Obsidian capture

Turn something that just happened or was learned in this conversation into a durable note in the user's Obsidian vault.

Step 0: Resolve the vault path

In order, use the first that resolves:

1. The OBSIDIAN_VAULT environment variable.
2. A vault path recorded in the user's global CLAUDE.md or memory.
3. Ask the user once, and suggest recording the answer in their global CLAUDE.md so this question never repeats.

This skill assumes a PARA-organized vault. If the standard PARA folders are not present, list the vault root and map to the structure that is actually there.

Process

1. Identify the capture. From the user's request and the conversation, pin down the specific example, exchange, decision, or insight to save - not a transcript, the distilled version. If the user named a target note or section, that is the target; skip to step 3.
2. Find where it belongs. Search the vault (find/grep by keyword) for an existing note that should hold it. Prefer folding into an existing note over creating a new one - a vault of many tiny orphan notes is worse than fewer living ones. If nothing fits, create a new note in the folder that matches: active work with an end date -> Projects/, ongoing responsibilities -> Areas/, study or reference material -> Resources/; when genuinely unclear, Inbox/. If two existing notes both plausibly fit, ask the user rather than guessing.
3. Read the target note first. Match its existing structure, heading style, and voice. Never restructure a note while capturing into it; append or insert in the section the user pointed at.
4. Distill, don't transcribe. The standard shape for an example or story:
   • What happened, concretely - real file names, real claims, real commands, absolute dates (never "today").
   • The turning point - the question asked, the check performed, the thing that contradicted the assumption.
   • The outcome - what changed as a result.
   • The transferable principle - one or two sentences stating what generalizes, bolded or labeled so it can be found at a glance. Cut anything that only made sense in the conversation's context.
5. Report. Tell the user the note path, where in it the capture landed, and the principle line as written.

Style rules (non-negotiable)

• Each full sentence on its own physical line.
• Plain dash - only; never an em dash.
• Wiki-links [[Note Name]] for references to other vault notes; add them liberally where a related note exists.
• Absolute dates (2026-07-27), never relative ones.
• Keep the user's voice: first person ("I asked", "I checked") when the story is about the user's actions - these notes are often rehearsal material the user will speak from.

What this skill is not

• Not a journal: no timestamps-of-conversation, no "Claude said / I said" framing unless the human-AI exchange is itself the point of the story.
• Not a dump: if the capture exceeds ~25 lines, it is probably a transcript wearing a trench coat - distill harder.
• Not a restructuring tool: it never renames, moves, or reorganizes existing notes.