# Brain Dump > Capture, structure, and organize ideas from any source (URLs, screenshots, text, voice transcripts, calendar inbox events, iOS Shortcut payloads) into the ryankolean/mindspace GitHub repo. Classifies along two axes (project + idea-type) with emergent tags, auto-schedules High-priority items via Google Calendar reminder-hub conventions, and self-improves by appending to learnings.md after every session. Activates on "brain dump", "capture this", "add to mindspace", "process my inbox", "mindspace review", "what did I capture about X", or when the user shares a URL/screenshot/idea fragment without explicit instructions. - Skill: `ryankolean/brain-dump` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 9 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add ryankolean/brain-dump` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/ryankolean/brain-dump/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Productivity - Author: ryankolean (https://skillmd.com/u/ryankolean) - Updated: 2026-09-21 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/ryankolean/brain-dump --- # brain-dump Living capture-and-organize system. Turns scattered inputs (saved tweets, screenshots, half-formed thoughts, articles, voice memos) into structured, scheduleable, searchable knowledge in `ryankolean/mindspace`. ## Operating modes The skill runs in one of six modes. Identify the mode from the user's intent before executing. | Mode | Trigger | Output | |---|---|---| | **capture** | User shares a single item or batch with no other instruction | Structured idea card(s) in `inbox/` or `library/`, optional Calendar event | | **triage** | "Process my inbox", "triage mindspace", "clear the inbox" | All inbox items moved to `library/` or `archive/` with classification | | **review** | "Mindspace review", "what's stale", "what haven't I actioned" | Surface stale items, prompt revisit/archive/escalate | | **search** | "What did I capture about X", "find ideas on Y" | Filtered list from `index.json` + grep across `library/` | | **research** | "research backfill", "research today", "research card X", "research refresh X" | Append `## Research` block to one or more cards; commit + push | | **self-learn** | End of every session OR user says "promote learnings" | Append to `_meta/learnings.md`; if high-value pattern, prompt SKILL.md update | ## Bootstrap (first-time setup) If the repo doesn't exist yet, run the `gh-repo-create` skill with these parameters: name `mindspace`, visibility `private`, description `Personal idea capture and triage system. Managed by the brain-dump skill.` Then push the contents of `mindspace-init/` (provided alongside this skill) as the initial commit. ## Capture mode — execution rules 1. **Identify input type.** URL, image (screenshot/photo), plain text, voice transcript, calendar inbox event, iOS Shortcut payload, file attachment, or "other." If multiple items in one batch, process each independently then summarize at the end. 2. **Extract content.** - URLs: `web_fetch` the page. If the URL is a social media post (X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Reddit, HN, YouTube), extract the post body, author, and key replies. Note the platform. - Images: describe the visible content. If the screenshot contains text, transcribe it. If it's a UI/product screenshot, identify the product and the feature shown. - Voice transcripts: split into discrete ideas if the transcript covers multiple topics. One idea = one card. - Calendar inbox events (`[Inbox] ...`): pull title + description, treat description as the idea body. 3. **Propose classification** — present this block to the user for approval before writing: ``` Title: Project: Idea-type: Tags: [<2-5 emergent tags, lowercase, hyphenated>] Priority: Suggested action: Suggested schedule: Destination: ``` 4. **Honor user adjustments.** If user edits any field, use the edited version. If user says "looks good" or just confirms, proceed. 5. **Write the idea card** using the template at `templates/idea-card.md`. File naming: `YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM-{slug}.md` where slug is 3-5 words from the title, lowercase, hyphenated. Commit message: `capture: {title}`. 6. **Calendar policy.** - Priority **High** → auto-create event via reminder-hub conventions (no confirmation). Title format: `[{Project}] {Title}`. Description includes the suggested action, link to the idea card in mindspace, `Priority: High`, `Project: {project}`, `Category: {idea-type}`. - Priority **Medium** or **Low** → present the proposed event to the user, ask "Schedule this? (y/n/edit)" before creating. - Priority **Low** with no clear action → no calendar event, just store in library. 7. **Update `_meta/index.json`** with the new entry — append in place, preserving the file's existing formatting. Do NOT round-trip the whole file through a JSON serializer: `json.dumps(indent=2)` explodes every inline `tags` array onto separate lines and turns a one-entry addition into a ~200-line diff. Match the existing style: 2-space indent, one object per entry, `tags` inline on a single line. Update `_meta/patterns.json` with any new tags (increment frequency counter; if new tag, add with frequency 1). ## Triage mode — execution rules 1. List every file in `inbox/`. If empty, report "Inbox is clear" and exit. 2. For each item, present a one-line summary + proposed classification (same block as capture step 3, condensed). Allow batch operations: "Approve all," "Skip 3," "Archive 5," etc. 3. Move approved items to `library/{project}/{idea-type}/`. Archive killed items to `archive/{YYYY-MM}/`. Apply scheduling policy from capture step 6. 4. Commit in batches: one commit per project triaged. Commit message: `triage: process N inbox items into {project}`. ## Review mode — execution rules 1. Read `_meta/index.json`. Identify items in `library/` with `status: library` and `captured` older than 14 days with no `last_touched` field. 2. Group by project. Present each group with: title, idea-type, age, suggested next move (revisit / archive / escalate to High). 3. Apply user decisions. Update `last_touched` on revisited items; archive killed items; for escalations, run the calendar policy from capture step 6. 