Content Processing Pipeline

Canonical pipeline for creating notes from enriched content. This skill is the single source of truth for:

1. Note creation — generic para_create pattern for all templates
2. Layer 1 injection — para_replace_section with formatting rules
3. Commit — para_commit after creation
4. Null-safety — field handling rules

Callers (triage-worker, quick-create) handle enrichment, classification, user confirmation, and persistence separately. This skill only covers the "create → inject → commit" pipeline.

---

Pipeline Overview

Enriched content + classification (from caller)
    ↓
1. Discover template metadata (para_template_fields)
    ↓
2. Create note (para_create)
   - Resources: pass Layer 1 via `content` parameter → single call creates + injects + commits
   - Meetings: pass structured body via `content` parameter → single call creates + injects + commits
   - Others: frontmatter-only → auto-commits

Key optimization: Resources and meetings both use the content parameter on para_create to inject body content in a single CLI invocation. The CLI internally calls createFromTemplate → replaceSections → autoCommitChanges — no separate para_commit or para_replace_section needed.

---

Null-Safety Rules

CRITICAL: Never pass null values in args to para_create. Omit the key entirely.

// WRONG — creates "[[null]]" in frontmatter
args: { projects: null, author: null }

// CORRECT — omit keys with no value
args: { }  // projects and author omitted

Apply this rule to ALL optional fields: projects, project, author, transcription, source.

---

Enrichment

Before creating notes, content must be enriched. See the canonical routing table and tool selection:

@plugins/para-obsidian/skills/triage/references/enrichment-strategies.md

Quick summary: YouTube → get_transcript, Articles/GitHub → firecrawl_scrape, X/Twitter → X-API MCP (x_get_tweet), Voice/Attachment → para_read.

---

Classification

Use the para-classifier skill for determining template, resource type, source format, area, and project:

• Decision Tree: @plugins/para-obsidian/skills/para-classifier/references/classification-decision-tree.md
• Emoji Mapping: @plugins/para-obsidian/skills/para-classifier/references/emoji-mapping.md

---

Note Creation (Generic Pattern)

All templates use the same flow. The creation layer auto-resolves destinations and filters invalid args.

Step 1: Discover template metadata

If template fields are provided in your prompt context (e.g., during triage), skip this step — use the pre-loaded values directly. The coordinator pre-fetches these once and passes them to all subagents.

Otherwise, call:

para_template_fields({
  template: proposed_template,
  response_format: "json"
})

Response includes:

• creation_meta.dest — default destination directory
• creation_meta.titlePrefix — emoji prefix (auto-applied by para_create; do NOT add to title manually)
• creation_meta.sections — body section headings (if any)
• creation_meta.contentTargets — section headings for content injection (e.g., ["Layer 1: Captured Notes"])
• validArgs — list of accepted field names for this template
• frontmatter_hints — enum values, types, and constraints

Step 2: Map classification to args

From your classification output, build args using only fields listed in validArgs. Omit any field with a null/empty value.

// Generic pattern — works for ALL templates
para_create({
  template: proposed_template,
  title: proposed_title,
  args: {
    // Only include fields from validArgs
    // Omit null values entirely
    ...classifiedFields
  },
  response_format: "json"
})

Destination auto-resolved: para_create uses the template's configured default destination. No need to pass dest unless overriding.

Invalid args filtered: Any arg not in the template's frontmatter rules is silently filtered with a log warning. This prevents typos or stale field names from polluting frontmatter.

Step 3: Template-specific post-create

Template	How	Post-create steps
resource	Pass Layer 1 via content parameter	None — para_create handles inject + commit
meeting	Pass structured body via content parameter	None — para_create handles inject + commit
invoice	Frontmatter-only	None — auto-committed
booking	Frontmatter-only	None — auto-committed
All others	Frontmatter-only	None — auto-committed

Resources use the content parameter just like meetings. Discover the target section heading from creation_meta.contentTargets[0] via para_template_fields, then pass it as a key in the content parameter. The CLI internally calls replaceSections() then autoCommitChanges() — no separate para_commit or para_replace_section calls needed.

Resource content parameter (single-call create+inject)

Resources pass Layer 1 content via the content parameter. Discover the content target heading from creation_meta.contentTargets[0] via para_template_fields (typically "Layer 1: Captured Notes"):

para_create({
  template: "resource",
  title: proposed_title,
  args: { ...fields from validArgs },
  content: {
    "<discovered-content-target>": formattedLayerOneContent
  },
  response_format: "json"
})

Why this works: create.ts calls createFromTemplate → replaceSections → autoCommitChanges internally when content is provided. This replaces the old 4-step flow (create → commit → replace_section → commit) with a single tool call, saving ~3-6s per item.

Meeting content parameter

Meetings also use the content parameter to pass structured body sections. Discover section headings from creation_meta.sections via para_template_fields:

para_create({
  template: "meeting",
  title: proposed_title,
  args: { ...fields from validArgs },
  content: {
    "<discovered-attendees-section>": attendees.map(a => `- ${a}`).join('\n'),
    "<discovered-notes-section>": meeting_notes.map(n => `- ${n}`).join('\n'),
    "<discovered-decisions-section>": decisions.map(d => `- ${d}`).join('\n'),
    "<discovered-action-items-section>": action_items.map(i => `- ${i.task}`).join('\n'),
    "<discovered-follow-up-section>": follow_up.map(f => `- ${f}`).join('\n')
  },
  response_format: "json"
})

Key field name differences by template

Field names vary across templates. Always use validArgs from para_template_fields to discover the correct field names for each template. Key differences to be aware of:

• Some templates use plural fields (areas, projects) with YAML array support
• Others use singular fields (area, project) for single wikilinks
• Each template has its own domain-specific fields (e.g., meeting_type, resource_type)

Call para_template_fields per template to get the authoritative field list.

