Johnnylin2121 Active Notes System
Transforms notes.md from an empty scratchpad into a structured knowledge capture system.
When to Write to notes.md
Write to notes.md when you:
- Discover something non-obvious about the codebase
- Make an architectural or design decision
- Encounter an error pattern worth remembering
- Learn a fact that should survive session boundaries
- Complete a significant milestone in a multi-step task
Structure
Use these sections in notes.md:
## [turn N · timestamp]
### Findings
- `src/file.ts:42` — key insight about how X works
### Decisions
- Chose Y over Z because [rationale]
### Errors to Remember
- Error X happens when Y → fix: do Z
### Cross-Session Knowledge
- [fact worth promoting to MEMORY.md via dream]
Size Guidance
- Keep entries concise (1-2 lines each)
- Aim for 5-10 entries per session, not 50
- Focus on NON-OBvious knowledge (things you wouldn't guess from code alone)
- Use file:line references so you can find things later
How This Connects to Memory
- notes.md → captured during session
- checkpoint.md → writer merges notes at checkpoint events
- MEMORY.md → dream promotes durable knowledge from checkpoints
- Search → BM25 finds notes across sessions
Anti-Patterns
- Don't dump entire code blocks (reference file:line instead)
- Don't narrate what you're doing ("now I'm editing X") — capture WHAT you learned
- Don't duplicate info already in MEMORY.md — search first