Create Project

Create PARA-compliant project notes with validated area connections through collaborative dialogue.

Core Philosophy

From Tiago Forte's PARA Method:

• Project = Has a specific outcome AND deadline. Can be marked "complete."
• Area = Standard to maintain. Continuous, no end date.
• Every project falls within an area - they're interdependent.
• Organize by actionability, not subject matter.

This skill ensures projects are well-defined and properly connected to your life structure.

Critical Rules

1. ALWAYS load areas first - Never suggest areas that don't exist in the vault
2. NEVER invent connections - Only offer areas from the loaded list or create new ones
3. Projects MUST have outcomes - If no clear outcome, it might be an area instead
4. Projects MUST have deadlines - "Ongoing" means it's an area, not a project
5. Area selection is REQUIRED - Every project falls within an area
6. Classification, not invention - AI classifies into existing categories; user provides facts

Workflow Overview

Phase 0: Load Vault Context (ALWAYS FIRST)
    ↓
Phase 1: Gather Project Intent
    ├── What outcome?
    └── When complete? (validates it's a project)
    ↓
Phase 2: Area Selection (CRITICAL - prevents invalid areas)
    ├── Present numbered list from vault
    ├── User selects OR creates new
    └── NEVER accept free-text area names
    ↓
Phase 3: Confirm & Create
    ├── Present complete proposal
    ├── User approves or adjusts
    └── Create with validated frontmatter

---

Phase 0: Load Vault Context

ALWAYS fetch vault context before doing anything else:

para_list_areas({ response_format: "json" })
para_list_projects({ response_format: "json" })

Store these lists for:

• Area validation in Phase 2
• Detecting duplicate project names
• Understanding user's current structure

If user provides context in initial message, still load areas first before responding.

---

Phase 1: Gather Project Intent

1.1 Understand the Outcome

If not provided in initial message, ask:

I'll help you create a new project. Let me ask a few questions to ensure it follows the PARA method.

**What outcome do you want to achieve?**
(A project has a specific end result - something you can "complete")

Good outcomes:

• "Set up Clawdbot for my messaging apps"
• "Migrate database to PostgreSQL"
• "Plan Melanie's birthday trip"

Bad outcomes (suggest area instead):

• "Manage my health" → Area: Health
• "Stay on top of finances" → Area: Finance

1.2 Confirm Deadline

**When should this be complete?**
(PARA projects have deadlines - when will you know this is done?)

Examples: "2025-03-31", "end of Q1", "next month", "by Feb 28"

If user says "ongoing" or "no deadline":

That sounds more like an **Area** (ongoing responsibility) than a **Project** (specific outcome with deadline).

Would you like to:
1. **Create an area instead** - For ongoing responsibilities
2. **Set a target date** - Even rough estimates help (e.g., "sometime in Q2")
3. **Continue as project** - I'll use a placeholder date you can update later

1.3 Extract Title

From the outcome, suggest a clear project title:

Based on your outcome, I suggest:

**Title:** 🎯 [Clear Action + Object]

Examples:
- Outcome: "Set up Clawdbot" → 🎯 Clawdbot Setup & Integration
- Outcome: "Plan birthday trip" → 🎯 Melanie Birthday Trip 2025
- Outcome: "Migrate database" → 🎯 PostgreSQL Migration

Does this title work, or would you prefer something different?

---

Phase 2: Area Selection

CRITICAL: This phase prevents the "invalid area" bug.

2.1 Present Valid Areas

Using the areas loaded in Phase 0, present a numbered list:

**Which life domain does this project belong to?**

Your existing areas:
1. 🎹 Movie Love
2. 🏠 Property
3. 🏡 Home
4. 🐶 Pet - Muffin
5. 📝 Note Taking
6. 🔧 Dotfiles
7. 🤖 AI Practice

Choose a number, or type "new" to create a new area first.

2.2 Handle User Selection

Response	Action
Number (e.g., 7)	Use that area: [[🤖 AI Practice]]
new / create new	Go to Phase 2.3 (Create Area Sub-flow)
Area name verbatim	Match against list, use if found
Invalid input	Re-prompt with numbered list

NEVER allow:

• Free-text area entry that could create broken wikilinks
• Accepting areas not in the loaded list without explicit creation

2.3 Create Area Sub-flow (if "new")

**Creating a new area first...**

Areas are ongoing life responsibilities (no end date). Examples:
- 🏡 Home - Household maintenance and improvements
- 💼 Career - Professional development and work
- 🏃 Health - Physical and mental wellness

**What responsibility or life domain is this?**

After user provides name, discover the area template's destination first:

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

Then create:

para_create({
  template: "area",
  title: "[User's area name]",
  dest: "<discovered-dest>",
  response_format: "json"
})

Then continue with project creation using the new area.

