Quick Create

Create a note from any URL in one invocation. Enriches content, classifies it, routes to the correct template (resource, meeting, invoice, booking), and commits to vault.

Key design: Runs in a forked subagent for execution fidelity. The URL contains everything needed — the subagent fetches content fresh. This ensures all workflow phases (especially area/project gates) are followed as the driving task, not advisory context.

Input

Parse from skill arguments:

Argument	Required	Example
URL	Yes	https://youtube.com/watch?v=abc123
--template	No	--template booking (override auto-detection)
--area	No	--area '[[🌱 AI Practice]]'
--project	No	--project '[[🎯 Claude Code Mastery]]'
--title	No	--title 'Custom Title Here'

Shared Skills (Reference Knowledge)

This skill delegates to canonical shared skills rather than duplicating logic:

Skill	Purpose	Reference
Enrichment routing	Tool selection by URL domain	@../triage/references/enrichment-strategies.md
Classification	Template, area, resourceType decision tree	@../para-classifier/references/classification-decision-tree.md
Emoji mapping	source_format → title prefix (auto-applied by para_create, do NOT add manually)	@../para-classifier/references/emoji-mapping.md
Content processing	Create → commit → inject → commit pipeline	@../content-processing/SKILL.md
Proposal schema	Canonical field names and types	@../triage/references/proposal-schema.md

---

Workflow

Phase 1: Initialize

Step 1 — Load vault context (ALWAYS, before anything else):

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

Store the full lists. These are needed for classification validation, proposal display, and the Edit flow. Load them even if --area or --project flags are provided — flags still need validation against the vault.

Step 2 — Parse arguments: Extract URL and optional flags (--template, --area, --project, --title).

Phase 2: Enrich

Follow the enrichment routing from @../triage/references/enrichment-strategies.md.

Select tool based on URL domain:

Domain	Tool
youtube.com, youtu.be	YouTube Transcript MCP (get_video_info + get_transcript)
x.com, twitter.com	X-API MCP (x_get_tweet + x_get_thread)
Everything else	Firecrawl (firecrawl_scrape)

Fallback chain: If Firecrawl fails or is unavailable, use WebFetch as fallback.

Phase 3: Classify & Propose

This phase combines classification with proposal presentation. The user gate (AskUserQuestion) fires at the end — nothing is created until the user approves.

3.1 Determine Template

If --template flag provided, use that value directly (skip auto-detection).

Otherwise, use @../para-classifier/references/classification-decision-tree.md to determine proposed_template:

Content Signal	Template
Booking confirmation, reservation, ticket	booking
Invoice, receipt, bill, payment due	invoice
Meeting notes, standup, retro, 1:1	meeting
Everything else (articles, videos, threads)	resource

3.2 Classify Content

Use the classification decision tree to extract template-specific fields.

For resources: resourceType (article, video, thread, reference, idea), source_format, author, summary.

For meetings: meeting_type, meeting_date, attendees, notes, decisions, action items, follow-up.

For invoices: provider, invoice_date, amount, currency, status.

For bookings: booking_type, booking_ref, provider, booking_date, cost, currency, status.

3.3 Title — NO Emoji Prefix

NEVER add emoji prefixes to the title. para_create automatically applies the correct emoji prefix via applyTitlePrefix() using the template type and source_format frontmatter field. Adding emojis manually causes double-prefixing (e.g., 📚 📚📰 Title).

Pass a plain, descriptive title:

• Good: "The Task Tool - Claude Code's Agent Orchestration System"
• Bad: "📚📰 The Task Tool - Claude Code's Agent Orchestration System"

The code handles: base prefix (📚 for resources) + source_format emoji (📰 for article, 🎬 for video, etc.) automatically.

3.4 Suggest Area & Project (REQUIRED — NEVER EMPTY)

You MUST populate area before presenting the proposal. NEVER present a proposal with empty areas.

If --area flag provided, use that value (still validate it exists in the loaded areas list).

If not provided via flags:

1. Match content against the areas and projects loaded in Phase 1
2. Prefer the most specific match
3. Multiple areas: When content clearly spans multiple domains (e.g., AI + Home Server), suggest multiple areas as an array
4. Assign confidence level: "high" (obvious match), "medium" (reasonable guess), "low" (ambiguous)

If no confident match is found: Use AskUserQuestion immediately to ask the user to select from the loaded areas list. Do NOT proceed with empty areas.

