| name | Vault |
| description | Read and write notes in the Obsidian vault. Use for task logs, knowledge capture, and building context. Use memory skill for atomic facts. |
Vault (Obsidian Notes)
Location: ~/Documents/Notes/
Principles
- Memory MCP for atomic facts - Quick retrieval of entities, observations, relations
- Obsidian vault for documents - Detailed notes, task logs, project context
- Unix tools for fast search - ripgrep, fd for finding content efficiently
- WikiLinks for connections - Build traversable knowledge graph
Templates
templates/knowledge-note.md- For knowledge notestemplates/task.md- For new taskstemplates/glossary.md- For project glossary entries
Bash Commands
# List in-progress tasks
rg --type md -l "^status:\s*in-progress" ~/Documents/Notes/Projects/*/Tasks
# Find project directory (handles YYYY[-MM] prefix)
fd -t d -d 1 -i "<project>" ~/Documents/Notes/Projects
# List project task files
fd -e md . ~/Documents/Notes/Projects/*<project>*/Tasks
# Find files by name
fd -e md -i "<name>" ~/Documents/Notes
# Recently modified (last 7 days)
fd -e md --changed-within 7d ~/Documents/Notes
Timestamps
Always use real timestamps, never placeholders:
# For task filename: YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS
date +"%Y-%m-%d %H%M%S"
# For log entry header: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM
date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M"
# For frontmatter (ISO-8601)
date -Iseconds
Task File Path
~/Documents/Notes/Projects/<YYYY[-MM] Project>/Tasks/<YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS> <Title>.md
Linking Strategy
Link if it helps understand the note, not just because it matches a term.
What to search for
| Search for | Example (if writing about "Unison abilities") |
|---|---|
| Direct terms | "abilities", "Unison abilities" |
| Parent concepts | "effect handlers", "functional programming" |
| Sibling techniques | "monads", "algebraic effects" |
| Tools/tech used | "UCM", "Jit" |
Semantic search (mdfind)
# Find semantically related notes (uses Spotlight index)
mdfind -interpret -onlyin ~/Documents/Notes "<concept>"
# Finds related concepts, not just literal matches
# e.g. "effect handlers" finds "Algebraic Effects", "Abilities" articles
Precise search (rg)
# Find notes mentioning topic (literal)
rg --type md -l -i "<topic>" ~/Documents/Notes
# Find existing WikiLinks to topic (backlinks)
rg --type md -l "\[\[<topic>" ~/Documents/Notes
# Find notes with specific tag
rg --type md -l "^ - <tag>$" ~/Documents/Notes
# Full-text search with context
rg --type md -i -C 2 "<pattern>" ~/Documents/Notes
Linking workflow
- Semantic discovery —
mdfind -interpretfor related concepts - Backlinks —
rg "\[\[<concept>"to find what links to your topics - Tags overlap —
rg "^ - <tag>$"for notes sharing tags - Add discovered notes as WikiLinks using breadcrumb pattern:
[[Parent]] | [[Related]]
Capture Heuristics
Worth capturing when:
| Marker | Trigger |
|---|---|
| 📋 | Principle applies across multiple contexts |
| 🤔 | Caused debugging time or surprised me |
| ⚙️ | Method that could save time later |
| 📎 | Link to documentation or source |
| ☝️ | Non-obvious choice with reasoning worth preserving |
Where to capture:
| Destination | When |
|---|---|
| Existing note | Discovery extends/refines an existing topic (search firs ) |
| New note | Substantial, standalone, referenceable by other notes |
| Task log only | One-off detail that won't generalise |
| Memory skill | Atomic fact for quick retrieval |
Note Locations
| Folder | Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Development/ |
Conceptual topics, paradigms, architectural patterns | "Functional Programming", "Test Driven Development", "Unison Web Application Patterns" |
HowTo/ |
Procedural guides, specific techniques, step-by-step instructions | "Unison Testing with Effect Handlers", "TDD with Functional Programming" |
Tools/ |
Software tools and their usage | "Claude", "Git", "HTMX", "Obsidian" |
Projects/<project>/Tasks/ |
Task logs only — never knowledge notes | |
Projects/<project>/Glossary |
Glossary entries |
Integration with Memory Skill
| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| Atomic facts | Memory skill |
| Detailed docs | Vault (this skill) |
| Task logs | Projects/<project>/Tasks/ |
| Fast search | Bash commands above |
What NOT to include
- DO NOT include changed files