Assistant Notebook

Assistant Notebook

Use the first available supported backend as the persistent working notebook:

• ChatGPT: use ChatGPT Library when Library operations are available;
• Codex or another local agent: use the local filesystem at $ASSISTANT_NOTEBOOK_DIR, then $CODEX_HOME/assistant-notebook, then ~/.codex/assistant-notebook.

The local backend uses the same filenames and page structure as the Library backend. Do not copy or export ChatGPT conversation history or personal memory into either backend. Never place the notebook in a repository unless the user explicitly chooses that location.

Context priority

Use the active conversation and other currently available context as the primary working source. The full context may contain everything: discussion, reasoning, alternatives, intermediate details, and transient remarks. Treat the notebook as a compact secondary recall aid and index containing only the most important durable facts, decisions, preferences, corrections, status, and retrieval cues needed to locate and reconstruct the fuller context. The notebook must not copy or attempt to replace the full context.

Current verified evidence and explicit current user instructions override stale or conflicting notebook notes. The notebook should restore missing context, not narrow, replace, or discard richer context already available in the conversation, attached files, repositories, tools, or other current sources. Treat notebook entries as retrieval cues and routing prompts, not self-contained context. Use project names, people, companies, decisions, statuses, dates, links, and artifact references to identify which fuller prior context is relevant.

When a cue points to prior work, recover the fuller available context from conversation/interaction history, personal context, attached files, Library or local artifacts, repositories, tools, and other current sources before deciding or acting. The notebook initiates retrieval; it does not bound what may be recalled.

Contents page

Assistant Notebook - Contents.md is a table of contents and routing map for the user's broader context. Use it to switch contexts quickly and locate fuller context in subject pages, source artifacts, repositories, tools, or the active conversation. Keep detailed context on the appropriate subject page or source artifact; keep Contents.md routing-only.

Context initialization and re-entry

Consult the notebook once when starting a new substantive working context or when continuity needs to be restored. After reading it, keep the recovered information in the active working context and continue from that context.

Do not search, scan, or reread the notebook before every message or task in the same continuous working context. Reconsult it only when a relevant fact or older decision is missing, the user switches to a different project or stable subject, available context has been compacted or lost, or a conflict requires checking the durable record. This avoids unnecessary retrieval and token use and prevents stale notes from repeatedly displacing current context.

1. In ChatGPT, search the Library by the exact title Assistant Notebook - Contents.md. In Codex/local mode, locate that exact filename under the selected notebook directory.
2. Read the contents page; never rely on a search snippet alone.
3. Follow its routing table and read only the relevant notebook page or pages.
4. Use relevant notebook entries as retrieval cues to recover fuller related context from the active conversation, available history, personal context, attached files, Library or local artifacts, repositories, tools, and other current sources. Then reconcile that recovered context with the active conversation and other currently available context, keeping available context primary and the notebook secondary. Merge useful notebook recall without assuming it is complete or current. Never replace or narrow the current context to what the notebook contains.
5. Treat notebook entries as orientation, not proof that an external action succeeded. Verify repositories, services, forms, correspondence, or source files when factual completion matters.
6. Expect the common case that recent discussion or progress exists in the active context but was not written to the notebook. Use it for the task and add durable missing information to the appropriate page as soon as the gap is noticed, including during the task rather than waiting until the end.
7. Resolve discrepancies by current user instructions, verified evidence, recency, specificity, and status. Verified current evidence and explicit current instructions win over stale notes. If a discrepancy cannot be resolved safely, preserve the uncertainty instead of silently overwriting either account.

If the contents page is unavailable, say so briefly and continue from verified available context. Do not create a second notebook automatically. Create a local notebook only during explicit setup or when the user explicitly asks for one.

During and after work

Write short notebook notes during a substantive discussion whenever an important durable detail emerges that would help reconstruct the context later. Capture decisions, corrected assumptions, preferences, constraints, status changes, and important rationale while they are fresh; do not wait for the task to finish or for the user to ask whether the notebook was updated. Keep these notes compact retrieval cues rather than transcripts.

Update the relevant existing page after meaningful progress. Record concise, durable facts:

• confirmed result and date;
• decision and important rationale;
• current status or blocker;
• exact Library filename/folder or local relative path for related artifacts;
• next action;
• evidence or verification source when useful.

Keep planned, attempted, and completed actions explicitly distinct. Mark replaced information as superseded instead of silently leaving contradictions. Preserve unrelated page content and Library file identity/version history; for local files, preserve unrelated pages and use atomic replacement.

Update Assistant Notebook - Contents.md only when adding, renaming, or removing a page, or when its one-line status summary changes materially. Do not use it as an activity log.

When older relevant context is recovered during normal work, incrementally backfill durable decisions, facts, artifact references, status, and next actions into the appropriate subject page. Do not bulk-import history, copy whole conversations, or put detailed history in Contents.md.

Notes and artifacts

• Store resumes, company materials, project documents, and correspondence in the relevant Library folder or local notebook page directory.
• Refer to attachments by exact Library filename/folder or local relative path; do not embed large file contents into notes.
• Prefer one maintained page per stable subject over many timestamped fragments.
• Never store passwords, API keys, authentication tokens, recovery codes, government identifiers, or other secrets in the notebook.
• Do not record casual conversation, transient reasoning, or facts already represented adequately by an attached source file.

Write discipline

For Library mode, use the available OpenAI Library skill/tool for every read or write. Search and read before replacing a page. Replace the same library_file_id; never create a duplicate merely because a local edit produced a new path. Use version guards when the current version is known, and reconcile version conflicts before retrying. For local mode, use filesystem reads/writes, preserve the same page filenames, write atomically, and do not commit notebook contents unless explicitly requested.