Multi-value areas/projects (resources only)

Resource areas and projects are YAML arrays. Obsidian requires proper list format:

# Correct YAML list (Obsidian renders as List property)
areas:
  - "[[🤖 AI Practice]]"
  - "[[🌱 Home Server]]"

# WRONG — single string, not a list
areas: "[[🤖 AI Practice]], [[🌱 Home Server]]"

How to pass to para_create: The args parameter is Record<string, string>, so encode arrays as JSON strings. para_create parses these automatically via tryParseJsonArray().

// Single area (unchanged — backward compatible)
args: { areas: "[[🌱 AI Practice]]" }

// Multiple areas — JSON array string
args: { areas: '["[[🤖 AI Practice]]", "[[🌱 Home Server]]"]' }

Post-creation via para_fm_set: Same pattern — pass JSON array strings:

para_fm_set({ file, set: { areas: '["[[Area 1]]", "[[Area 2]]"]' } })

Meeting/Invoice/Booking use singular area/project fields (single wikilink, not arrays). Multi-value does not apply to these templates.

---

Post-Creation Verification

During triage: Post-creation verification is handled by the coordinator (Phase 2.5), not the worker. Workers set verification_status: "pending_coordinator" and skip this section. The steps below apply to standalone callers (quick-create) only.

After creating a note, verify that critical frontmatter fields match your intended values. This catches two failure modes:

1. Mismatch — you intended a value but para_create received wrong/empty args (self-repairable)
2. Missing classification — you couldn't determine the value at all (flag for user review)

Critical Fields Per Template

Template	Fields to verify	Action
resource	summary, areas, source_format, resource_type	ALWAYS verify
meeting	summary, area, meeting_type	ALWAYS verify
invoice/booking	—	SKIP → verification_status: "skipped"

Verification Steps

Step 1: Read actual frontmatter

para_fm_get({ file: created_path, response_format: "json" })

Step 2: Check critical fields (two checks per field)

For each critical field, run both checks:

A. MISMATCH CHECK: You intended a non-empty value but the file has empty string "", empty array [], or "[[null]]". → Add to repair_set (will fix via para_fm_set)

B. EMPTY CHECK: Both your intended value AND the file value are empty/null. → Add to verification_issues (flag for user review) → This means you couldn't classify it — the user needs to decide

Step 3: Self-repair (if repair_set is non-empty)

para_fm_set({ file: created_path, set: repair_set, response_format: "json" })

One call, all fixes batched. For array fields (e.g., areas), pass JSON array strings: '["[[Area 1]]", "[[Area 2]]"]'.

Step 4: Set verification status

Outcome	verification_status	verification_issues
All fields match	"verified"	[]
Mismatches found AND repaired	"repaired"	[]
Repair failed	"failed"	["repair failed: {detail}"]
Empty fields (can't classify)	"needs_review"	["missing: areas", ...]
Invoice/booking (skipped)	"skipped"	[]

Include both fields in your proposal output (TaskUpdate metadata and PROPOSAL_JSON).

Worked Example: Summary Mismatch Repair

Analysis determined: summary = "How To Make Your Agent Learn And Ship While You Sleep" But para_create args omitted summary (bug: value lost during arg construction).

1. para_fm_get returns: { summary: "" }
2. MISMATCH detected: intended non-empty, file has empty
3. para_fm_set({ file, set: { summary: "How To Make Your Agent Learn And Ship While You Sleep" } })
4. verification_status: "repaired", verification_issues: ["repaired: summary"]

---

Commit After Creation (standalone callers only)

When NOT using the content parameter: Call para_commit after para_create if you're creating frontmatter-only notes outside the triage pipeline (e.g., invoices, bookings).

para_commit({
  message: "Add [template]: [title]",
  response_format: "json"
})

When using content parameter: No separate commit needed — para_create auto-commits after injection.

---

Layer 1 Formatting Rules

Layer 1 content injected via the content parameter (resources) should follow these formatting rules.

Use #### headings or deeper (never #, ##, or ### — those are reserved for note structure).

Source	Strategy	Target Length
Article	First 3 paragraphs + key H2/H3 headings with topic sentences + conclusion	2-3k tokens
YouTube	~10% sampled transcript segments with timestamps	2-3k tokens
Thread	Full thread content in order	Keep all
Voice memo	Full transcription if <2k tokens, else key segments	Variable
Attachment	Key passages with page references	2-3k tokens

Legacy Layer 1 Injection (standalone callers only)

For non-triage callers that need separate injection (e.g., quick-create):

para_replace_section({
  file: "<created-file-path>",
  heading: "<discovered-content-target>",
  content: "<formatted-content>",
  response_format: "json"
})

Then commit:

para_commit({
  message: "Add Layer 1: [title]",
  response_format: "json"
})

---

Error Handling

Step	Failure	Action
para_create (with content)	Fails	Stop pipeline. Set created: null, layer1_injected: null. Report error.
para_create (without content)	Fails	Stop pipeline. Set created: null. Report error.
para_commit (standalone callers)	Fails	Note exists but isn't committed. Continue if possible.
para_replace_section (standalone callers)	Fails	Keep the note. Set layer1_injected: false. Resource still usable.

Soft failure philosophy: Note creation is primary. Layer 1 injection and commit are enhancements. Don't block note creation if downstream steps fail.

---

Proposal Field Reference

See @plugins/para-obsidian/skills/triage/references/proposal-schema.md for the canonical schema.

Key field names: area (single wikilink or array of wikilinks), project (single wikilink, array, or null), resourceType (camelCase, NOT resource_type).