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "Which area does this content belong to?",
    header: "Area",
    options: [
      // Populate from para_list_areas results
      { label: "🤖 AI Practice", description: "AI and machine learning content" },
      { label: "🌱 Home Server", description: "Home infrastructure and self-hosting" },
      // ... more areas from vault
    ],
    multiSelect: true  // Allow multiple areas when content spans domains
  }]
})

Format for para_create args:

• Single area: areas: "[[🌱 AI Practice]]" (string)
• Multiple areas: areas: '["[[🌱 AI Practice]]", "[[🌱 Home Server]]"]' (JSON array string)

para_create parses JSON array strings automatically via tryParseJsonArray().

3.5 Format Layer 1 Content (resources only)

For resources, prepare the Layer 1 content now so it can be previewed in the proposal and injected in Phase 4. Follow the content-processing skill's Layer 1 formatting rules:

• Use #### headings or deeper (never #, ##, ###)
• Articles: first 3 paragraphs + key headings with topic sentences + conclusion (2-3k tokens)
• YouTube: ~10% sampled transcript segments with timestamps (2-3k tokens)
• Threads: full thread content in order

3.6 Build Proposal (canonical schema)

Build the proposal using the canonical schema from @../triage/references/proposal-schema.md:

{
  proposed_title: string,           // Plain title — NO emoji prefix (para_create adds it)
  proposed_template: "resource" | "meeting" | "invoice" | "booking",
  summary: string,                  // 2-3 sentences
  area: string | string[],         // "[[Area]]" or ["[[Area 1]]", "[[Area 2]]"]
  project: string | string[] | null, // "[[Project]]", ["[[P1]]", "[[P2]]"], or null
  resourceType: string,            // article, video, thread, etc.
  source_format: string,           // article, video, thread, document
  confidence: "high" | "medium" | "low",
  categorization_hints: string[],  // 3 bullet points explaining why this area/template
  notes: string | null,            // Special considerations (null if none)
}

Note: Quick-create always classifies URL input into a specific template (resource, meeting, invoice, booking). For quick text captures without classification, use /para-obsidian:clip instead.

3.7 Present Proposal & Gate

STOP — Validate before presenting:

• area is populated (at least one area selected or suggested)
• title is populated
• summary is populated

If any field is missing, go back to the relevant step. Never present a proposal with empty areas.

Present the proposal, then use AskUserQuestion to gate:

Resource proposal:

Resource Proposal:
  Title:       [proposed title] (emoji auto-applied by para_create)
  Type:        [resourceType] ([source_format])
  Area:        [[🌱 Area Name]] (or multiple: [[A]], [[B]])
  Project:     [[🎯 Project Name]] (or "none")
  Author:      [author or "unknown"]
  Confidence:  [high|medium|low]
  Summary:     [2-3 sentence summary]
  Why:         • [categorization_hint_1]
               • [categorization_hint_2]
               • [categorization_hint_3]

Layer 1 preview:
  [first ~200 chars of formatted Layer 1 content...]

Meeting proposal:

Meeting Proposal:
  Title:       [proposed title]
  Type:        [meeting_type]
  Date:        [meeting_date]
  Area:        [[🌱 Area Name]]
  Project:     [[🎯 Project Name]] (or "none")
  Attendees:   [count] participants
  Confidence:  [high|medium|low]
  Summary:     [2-3 sentence summary]
  Why:         • [hint_1] • [hint_2] • [hint_3]

Invoice proposal:

Invoice Proposal:
  Title:       [proposed title]
  Provider:    [provider]
  Date:        [invoice_date]
  Amount:      [amount] [currency]
  Status:      [status]
  Area:        [[🌱 Area Name]]
  Confidence:  [high|medium|low]
  Summary:     [2-3 sentence summary]
  Why:         • [hint_1] • [hint_2] • [hint_3]

Booking proposal:

Booking Proposal:
  Title:       [proposed title]
  Type:        [booking_type]
  Provider:    [provider]
  Date:        [booking_date]
  Reference:   [booking_ref]
  Cost:        [cost] [currency] (or "not specified")
  Status:      [status]
  Area:        [[🌱 Area Name]]
  Confidence:  [high|medium|low]
  Summary:     [2-3 sentence summary]
  Why:         • [hint_1] • [hint_2] • [hint_3]

Gate — AskUserQuestion (REQUIRED):

AskUserQuestion({
  questions: [{
    question: "How would you like to proceed with this proposal?",
    header: "Action",
    options: [
      { label: "Accept", description: "Create the note as proposed" },
      { label: "Edit", description: "Modify area, project, title, or template before creation" },
      { label: "Cancel", description: "Abort without creating anything" }
    ],
    multiSelect: false
  }]
})

If user picks Edit: Ask which field to change using AskUserQuestion. Show available options (areas list from Phase 1, projects list, templates). Update the proposal fields, then re-present the proposal and gate again.

