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

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

Workflow Overview

code

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:

code

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:

code

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

code

**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":

code

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:

code

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:

code

**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")

code

**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:

code

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

Then create:

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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

code

## 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:

code

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):

code

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

code

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

code

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]"}