process-inbox

name	process-inbox
description	Process and classify files in the Obsidian vault Inbox, moving them to Notes/ with proper frontmatter. Triggers: "process inbox", "check inbox", "classify these", "file my notes", "anything in my inbox?", "triage my captures".

Process Inbox

Classify unprocessed files from Inbox/ and move them to Notes/<type>/ with proper YAML frontmatter.

Workflow

1. List all files in Inbox/. If empty, tell the user and stop.

2. Load schema from CLAUDE.md — valid types, frontmatter requirements. This is the source of truth.

3. Classify each file — read only the first ~20 lines (title, headings, opening content) to determine the best type and tags. Do NOT read the entire file.

4. Present one batch table for approval:

   File	Proposed Title	Type	Tags
   article.md	Some Article	reference	web-dev, react
   setup.md	Docker Setup	config	docker, homelab

   The user adjusts any rows, then approves the whole batch at once.

5. Execute each approved file using these exact operations:

   a. Rename + move with Bash mv:

   mv "Inbox/<filename>" "Notes/<type>/<kebab-case-title>.md"
   

   b. Add frontmatter with the Edit tool — prepend the YAML block to the file. If the file already has frontmatter (--- on line 1), use Edit to fill missing fields only.

6. Summarize what was processed: count moved, destination subfolders used.

Critical efficiency rules

• NEVER use Write to rewrite an existing file. Write sends the entire file content through the API — for long articles this is extremely slow.
• Use Bash mv to relocate files. One command, instant.
• Use Edit to add or update frontmatter. Edit sends only the diff.
• Read only enough of each file to classify it (~20 lines). Do not read full content unless classification is ambiguous.

Frontmatter to add

---
title: "Derived from filename or first heading"
type: <chosen-type>
tags:
  - <tag-1>
  - <tag-2>
created: YYYY-MM-DD
status: active
---

Preserve any existing non-schema properties. Set created to today's date.