gws drive files export with mimeType: text/plain for a simpler single stream. Parsed content should mirror the old tab layout where needed: --- TAB: Notes ---, --- TAB: Transcript ---.

Parsing the Notes Tab

Gemini notes have a consistent structure. Parse into three sections:

Section	Starts after	Ends before	Callout
Summary + Details	Summary heading	Suggested next steps heading	[!gemini_notes]
Suggested next steps	Suggested next steps heading	Gemini disclaimer footer	[!gemini_todos]
Transcript	--- TAB: Transcript ---	End of content	[!gemini_transcript]

Strip the Gemini disclaimer footer — lines starting with "You should review Gemini's" or "Please provide feedback" are noise. Do not include them.

Output Format

All cached content goes under a top-level ## 🤖 AI Notes section appended after frontmatter. Each provider gets its own ### {Provider} subsection. Callouts are nested under the provider heading.

## 🤖 AI Notes

### Gemini

> [!gemini_notes]- Summary & Details
> ### Summary
> {summary text}
>
> ### Details
> {details as bullet points}

> [!gemini_todos]- Suggested Next Steps
> - {next step 1}
> - {next step 2}

> [!gemini_transcript]- Transcript
> {transcript content, if available}

### Otter

> [!otter_notes]- Summary & Details
> ...

Formatting rules for callout content:

• Every line inside a callout must start with > .
• Preserve markdown formatting (bold, bullet points, headings) inside callouts.
• Keep the - after the callout type (e.g. [!gemini_notes]-) — this makes it collapsed by default in Obsidian.
• Blank lines between callouts (no > prefix) to separate them.
• If transcript tab is not available, omit the [!gemini_transcript] callout entirely.
• The ## 🤖 AI Notes heading is created once. Provider subsections are added beneath it.
• If the file already has user-written content between frontmatter --- and ## 🤖 AI Notes, preserve it. Always append ## 🤖 AI Notes at the end of the file.

Provider: Otter.ai

Otter.ai is a supported external transcript provider (same as Google Docs). Whenever an Otter.ai URL is present in Notes:, follow this provider's instructions to fetch the transcript and embed it. The cached output uses the same structure as other providers: a subsection under ## 🤖 AI Notes with collapsible callouts. Expected callout types:

• [!otter_notes]- — Summary and details
• [!otter_todos]- — Suggested next steps / key topics
• [!otter_transcript]- — Full transcript (if available)

Implementation: Use the otter-fetch skill — ask the user to paste the JSON from GET .../speech?otid=..., then run parse_otter.js (or parse inline) to produce the callouts above and append them.

Workflow

Mode: Specific file (/cache-notes <path>)

1. Read frontmatter only. Check Notes: and NotesCached: via obsidian property:read (see frontmatter-mutations). To check whether the body already has an ## 🤖 AI Notes section without reading the whole file, run obsidian outline path="<file>" format=json and look for that heading — much cheaper than a full Read on large transcript files.
2. If Notes: is empty or absent, prompt the user to paste the external resource URL(s). Set them via obsidian property:set name=Notes value='["<url1>","<url2>"]' type=list path="<file>", then continue.
3. If NotesCached: exists and this is not a refresh, inform the user and stop.
4. Verify each URL before caching (see URL Verification below).
5. For each URL in Notes:, fetch and parse by provider:
   • Google Docs: Extract document ID, fetch via gws (see google-workspace-cli), parse into sections per Provider: Gemini.
   • Otter.ai: Use otter-fetch (user pastes JSON from GET .../speech?otid=...; run otter-fetch/parse_otter.js or parse inline), then append the resulting callout block.
6. Build the callout blocks from all fetched content.
7. If the file already has callout blocks (refresh mode), replace them. Otherwise append under ## 🤖 AI Notes after frontmatter --- (see Output Format).
8. Set NotesCached: timestamp: obsidian property:set name=NotesCached value="$(date +%FT%T%z)" type=datetime path="<file>". See frontmatter-mutations.

Mode: All (/cache-notes all)

1. Discover uncached files via the live Base view: obsidian base:query path=Meetings.base view=CachePending format=paths. Returns only files with Notes populated but no NotesCached: — exactly the work queue. (The /note-status pending --step=cache delegation in Detecting Uncached Files is the fallback when Meetings.base is unavailable.)
2. Present the list to the user with count. Ask for confirmation before proceeding.
3. Process each file per the specific-file workflow above.
4. Report results: successes, failures, and any skipped (e.g. provider not yet implemented).

URL Verification

Before caching, verify that each external resource actually corresponds to the meeting note. This prevents accidentally caching the wrong document when a user pastes an incorrect URL.

How it works

1. Extract the meeting date from the note. Try these sources in order until one yields a date:
   • Filename date pattern (any format — see Date Parsing below)
   • created: frontmatter timestamp
2. Fetch the document title from Drive metadata via gws drive files get (name field), e.g. "Daily Standup - 2026/02/24 09:43 EST - Notes by Gemini" — same string you would have seen in older MCP File: lines.
3. Extract the date from the doc title (any format — see Date Parsing below).
4. Compare: normalize both dates to YYYY-MM-DD and check equality.
   • If the dates match, proceed silently.
   • If the dates don't match, warn the user:

⚠️ Date mismatch for Meetings/Engineering/Scrum/2026-02-24.md:
   Note date:     2026-02-24
   Doc title:     "Daily Standup - 2026/02/26 09:41 EST - Notes by Gemini"
   Doc date:      2026-02-26

Wrong document? [Continue anyway / Skip this URL / Replace URL]

4. If no date is found in the doc title, fall back to a title similarity check — warn if the doc title has no obvious overlap with the meeting note's title (e.g. a "Sprint Retro" doc linked to a "Daily Standup" note).
5. In batch mode (/cache-notes all or /meeting wrap pending), collect all mismatches and present them together before proceeding, rather than interrupting one by one.

Date Parsing

See date-filter § "Date Parsing" for the full list of recognized formats and ambiguity rules.

Skip verification

Verification is skipped for:

• refresh mode (the URL was already verified on first cache)
• Non-Google Docs URLs (Otter.ai, etc.)

Detecting Uncached Files

Delegate to /note-status pending --step=cache. That skill handles discovery, frontmatter checks, and the dependency chain (only notes with Notes: containing a supported provider URL are considered actionable for caching). See /note-status § Dependency Chain for the full rules.

Refresh Mode

/cache-notes refresh <path>:

• Delete the entire ## 🤖 AI Notes section and everything below it.
• Re-fetch all providers and re-build the section.
• Update NotesCached: timestamp.

Offer to Commit

See /commit. Skip when called as part of a sequence (e.g. /meeting wrap).

Important Notes

• Use obsidian property:set for frontmatter writes (Notes:, NotesCached:) — see frontmatter-mutations; never hand-roll StrReplace against frontmatter anchors. Body content (the callout blocks) is still appended/replaced with Edit/Write.
• The Notes: URLs should NOT be modified — they remain as the canonical source links.
• NotesCached: is the single indicator that caching was done. No other markers.
• For all mode, process in batches and report progress to the user.
• Gemini anonymizes some speakers as "someone in [location]" — this is expected; /fill-participants handles name resolution separately.