Capture Triage

What This Does

Turns mobile captures into actionable tasks in your Ready queue. Everything captured has intent - this skill makes it explicit so task-clarity-scanner can decide what's important.

Who It's For

Ed - capturing quick thoughts in Drafts Pro throughout the day.

The Philosophy

Everything captured has intent. Route to Ready, let task-clarity-scanner decide what moves to Someday/Maybe.

No passive filing. Every capture becomes a decision point.

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Paths

Inbox:      /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Inbox/
Processed:  /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Inbox/Processed/
Daily note: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/YYYY-MM-DD.md
Projects:   /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/PROJECT - *.md
Contacts:   /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/CONTACT - *.md

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Important: Naming Clarification

Term	What It Means
Inbox folder	/Zettelkasten/Inbox/ - where Drafts Pro sends mobile notes
Captures section	## Captures in daily note - links to docs created today
Ready destination	## Ready section in daily note - where triaged tasks go

Remember: This skill reads from the Inbox FOLDER and routes to the Ready SECTION. Tasks go to Ready section only - Captures section is for document links.

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Instructions

Step 1: Check Inbox Folder (Root Only)

Important: Only check files directly in Inbox/, NOT subdirectories.

ls /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/Inbox/*.md 2>/dev/null

If no files found: Report "No captures waiting" and stop. If files found: Continue to Step 2.

Step 2: Load Context

Pull active project names from mission-context skill AND:

Glob: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/PROJECT - *.md

Build a list of project names for matching.

Step 3: Read and Classify Each Capture (Background OK)

This step can run in background. Read and classify all captures before surfacing to user.

For each .md file in Inbox:

1. Read full content
2. Detect if already-processed (see Step 3a)
3. Classify by intent (see Step 4)

Surface to user only after ALL files are read and classified.

Step 3a: Detect Already-Processed Content

If capture content looks like a summary (has structure, headers, quotes sources):

• Flag as [PROCESSED]
• Will suggest routing as REFERENCE
• Won't offer research-swarm (already researched)

Signals of processed content:

• Has markdown headers (##, ###)
• Contains bullet lists with structured info
• Quotes or attributes other sources
• Looks like notes from a video/article

Step 4: Classify Each Capture

Priority Rule: Inline hints override auto-detection. Check for these FIRST:

• IDEA: or Idea: → IDEA
• Research: → RESEARCH (triggers swarm option)
• for [Project Name] → PROJECT_UPDATE
• Task: or TODO: → TASK

Auto-Detection (if no inline hint):

Signal	Classification
Starts with verb (call, email, buy, check, send, schedule)	TASK
Contains Research: hint or explicit question needing investigation	RESEARCH
"What if..." or speculative language	IDEA
Mentions active project name	PROJECT_UPDATE
Person's name + action context	CONTACT
Links, articles, saved content, observations	REFERENCE

Step 5: Show Classification Preview (Two-Step)

Two-Step Pattern: Show preview table first, then ask decision in a separate message. Let user absorb the information before asking what to do.

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Step 5a: Present the Table

Show what you found. Let user absorb the information first:

## Capture Triage Preview

Found [N] captures. Here's how I've classified them:

| # | File | Preview | Classification | Suggested Routing |
|---|------|---------|----------------|-------------------|
| 1 | note1.md | "Call dentist..." | TASK | Ready: Call dentist (MM-DD) |
| 2 | note2.md | "What if we..." | IDEA | Ready: Consider: [idea] (MM-DD) |
| 3 | summary.md | [PROCESSED] "Article about..." | REFERENCE | Ready: Review: [title] (MM-DD) |
| 4 | question.md | "Research: how do..." | RESEARCH | Spawn research-swarm? |

Pause here. Let the user see and absorb the table before asking for a decision.

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Step 5b: Ask for Decision

After showing the table, ask ONE question using AskUserQuestion:

How would you like to proceed?

1. **Approve all** - Route everything as shown
2. **Go one-by-one** - Review each item individually
3. **Modify** - Change specific classifications before routing
4. **Skip all** - Don't process any captures right now

Key points:

• Show [PROCESSED] flag for already-summarized content
• RESEARCH items present in preview table with spawn option - user approves before spawning
• Let user approve, modify, or skip before any changes

Step 6: Route by Classification

After approval, route each capture:

Classification	Destination	Format
TASK	Ready	- [ ] [action] (MM-DD)
IDEA	Ready	- [ ] Consider: [idea] (MM-DD)
REFERENCE	Ready	- [ ] Review: [title/summary] (MM-DD)
RESEARCH	If approved: spawn agent	See Step 7
PROJECT_UPDATE	Project file	Timestamped append to ## Context Gathered
CONTACT	Create note + Ready	- [ ] Follow up with [Name] (MM-DD)

