Class Notes

Overview

A course repository holds what students see and edit: prompt-notes.md (the prompt and nothing else: every word is sent), README-prompt.md (how it works and how to change it) and one folder per class session. Everything else lives here, in one script — call it through python3:

S=<this skill's base directory>/scripts/class_notes.py   # e.g. ~/.claude/skills/class-notes/…
python3 $S fetch <share link>      # Plaud -> session folder
python3 $S generate                # prompt x model -> notes
python3 $S payload --only <folder> # the exact message, for any other tool
python3 $S tidy --check            # notes whose Markdown won't render properly

Run it from the course repo (or pass --repo). <command> --help lists every option.

Session folder

Add a session from a share link

1. Go to the course repo root (git rev-parse --show-toplevel). No prompt-notes.md there means the course isn't set up: offer Set up a course.
2. python3 $S fetch <url> [--suffix <lecture|lab|…>].
   • The folder is <session parent>/<the lecture's local date>[-<suffix>]. The date comes from Plaud's start time, not from today.
   • Follow the course's existing folder names: if they carry suffixes (-lecture, -lab), always pass --suffix, taking it from what Dan says ("the lab").
   • The session type comes from Dan, never from Plaud. Plaud's auto-generated title almost always says "Lecture", whether the recording is a lecture, a lab, office hours or anything else around the course. A title that disagrees with what Dan said is not a conflict: don't flag it or ask about it.
   • Prefer --suffix to --folder: with --suffix the date still comes from Plaud. Use --folder <name or path> only when Dan names a folder outright.
   • An existing folder without plaud.md (Dan often creates it in class, with the logs) is reused.
   • It stops without writing when the link matches no single recording, when the folder holds a different share link, or when that date already has suffixed folders. Relay the message and ask Dan for a suffix. Never choose a recording yourself: the Plaud account also holds recordings that are not classes.
   • Exit code 2 means Plaud hasn't finished processing. Tell Dan and stop. To finish later, run python3 $S fetch --folder <that folder>: it reads the link from plaud.md, so the original flags aren't needed.
3. When Dan names course readings the class worked from (a textbook chapter, say), write them to materials.md: their text and code from the source, each heading linked to its published section. The model uses them only if the course prompt describes <course-materials>.
4. python3 $S generate --only <folder> in the background (main × opus, a few minutes). Add --prompt or --model only when Dan asks.
5. Report each file written, and each notes file's name, line count and model. Suggest a commit message such as 2026-09-17 lecture: transcript, Plaud notes, class notes. Don't commit or push.

Regenerate and compare

generate runs prompt main (prompt-notes.md) with model opus unless told otherwise. --prompt and --model each replace that default and can be repeated; every combination runs.

A plain run never overwrites: it lists stale notes (older prompt text, or fewer inputs than the folder now holds) and suggests --force. Notes from an older model stay beside the new ones, because the filename carries the model that ran.

Set up a course

Follow references/init.md. It writes prompt-notes.md and README-prompt.md from the boilerplate in templates/, and adds the templates/Makefile targets.

Common mistakes

• Pulling the transcript through the Plaud MCP and writing it out yourself. Use fetch: it reproduces the web export byte for byte, and retyping is slow and lossy.
• Naming the folder after today. A recording processed days later belongs to the lecture's date, which fetch reads from Plaud.
• Adding --refetch casually. It replaces an existing transcript and Plaud note, which Dan may have edited (for example, to remove a name). Use it only when asked.
• generate --force without --only for one new session. That rebuilds every session of the term.

References

• references/plaud.md: how fetch resolves a link, the formats, failure modes, and checking after a Plaud CLI upgrade.
• references/init.md: setting up a course repository.