---

Phase 3: Confirm & Create

3.1 Present Complete Proposal

## Project Proposal

**Title:** 🎯 [Title from Phase 1.3]
**Outcome:** [Clear outcome statement]
**Deadline:** [Date from Phase 1.2]
**Area:** [[Area from Phase 2]]
**Status:** planning

### Generated Sections
- **Why This Matters:** [Generated from context - problem it solves, why now]
- **Tasks:** [First actionable steps to get started]

---

**Ready to create?** (yes / tell me what to change)

3.2 Handle Response

Response	Action
yes / y / looks good	Create immediately
Specific feedback	Adjust and re-present OR apply and create
cancel / no	Abort gracefully

3.3 Discover Template Metadata

Before creating, query the project template for its current structure:

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

Extract from response:

• validArgs → which args to pass (e.g., status, deadline, area field names)
• creation_meta.dest → destination folder
• creation_meta.sections → body section headings
• creation_meta.titlePrefix → emoji prefix (auto-applied)

3.4 Create Project Note

Use discovered values from Step 3.3 (creation_meta.dest for dest, creation_meta.sections for section headings, validArgs for field names):

para_create({
  template: "project",
  title: "[Validated title]",
  dest: "<discovered-dest>",
  args: {
    "<discovered-status-field>": "planning",
    "<discovered-deadline-field>": "[Validated date]",
    "<discovered-area-field>": "[Validated area from Phase 2]"
  },
  content: {
    "<discovered-why-section>": "[Generated content - problem it solves, why now]",
    "<discovered-tasks-section>": "- [ ] [First suggested task]\n- [ ] [Second task if applicable]"
  },
  response_format: "json"
})

3.5 Confirm Creation

Created: 🎯 [Project Title].md → [discovered-dest]
Linked to: [[Area Name]]

Would you like to:
1. **Add initial tasks** - Break down the first steps
2. **Link resources** - Connect existing notes
3. **Done** - Project is ready to go

---

Error Handling

Error	Recovery
No areas exist	Offer to create first area before project
Duplicate project name	Suggest alternative or confirm overwrite
Invalid date format	Re-prompt with examples
Area creation fails	Show error, retry area creation
Project creation fails	Show error, don't lose user's input

---

Example Interaction

User: /para-obsidian:create-project

AI: I'll help you create a new project. First, let me load your vault structure.

    Your areas:
    1. 🎹 Movie Love
    2. 🏠 Property
    3. 🏡 Home
    4. 🐶 Pet - Muffin
    5. 📝 Note Taking
    6. 🔧 Dotfiles
    7. 🤖 AI Practice

    What outcome do you want to achieve?

User: Set up Clawdbot for my messaging apps

AI: Great! When do you need this done by?

User: End of February

AI: Which area does this project fall under?

    Looking at your areas, I'd suggest:
    - 🤖 AI Practice (since Clawdbot is AI-related)

    Choose a number (1-7), or type "new" to create a new area.

User: 7

AI: ## Project Proposal

    **Title:** 🎯 Clawdbot Setup & Integration
    **Outcome:** Set up Clawdbot for messaging apps
    **Deadline:** 2025-02-28
    **Area:** [[🤖 AI Practice]]
    **Status:** planning

    ### Generated Sections
    - **Why This Matters:** Enables AI-assisted messaging across apps.
      This automates responses and saves time on routine conversations.
    - **Tasks:**
      - [ ] Research Clawdbot setup requirements
      - [ ] Install and configure Clawdbot
      - [ ] Connect to primary messaging apps
      - [ ] Test and validate working

    ---

    **Ready to create?** (yes / tell me what to change)

User: yes

AI: Created: 🎯 Clawdbot Setup & Integration.md → 01 Projects
    Linked to: [[🤖 AI Practice]]

    Would you like to add initial tasks or link resources?

---

PARA Philosophy Reference

See ./references/para-philosophy.md for deeper explanation of:

• Project vs Area distinction
• The "three questions" pattern
• How projects and areas feed each other
• Common classification mistakes

---

Completion Signal

After creating the project, emit a structured completion signal so the brain orchestrator can parse the outcome:

• Success: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-project","summary":"Created project: [name] in [[area]]"}
• Redirected to area: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-project","summary":"Redirected to create-area"}
• Cancelled: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"create-project","summary":"Cancelled by user"}
• Error: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"error","skill":"create-project","error":"[error description]"}