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Edit Instructions:

For each item routed to Ready:

1. Open today's daily note at: /Users/eddale/Documents/COPYobsidian/MAGI/Zettelkasten/YYYY-MM-DD.md
2. Find the ## Ready section
3. Use Edit tool to append the task in the format shown above
4. Do NOT add to ## Captures - that section is for document links only

Example Edit operation:

old_string: "## Ready\n- [ ] existing task"
new_string: "## Ready\n- [ ] existing task\n- [ ] [new task from capture] (01-06)"

If creating PROJECT or CONTACT files: Those files get created separately, and a LINK to them goes in Ready as a task (e.g., - [ ] [[PROJECT - Name]] - brief desc).

Step 7: Handle Research (Only When Requested)

Only spawn research-swarm if:

• User explicitly approved during Step 5 preview
• Capture has Research: inline hint AND user confirmed

For each approved RESEARCH item:

Task(
  description="Research: [Topic]",
  prompt="Research question: [Full capture content]

  Use research-swarm pattern to investigate. Save findings to Zettelkasten.
  When complete, add review task to Ready: '- [ ] Review: [[Research - Topic]] (MM-DD)'",
  subagent_type="research-swarm",
  run_in_background=true
)

Add placeholder to daily note:

- [RESEARCH] [Topic] - swarm running in background

Step 8: Handle Contacts

When a capture mentions a person with action context:

1. Check if CONTACT - [Name].md exists
2. If exists: Append to ## Interactions section
3. If new: Create contact note using template
4. Always add follow-up task to Ready

Contact Note Template:

---
type: contact
created: YYYY-MM-DD
source: capture-triage
---

# [Person Name]

## Context
[Original capture content]

## Interactions
- YYYY-MM-DD: Initial capture - [summary]

## Follow-up
[Any implied next steps]

Step 9: Move to Processed

After routing each capture:

mv "[Inbox file]" "[Processed folder]"

Move files to Inbox/Processed/ as safety net (preserves originals).

Step 10: Generate Triage Summary

## Capture Triage - YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM

**Processed:** N items | **Research spawned:** M (if any)

### Routed to Ready
- [N] tasks
- [N] ideas (Consider:)
- [N] references (Review:)

### Research Running
- [Topic] - spawned at HH:MM

### Actions Taken
- Moved N files to Inbox/Processed/
- Created CONTACT - [Name].md (if any)
- Updated PROJECT - [Name].md (if any)

---

Examples

Example 1: Dry Run Preview

Inbox folder contains 4 files:

1. "Call dentist Monday about cleaning"
2. "What if we did a 5-day hook challenge?"
3. [PROCESSED] "Summary of Karpathy video - 6 paradigm shifts..."
4. "Research: how do successful coaches use AI?"

Skill shows:

## Capture Triage Preview

| # | Capture | Classification | Suggested Action |
|---|---------|----------------|------------------|
| 1 | "Call dentist..." | TASK | → Ready: "Call dentist Monday (01-05)" |
| 2 | "What if we..." | IDEA | → Ready: "Consider: 5-day hook challenge (01-05)" |
| 3 | [PROCESSED] "Summary of Karpathy..." | REFERENCE | → Ready: "Review: Karpathy video summary (01-05)" |
| 4 | "Research: how do coaches..." | RESEARCH | → Spawn research-swarm? |

Approve all, modify, or skip items?

Example 2: After Approval

User approves all, including research swarm for #4.

Result:

• Ready gets 3 new tasks + 1 research placeholder
• Research-swarm spawns in background
• All 4 files moved to Processed/
• Summary generated

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Guidelines

• Two-step preview - Show table first, ask decision second (separate messages)
• Ready, not Captures - All triaged items become tasks in ## Ready section
• Dry run is standard - Always show preview before routing
• Respect inline hints - They override auto-detection
• Research-swarm is opt-in - Ask before spawning
• [PROCESSED] content - Flag summaries, suggest REFERENCE routing
• Everything to Ready - Let task-clarity-scanner handle prioritization
• Preserve originals - Move to Processed/ folder as safety net

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Version History

Version	Date	Changes
1.0	2025-01-05	Initial build as inbox-triage
2.0	2025-01-05	Renamed to capture-triage, added dry run, AskUserQuestion flow, all routes to Ready
2.1	2026-01-06	Renamed folder Captures→Inbox, split Step 5 into two-step preview, explicit Ready section routing, background OK for classification

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Notes & Learnings

• Day 1 test processed 32 captures with backlog - dry run prevented overwhelm
• [PROCESSED] detection helps avoid re-researching already-summarized content
• Research-swarm opt-in prevents runaway agent spawning