Processing Inbox to Digital Life System

This skill provides the workflow for processing files from ~/Downloads into the Digital Life System, a structured document management architecture with strict naming conventions and routing rules.

Overview

The Digital Life System organizes files into four primary domains:

When to Use This Skill

• •User asks to "process inbox" or "file documents"
• •User wants to organize files from Downloads
• •User mentions archiving PDFs or receipts
• •User needs to route a document to the correct domain
• •User invokes the /process-inbox command

Core Decision Algorithm

When processing a file, apply this decision tree:

1. •

   Is it Evidence or a Fact? (Receipt, ID, Contract, Tax Form)

   • •YES → 00_Vault (Apply VNS naming)
2. •

   Is it for a Current Task with a deadline? (Course work, litigation)

   • •YES → 10_Projects
3. •

   Is it my own creation / part of my skills? (Personal notes, configs)

   • •YES → 20_Areas
4. •

   Is it external material I'm collecting? (Books, papers, logos)

   • •YES → 30_Resources

VNS Naming Convention (Vault Only)

Format: YYYY-MM-DD_Category_Entity_description.ext

Rules:

• •Date: ISO 8601 format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• •Category: From controlled vocabulary (see ~/Documents/CLAUDE.md Section 3.B)
• •Entity: Legal name in PascalCase (Last_First, not "Dad")
• •Description: snake_case, concise
• •No spaces: Use underscores only

Common Categories:

Processing Protocol

FOR EACH FILE:
  1. ANALYZE   → Use pdf-analyzer agent to read and analyze PDF
  2. VALIDATE  → Confirm agent's recommendations (date, entity, category, path)
  3. DEDUP     → Check for duplicates in target folder AND search by identifiers
  4. MOVE      → Rename and relocate using recommended filename
  5. REPORT    → Confirm to user

Duplicate Check (Step 3)

Before moving to Vault, MUST check for duplicates:

1. •Search target folder by date + entity pattern
2. •Search entire Vault by key identifiers (order #, case #, confirmation #)
3. •If duplicate found: Compare and ask user; skip if identical
4. •If no duplicate: Proceed to move

PDF Analysis with Agent

Must use the pdf-analyzer agent (~/Documents/.claude/agents/pdf-analyzer.md) to analyze PDFs:

Task(subagent_type="pdf-analyzer", prompt="Analyze: /path/to/file.pdf")

The agent returns structured output with:

• •Content summary (2-4 sentences)
• •Extracted details (date, entity, amounts, reference numbers)
• •VNS-compliant filename recommendation
• •Recommended Vault path

Skip-and-Ask Rule: If uncertain about a file, skip it and continue. Collect questions and ask at the end of processing.

Key References

For detailed workflow steps, legal document guidelines, and lessons learned:

• •Workflow details: references/workflow.md

For complete naming rules, directory structure, and controlled vocabulary:

• •System documentation: ~/Documents/CLAUDE.md

Safety Rules

1. •NEVER delete files. Never use rm command.
2. •Uncertain files → Move to ~/Documents/__To_Review/
3. •Secrets/credentials → Warn user, do not commit to Vault

Post-Processing Actions

After all files are processed:

1. •Ask collected questions for skipped files
2. •Search for project linkages using identifiers (case #, claim #, entity)
3. •Update filing records:
   • •Append to 20_Areas/00_Meta_System/Vault_Filing_Log.md
   • •Update project status in 10_Projects/README.md if applicable
4. •Read personal context when needed:
   • •10_Projects/README.md for active project inventory
   • •00_Vault/README.md for entity folder names and routing

User Hints

The skill accepts optional hints via $ARGUMENTS: