Obsidian Inbox Cleanup

Interactive review and categorization of inbox notes into PARA structure with AI-optimized frontmatter.

Vault: /Users/marcin.skalski@konghq.com/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/second-brain/

Arguments

Parse from $ARGUMENTS:

• •--dry-run: Optional — Show suggestions without moving files
• •--file: Optional — Process single file instead of full inbox

Workflow

Phase 1: Setup

1. •Read vault CLAUDE.md for current PARA rules
2. •List all files in 0_Inbox/ (exclude .last-run, Tasks.md, directories)
3. •Report count: "Found X notes to process"

Phase 2: Interactive Review

For each note in inbox:

2a. Read & Analyze

• •Read full content
• •Identify content type and key topics
• •Check for special patterns (see Routing Rules)

2b. Present Suggestion

Show to user:

## 📝 [filename]

**Content preview:** [first 200 chars or summary]
**Detected type:** [recipe/work/ai-research/travel/general]
**Suggested destination:** [full path]
**Suggested tags:** [#tag1, #tag2]
**Confidence:** [high/medium/low]

Move to suggested location?

Use AskUserQuestion with options:

• •Yes — Move as suggested
• •Different folder — Let me specify path
• •Skip — Leave in inbox for now
• •Edit first — Open for review before moving

2c. Apply Decision

If approved:

1. •Add/update YAML frontmatter (see Frontmatter Template)
2. •Move file to destination
3. •Log action

If "Different folder":

1. •Ask for destination path
2. •Suggest appropriate tags for that location
3. •Move with updated frontmatter

Phase 3: Summary

After all notes processed:

## 📊 Inbox Cleanup Summary

**Processed:** X notes
**Moved:** Y notes
**Skipped:** Z notes

### Actions Taken
- [filename] → [destination]
- ...

### Remaining in Inbox
- [filename] (reason: skipped/unclear)

Routing Rules

Auto-Detection Patterns

PARA Decision Framework

1. •Has deadline/goal? → 1_Projects/
2. •Ongoing responsibility? → 2_Areas/
3. •Reference/learning? → 3_Resources/
4. •Completed/inactive? → 4_Archive/

Frontmatter Template

Add to all processed notes (AI-optimized):

---
title: Descriptive Plain-Language Title
date: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [para-tag, topic-tags]
type: note | moc | project | literature
summary: One-sentence TL;DR for AI context
source: URL or [[Internal Link]] if applicable
related: [[Note1]], [[Note2]]
---

Rules:

• •title: Extract from content or filename (human readable)
• •date: Use file modified date or today
• •tags: PARA tag + topic tags (max 5)
• •type: Usually note unless clearly MOC or project
• •summary: CRITICAL — write concise 1-sentence summary
• •source: Include if note references external content
• •related: Add if obvious connections exist

Special Processing

.draftsExport Files

Per vault CLAUDE.md:

1. •Extract only content field (ignore metadata)
2. •Check for actionable tasks → add to 0_Inbox/Tasks.md
3. •Format URLs as markdown links
4. •Process each extracted note individually

Single-Link Notes

1. •Follow the link
2. •If article → create concise summary
3. •If not article → create short description
4. •Add source in References section

Travel Notes

Route to 3_Resources/Travel/[Country]/[category].md:

• •Attractions → attractions.md
• •Restaurants/food → food.md
• •Hotels → accommodation.md
• •Getting around → transportation.md
• •Practical tips → practical_info.md

Error Handling

• •File not found: Skip, report in summary
• •Permission error: Report, continue with next
• •Unclear categorization: Ask user with AskUserQuestion
• •Duplicate exists: Ask: overwrite, rename, or skip

Quality Checklist

Before completing each note:

• • Frontmatter has summary field (critical for AI)
• • Tags follow #para-type/topic pattern
• • Wikilinks added to related notes if obvious
• • No placeholder text in content
• • File moved to correct PARA location

AI-Friendly Formatting

When processing notes, apply these optimizations:

1. •Section summaries — Add brief summary after major headings
2. •Bullet points — Convert tables to bullets where appropriate
3. •Liberal linking — Add [[wikilinks]] to concepts that exist as notes
4. •Flat structure — Avoid deep nesting (max 3 levels)
5. •Explicit connections — Add "Related" section at bottom