| name | add-idea |
| description | Captures a new idea under the correct initiative and project. Creates the project and folder layout when missing. Updates ideas.md and optional project brief documents. Use when the user wants to add, log, or capture an idea, a backlog item, or a new project bucket, or when they mention a new initiative idea. |
Add Initiative Idea
Goal
Put a new idea in the right place with consistent tables and folders. Match patterns in SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md and the target initiative’s ideas.md.
Before Writing Files
Confirm or infer:
- Initiative - which
initiatives/[Initiative Name]/ folder (must exist).
- Project - named project or General for ungrouped ideas.
- Idea title - short, noun-style name for the Idea column. It must match the eventual
initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/ folder name when lifecycle artifacts exist.
- Idea priority -
High, Medium, Low, or 1 / 2 / 3 if the user gave one. Default Medium when unclear.
- Status - default Backlog for new captures unless the user says otherwise.
- Richness - one line only, or extra detail (paragraphs, lists, bullets). Rich content goes in
initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/01_brief.md, not only in the table.
Lifecycle when you write 01_brief.md in this skill. The default order is in IDEA_LIFECYCLE.md at the repo root. Brief is followed by Pressure Test, then Research. Do not set Status to Research just because you drafted a brief. That skips Pressure Test unless the user asked for a waiver (see Waiver - skip Pressure Test in IDEA_LIFECYCLE.md). After you create 01_brief.md, set Status to In Review and say in Notes / next action that the next stage is Pressure Test (02_pressure_test.md) and that you are waiting on approval (same pattern as At every approval gate in IDEA_LIFECYCLE.md). Optionally refresh Awaiting your approval in DASHBOARD.md when a dashboard row helps. If the user explicitly waives Pressure Test in the capture, put that waiver in Notes per IDEA_LIFECYCLE.md and set status to match what they asked (for example Research if they waive straight to desk research).
If initiative or idea title is ambiguous, ask once. Do not invent initiatives.
Files To Touch (checklist)
Use this list every time. Skip steps that do not apply.
| Step | Action |
|---|
| 1 | Edit initiatives/[Initiative]/ideas.md (required). |
| 2 | If the project is new, add an Active Projects table row (include Priority, default Medium unless the user specifies) and a full ## Project: [Name] section with the standard idea table. |
| 3 | If the project is new, ensure initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/ exists. Use .gitkeep when the folder would otherwise be empty. |
| 4 | If the project is new or the project folder is missing, create initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/ and add 00-how-to-use.md there (see below). |
| 5 | Add one row to the correct Project: section for the new idea. Set Last updated to today (YYYY-MM-DD). |
| 6 | If there is rich content, create initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/01_brief.md and put a short pointer in Notes / next action (and keep the table cell readable). Set Status to In Review and point the next step to Pressure Test unless the user asked for a lifecycle waiver (see Lifecycle when you write 01_brief.md above). Never use Research as the status here by default. |
| 7 | Optionally update Last initiative work in DASHBOARD.md for that initiative to today when the user wants this session to count toward recency, or when the capture is large (new project, long idea doc). Skip for a tiny one-line backlog ping unless asked. |
Do not add rows to Awaiting your approval for a simple backlog capture. Create initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/ only when you need a brief or richer scoped notes.
New Project Workflow
- In ## Active Projects, add a row: Project, Purpose (one line), Priority (
High / Medium / Low or 1 / 2 / 3; default Medium).
- Add ## Project: [Exact Name] with the same column headers as other project sections in that file.
- Folder names must match the Project column exactly (spaces allowed, same spelling).
Idea Row
Use the same columns as the existing project section: Idea, Status, Priority, Last updated, Notes / next action.
- Notes / next action - For a sentence-only idea, a single line is enough. For rich ideas, one line plus a link to the brief, e.g.
[brief](<Project>/<Idea>/01_brief.md) relative to that initiative (same path shape as on disk under initiatives/[Initiative]/).
Rich Content File
When the user provides more than a sentence:
- Path:
initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/01_brief.md
- Keep naming simple. Start at
01_brief.md and add later stage files in the same folder when work progresses.
- Include at minimum: title (H1), Captured date, optional sections the user gave you (e.g. Description, Open questions, Next steps as bullet lists).
- End the brief body with a short Next line that matches the lifecycle. Default text should say the next artifact is
02_pressure_test.md (Pressure Test), not market research, unless the user waived Pressure Test.
Keep table cells short. Put long text in the file.
00-how-to-use.md For A New Project Folder
Create only when initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/ is new. Keep it short:
- State that all idea work for this project lives under
initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/[Idea Name]/.
- Link to the initiative’s
ideas.md at ../ideas.md, and to SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md / IDEA_LIFECYCLE.md at repo root as ../../../SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md (the file lives at initiatives/[Initiative]/[Project Name]/00-how-to-use.md, so three levels up to the repo root).
Use the initiative’s existing 00-how-to-use.md as a template when one exists (e.g. novel Pre-writing). If none exists, write a minimal version using the rules above.
Initiative-Specific Layout Notes
- Some initiatives have custom project names (for example novel Pre-writing). Follow the layout block at the top of that initiative’s
ideas.md.
- General project: use
General/[Idea Name]/ under the initiative for new briefs.
Consistency
- Status and priority vocabularies:
SYSTEM_OVERVIEW.md (Idea Statuses, Project priority, Priority levels (ideas)). After a new brief, the next lifecycle label in the row is In Review (waiting on you), not Research.
- After edits, reread the modified Active Projects table and Project: sections to ensure project names match folders and there are no duplicate idea titles in the same project unless the user asked for duplicates.
