name: create trigger: /create description: Create a new note from template with filled frontmatter and wiki-link suggestions version: 1.0.0

/create -- Note Creator

Creates a new note by selecting the appropriate template, filling frontmatter, substituting all template variables, suggesting wiki-links to related notes, and placing the file in the correct target folder. Supports all 12 note types defined in the vault.

Invocation style: Hybrid -- natural language when intent is clear, guided prompts when ambiguous. Show-and-proceed transparency: Claude announces template selection and target folder, then creates without waiting for confirmation.

Usage

Natural language (Claude infers type and title):

"create a tool note about Docker"         -> type=tool, title=Docker
"new project for Website Relaunch"        -> type=project, title=Website Relaunch
"add a zettel about emergent behavior"    -> type=zettel, title=Emergent Behavior
"log meeting with Sarah about Q2 plans"   -> type=meeting, title=Sarah Q2 Plans

Explicit invocation:

/create tool Docker
/create project Website Relaunch
/create decision API Strategy

Guided (when ambiguous):

/create

Claude asks: "What type of note? (project, area, resource, tool, zettel, person, decision, meeting, code-snippet, daily, weekly, monthly)" then asks for the title.

Template Mapping

Execution Flow

Claude follows these steps when /create is invoked:

1. Ensure fresh indexes: Call ensureFreshIndexes('.') to refresh vault indexes if stale (older than 5 minutes).

2. Determine note type: Parse user input to identify the note type. If ambiguous, ask the user to specify from the 12 available types.

3. Look up template info: Call getTemplateInfo(type) to get the template filename, target folder, and filename prefix.

4. Read template file: Load template content from 05 - Templates/{template}.

5. Compute date variables: Call getDateVars(today) to get { date, yesterday, tomorrow, time }.

6. Build filename: Call buildFileName(type, title, date) to construct the correct filename per naming conventions.

7. Substitute template variables: Call substituteVariables(content, vars) with vars = { date, title, time, yesterday, tomorrow }. This handles:

   • Standard: {{date}}, {{title}}, {{time}}, {{yesterday}}, {{tomorrow}}
   • Templater-style: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}, {{date:MMMM YYYY}}, {{date:ww}}, {{date:YYYY}}

8. Load vault indexes: Read vault-index.json and tag-index.json from .claude/indexes/.

9. Suggest wiki-links: Call suggestWikiLinks(type, tags, vaultIndex, tagIndex) to generate 3-5 ranked suggestions based on shared tags, with the relevant MOC boosted (+2 score).

10. Write note file: Write the substituted content to {folder}/{filename}.

11. Check MOC format: Call mocUsesDataview('.', mocPath) on the relevant MOC. If the MOC uses Dataview queries, the note will appear automatically via its frontmatter type/tags. If the MOC is static (no Dataview), add a wiki-link to the MOC (AUTO zone governance).

12. Re-scan: Call scan('.') to update indexes with the new note.

13. Report to user: Announce:

    • Template used and target folder
    • Created file path
    • 3-5 wiki-link suggestions with reasons (shared tags, relevant MOC)
    • Whether the note was added to a MOC (or will appear via Dataview)

Code Example

const { ensureFreshIndexes, getTemplateInfo, buildFileName, getDateVars,
        substituteVariables, suggestWikiLinks, mocUsesDataview } = require('./.agents/skills/create/create-utils.cjs');
const { scan } = require('./.agents/skills/scan/scanner.cjs');
const { loadJson } = require('./.agents/skills/scan/utils.cjs');
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

// 1. Ensure indexes are fresh
ensureFreshIndexes('.');

// 2-3. Determine type and get template info
const type = 'tool';  // from user input
const title = 'Docker';
const info = getTemplateInfo(type);
// info = { template: 'Tool.md', folder: '03 - Resources', prefix: 'Tool -- ' }

// 4. Read template
const templateContent = fs.readFileSync(path.join('05 - Templates', info.template), 'utf8');

// 5. Compute date vars
const today = new Date().toISOString().slice(0, 10); // YYYY-MM-DD
const vars = getDateVars(today);
vars.title = info.prefix + title; // "Tool -- Docker"

// 6. Build filename
const filename = buildFileName(type, title, today);
// "Tool -- Docker.md"

// 7. Substitute variables
const content = substituteVariables(templateContent, vars);

// 8. Load indexes
const vaultIndex = loadJson('.claude/indexes/vault-index.json');
const tagIndex = loadJson('.claude/indexes/tag-index.json');

// 9. Suggest wiki-links
const suggestions = suggestWikiLinks(type, ['tool'], vaultIndex, tagIndex, 5);

// 10. Write file
const targetPath = path.join(info.folder, filename);
fs.writeFileSync(targetPath, content, 'utf8');

// 11. Check MOC
const usesDataview = mocUsesDataview('.', '06 - Atlas/MOCs/Tools MOC.md');

// 12. Re-scan
scan('.');

Edge Cases

• Unknown type: Ask the user to specify from the list of 12 supported types. Do not guess.
• Template file not found: Report error with the expected template path. Do not create a blank note.
• File already exists: Warn the user that a note with that name already exists in the target folder. Ask whether to open the existing note or create with a modified name.
• Empty title: For types that require a title (all except daily), ask the user to provide one.
• Special characters in title: Use the title as-is in the filename (Obsidian handles special characters in filenames).

Limitations

• Does not edit note body text (NEVER zone governance). Only fills template variables and frontmatter.
• Does not support custom templates beyond the 12 defined types. New template types require updating CLAUDE.md and create-utils.cjs.
• Does not auto-create folders. Target folders must already exist in the vault structure.
• Wiki-link suggestions are based on tag overlap only (Level 1). Semantic similarity deferred to Phase 4.