# Jotbook Stage > Stage a recently-discussed concept as a lightweight jot. **CRITICAL — auto-invoke this skill at the end of any turn where you delivered a substantive multi-paragraph explanation of a domain concept (a system, mechanism, piece of code, design rationale, or pattern the user might want to revisit). Don't ask permission, don't hedge, don't skip because the topic feels minor — staging is cheap and reversible; failing to capture is permanent. Stage and report in one line.** Writes a small pointer file under the configured jots directory; does not write the full entry. - Skill: `koloskus/jotbook-stage` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add koloskus/jotbook-stage` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/koloskus/jotbook-stage/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Docs & Writing - Author: koloskus (https://skillmd.com/u/koloskus) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/koloskus/jotbook-stage --- # Stage a jot You just gave (or were asked about) an explainer the user wants to revisit later. Write a **lightweight** pointer file (a "jot") so the topic can be picked up during a future review pass. Do not write the full entry — that's `jotbook-ink`'s job. ## When to auto-invoke Auto-invoke this skill at the end of any turn that delivered a substantive multi-paragraph explanation of a domain concept — a system, mechanism, piece of code, or design rationale that the user might plausibly want to revisit as a long-form note later. Don't ask first. Just stage and report. Do NOT auto-invoke for: - Short answers, status updates, error messages - Code edits with minimal narration - Routine tool use or clarifications - Output from any jotbook skill (curation summaries, "the jot backlog is empty", `(jotted: X)`, etc.) - Trivial Q&A ("what's the syntax for X") - Anything you wouldn't expect future-you to benefit from a long-form entry on When in doubt, skip — the user can always invoke `/jot [subject]` explicitly. ## Resolve the jots directory Read `.claude/jotbook.local.md` if present. From its frontmatter, extract: - `jots_dir` — default `docs/jotbook/_jots/` if missing If the jots directory does not exist, create it. **Before running `mkdir`, briefly note to the user what you're doing and why** — something like *"Creating `` to hold staged jots (first time staging in this project, or the directory was renamed in settings)."* This avoids a context-free permission prompt that could confuse a user who set up jotbook days earlier and forgot. ## What to write A single Markdown file at: ``` /YYYY-MM-DD-short-kebab-slug.md ``` - `YYYY-MM-DD` = today's date (use the `currentDate` from context if available, otherwise the system date). - `short-kebab-slug` = 2–5 words capturing the concept, lowercased, hyphenated. File contents: ```markdown --- staged: YYYY-MM-DD --- One-line description of what was explained — past tense, plain prose. Files: path/to/file_one.ext, path/to/file_two.ext ``` The `Files:` line is **optional**. Include it only when the explainer leaned heavily on specific source files (e.g., "how does this manager work" → yes; "what does eventual consistency mean in general" → no). ## Hard limits - **One line of description.** Not two. Not a paragraph. If you feel the urge to write more, you're trying to do `jotbook-ink`'s or `jotbook-pencil`'s job — stop. - **No background, no rationale, no code excerpts.** A jot is a *pointer*. The full explanation lives in chat history or will be reconstructed at ink (or pencil) time. - **No headings beyond the frontmatter.** The point of a tiny jot is that some won't survive review, and you should be able to drop one without regret. ## Procedure 1. Identify the subject: - If the user passed an argument, use that as the subject phrase. - Otherwise (auto-invocation or no-arg `/jot`), infer from the most recent explainer in the conversation. If there isn't a clear recent explainer, ask the user what they want jotted rather than guessing. 2. Derive the slug (kebab-case, ≤ 5 words). 3. Check the jots directory for an existing jot with a similar slug or covering the same concept. If one exists, ask the user whether to **append** to it (add a line to the description), **supersede** it (replace with today's framing), or **create a new** one alongside. 4. Write the file using the absolute path. 5. Report back in one short line: the slug and a brief confirmation. Don't lecture about the workflow. For auto-invocations, keep it especially terse — something like `Jotted: ` is plenty. ## What NOT to do - Don't propose to ink or pencil the jot into a full entry immediately. That's a separate explicit step. - Don't add tags, status fields, priority, or other metadata beyond `staged:`. - Don't ask the user to "review" the staged jot — it's already supposed to be lightweight enough that review is unnecessary. - Don't stage trivial Q&A ("what's the syntax for X"). If you wouldn't expect future-you to benefit from a long-form entry on it, don't stage it.