4. Commit message: `review: triage N stale items`. ## Search mode — execution rules 1. Parse the user's query for: project filter, idea-type filter, tag filter, free-text terms. 2. Filter `_meta/index.json` first (fast path). 3. If query needs body content, grep through matching files in `library/`. 4. Return ranked results: title, project/type, captured date, one-line summary, file path. 5. If user wants to act on a result, jump into capture-style classification on that existing card to update/reschedule. ## Research mode — execution rules 1. Determine scope from invocation: - "backfill" → all cards in `_meta/index.json` without a `` block - "today" / "tomorrow's tasks" → cards where `suggested_schedule` matches the requested day - "refresh " → that one card; override staleness check - "card " → that one card; respect staleness 2. For each card in scope, check the body for an existing `` marker: - Absent → process - Present and timestamp ≥ 4 days ago → process (replace block atomically) - Present and timestamp < 4 days ago → skip silently (unless invocation is `refresh`) 3. Dispatch one research subagent per card in parallel batches of 5. See `references/research-protocol.md` for the per-card algorithm and `templates/research-block.md` for the output format. 4. After each subagent returns its block, locate the card markdown file. If the file already has a `` (DOTALL match). Otherwise append a blank line then the new block at end of file. 5. Run `./viewer/build.sh` once at the end to regenerate `viewer/index.html`. 6. Commit: `research: enrich N cards`. Stage all touched cards plus `viewer/index.html`. Push. ## Self-learn protocol **After every session that wrote, moved, or archived files**, before responding "done," do this: 1. Append a dated entry to `_meta/learnings.md` covering: - What inputs were processed - Any classification decisions that felt forced or ambiguous - New tags added to `patterns.json` - Calendar events created - Anything the user corrected (this is the most valuable signal) 2. Scan recent learnings for **high-value patterns**: - Same correction made 3+ times → propose SKILL.md update - New tag promoted to top-10 frequency → propose adding to taxonomy.md - Recurring source type not yet handled (e.g. "I keep getting Substack URLs and you don't extract author bylines") → propose new extraction rule - User-defined shortcut or convention used 2+ times → propose codifying 3. **If a high-value pattern is detected**, end the session by asking: "I noticed {pattern}. Should I promote this into SKILL.md as a permanent rule? (yes / no / edit my proposal: ...)" Wait for response. If yes, edit SKILL.md with a clearly marked block: ``` {new rule} ``` Then commit to `summit-claude-skills` with message: `brain-dump: promote learning — {brief description}`. 4. **Rebuild the viewer.** If `viewer/build.sh` exists in the mindspace repo root, run `./viewer/build.sh` and stage the regenerated `viewer/index.html`. This keeps the baked HTML snapshot in sync with the cards that just landed. If `viewer/` doesn't exist in this repo, skip silently (backward-compatible). 5. Commit the session's final state (learnings.md update + viewer rebuild if applicable) with message: `learn: session {YYYY-MM-DD HHMM}`. ## Integration points - **reminder-hub**: scheduled events follow `[Project] Task title` convention with `Priority: X\nProject: X\nCategory: X` in description. See `references/integrations.md`. - **GitHub**: all writes go through `gh` CLI or the GitHub API. PAT required for push from container; `git format-patch` + `git am` is the documented fallback per CLAUDE.md conventions. - **iOS Shortcut**: `references/integrations.md` includes the shortcut blueprint for share-sheet capture from mobile. - **Voice mode**: when user dictates "brain dump" + ramble, treat the transcript as input. Split on topic shifts. One idea per card. - **Calendar inbox**: any event titled `[Inbox] *` is pulled into mindspace on the next session that runs in capture or triage mode. - **Viewer**: `viewer/index.html` is a self-contained baked HTML snapshot of the brain dump (timeline / kanban / tag-network views). Regenerated by `viewer/build.sh` at session end (see self-learn protocol step 4). Spec: `docs/superpowers/specs/2026-04-18-mindspace-viewer-design.md`. ## Output discipline - No emojis (per Ryan's standing preference). - Idea card titles: action-flavored, no clickbait, ≤12 words. - Summaries: 2-3 sentences. Not copies of the source — distillation in Ryan's voice. - Tags: lowercase, hyphenated, max 5 per card. Prefer reusing existing tags from `patterns.json`. - Commit messages: lowercase prefix (`capture:`, `triage:`, `review:`, `learn:`), past-tense not required, one line preferred. ## Reference files - `references/taxonomy.md` — current project + idea-type definitions - `references/capture-flow.md` — detailed step-by-step for each input type - `references/integrations.md` — reminder-hub format, iOS Shortcut spec, voice mode - `references/research-protocol.md` — per-card research algorithm: phases, budgets, failure modes, worked example - `references/self-learning-protocol.md` — full pattern detection rules and SKILL.md edit conventions - `templates/idea-card.md` — frontmatter + body template - `templates/learnings-entry.md` — learnings.md append template - `templates/research-block.md` — research output template appended to card bodies ## Hard constraints - Never auto-create a calendar event for Medium or Low priority items without confirmation. - Never modify SKILL.md without explicit user approval (the self-learn promotion always asks first). - Never delete from `library/` — only move to `archive/`. - Never commit to mindspace without writing to `_meta/index.json` in the same commit. - Never reformat `_meta/index.json` or `_meta/patterns.json` while editing them. A capture adds one entry, and the diff should show one entry. - Always run `viewer/build.sh` (if present) before the final session commit, so the baked HTML snapshot stays in lockstep with the data. - Never run research on a card whose existing `` block is < 4 days old, except when invoked explicitly as `research refresh `.