Zettelkasten Note Generator

This skill enables Claude to create structured markdown notes based on the current conversation context and save them to your Zettelkasten notebook using the zk command.

Capabilities

• •Summarize Conversations: Extract key insights from the current conversation
• •Generate Markdown Notes: Create well-structured notes with proper formatting
• •Save to ZK: Automatically save notes to your notebook at $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR
• •Smart Titles: Generate appropriate note titles based on content

Usage Examples

Basic Note Creation

"Create a note about the Pyramid thread-local pattern we just discussed"

"Take a note summarizing the GIL and threading conversation"

With Custom Title

"Note this as 'Python GIL and Web Servers'"

Code-Focused Notes

"Create a note documenting the PrimeConnector class we looked at"

How It Works

When you invoke /note [topic], Claude will:

1. •Analyze Context: Review the current conversation to extract relevant information
2. •Generate Content: Create a well-structured markdown note including:
   • •Clear title and optional tags
   • •Summary of key points
   • •Code examples (if applicable)
   • •References to files discussed
   • •Any insights or conclusions
3. •Save with zk: Use zk new to create the note in your notebook
4. •Confirm: Show you the note path and content

Note Structure

Generated notes follow this structure:

# [Title]

## Summary
[Brief overview of the topic]

## Key Points
- Point 1
- Point 2
- Point 3

## Details
[Detailed explanation, code examples, etc.]

## References
- [File paths, links, related concepts]

## Tags
#tag1 #tag2

Implementation

The skill uses the zk new command with these key options:

• •--interactive or -i: Read content from stdin
• •--title or -t: Set the note title
• •--print-path or -p: Print the note path instead of opening editor
• •--extra: Pass variables to template (e.g., tags="python,web")
• •--group or -g: Use a specific group configuration (optional)

Example commands:

# Create note with content piped from stdin
echo "Note content here" | zk new -i -p --title "My Note" --extra tags="python,web"

# Or using heredoc
zk new -i -p --title "Python GIL and Threading" --extra tags="python,gil" <<'EOF'
# Content

Summary here...
EOF

Configuration

Prerequisites:

• •zk command installed (Homebrew: brew install zk)
• •$ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR environment variable set
• •ZK notebook initialized at that location

Verify setup:

echo $ZK_NOTEBOOK_DIR  # Should print: /Users/AB0383Q/Notes
zk list --limit 5       # Should list recent notes

Instructions for Claude

When this skill is invoked:

1. •

   Extract the topic: Determine what aspect of the conversation to note

   • •If user specifies: Use their topic
   • •If not specified: Analyze the conversation and choose the most relevant topic
2. •

   Generate note content:

   • •Write clear, informative markdown content
   • •DO NOT include YAML frontmatter (title/tags) - the template handles this
   • •Start directly with markdown headings and content
   • •Include code snippets with proper formatting (use triple backticks with language)
   • •Reference file paths using absolute paths when relevant
   • •Keep it concise but comprehensive
   • •Use standard markdown: headings (#), lists (-), code blocks (```), etc.
3. •

   Determine tags:

   • •Generate 2-5 relevant tags based on the content
   • •Common categories: language (python, javascript), domain (web, cli, dsa), patterns (threading, async)
   • •Format as comma-separated: python,threading,web
4. •

   Create the note:

   bash

   zk new -i -p --title "Your Generated Title" --extra tags="tag1,tag2,tag3" <<'EOF'
   # Main Heading
   
   Content here...
   
   ## Section
   
   More content...
   EOF
   

   • •Use --interactive (-i) to read from stdin
   • •Use --print-path (-p) to print path instead of opening editor
   • •Pass tags via --extra tags="..."
   • •Content should be plain markdown (no frontmatter)
5. •

   Confirm to user:

   • •Show the note title and tags
   • •Display a preview of the content (first few lines or key sections)
   • •Show the file path where it was saved
   • •Confirm success

Important:

• •Generate meaningful titles (not generic like "Note 1" or "Untitled")
• •The zk template will add frontmatter automatically
• •Only write the markdown body content
• •Use proper markdown formatting
• •Content should be useful standalone (someone finding this note later should understand it)