If user picks Cancel: Exit cleanly. Report "Cancelled — no changes made."

If user picks Accept: Proceed to Phase 4.

Phase 4: Create & Commit

Follow the content-processing skill pipeline (@../content-processing/SKILL.md). All templates use the same flow:

1. Discover metadata — para_template_fields({ template: proposed_template, response_format: "json" }) to get creation_meta (dest, prefix, sections) and validArgs.
2. Create note — para_create({ template, title, args, response_format: "json" }) with only valid fields from classification. Destination auto-resolved, invalid fields filtered.
3. Commit — para_commit({ message: "Add [template]: [title]", response_format: "json" }) immediately after creation.
4. If resource — Inject Layer 1 via para_replace_section into "Layer 1: Captured Notes", then commit again with "Add Layer 1: [title]".
5. If meeting — Pass structured body via content parameter on para_create (attendees, notes, decisions, action items, follow-up). See content-processing skill for the exact format.

Null-safety: Omit any args with null values (never pass null). See content-processing skill for null-safety rules.

If injection fails (resources): Continue without Layer 1. The resource still exists — user can add content later via /para-obsidian:distill-resource.

Success Report

Report with canonical status fields (created, layer1_injected):

Resource success:

Created: 03 Resources/[Title].md
  Area:          [[🌱 Area Name]] (or multiple areas)
  Project:       [[🎯 Project Name]]
  Confidence:    [high|medium|low]
  Layer 1:       ✓ injected (or "⚠ skipped - [reason]")
  Commit:        ✓ committed (or "⚠ skipped - [reason]")

Use /para-obsidian:distill-resource to deepen with progressive summarization.

Meeting success:

Created: 03 Resources/Meetings/[Title].md
  Area:          [[🌱 Area Name]]
  Project:       [[🎯 Project Name]]
  Sections:      ✓ populated (attendees, notes, decisions, action items, follow-up)
  Commit:        ✓ committed

Invoice success:

Created: 04 Archives/Invoices/[Title].md
  Provider:      [provider]
  Amount:        [amount] [currency]
  Status:        [status]
  Commit:        ✓ committed

Booking success:

Created: 04 Archives/Bookings/[Title].md
  Provider:      [provider]
  Date:          [booking_date]
  Ref:           [booking_ref]
  Commit:        ✓ committed

---

Error Handling

Scenario	Action
URL unreachable	Try fallback chain (Firecrawl → WebFetch). If all fail, report error.
Content empty/unparseable	Report to user, suggest /para-obsidian:clip as fallback
para_create fails	Report error, do not proceed
para_replace_section fails	Set Layer 1 status to skipped, continue with commit
para_commit fails	Note in report, note still exists
User cancels	Clean exit, no changes made

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

Examples

YouTube Video

/para-obsidian:quick-create https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ey4u7OUAF3c

Article with Flags

/para-obsidian:quick-create https://kentcdodds.com/blog/aha-programming --area '[[🌱 AI Practice]]' --title 'AHA Programming'

X/Twitter Thread

/para-obsidian:quick-create https://x.com/housecor/status/1234567890

Booking Confirmation

/para-obsidian:quick-create https://booking-confirmation.example.com/abc123 --template booking

Force Template Override

/para-obsidian:quick-create https://some-url.com/page --template invoice --area '[[🏠 Personal Finance]]'

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Completion Signal

After the success report, emit a structured completion signal so the brain orchestrator can parse the outcome:

• Success: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"quick-create","summary":"Created [template]: [title]"}
• Cancelled: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"ok","skill":"quick-create","summary":"Cancelled by user"}
• Error: SKILL_RESULT:{"status":"error","skill":"quick-create","error":"[error description]"}