Notion Knowledge Capture

Knowledge Capture

Convert conversations and notes into structured, linkable Notion pages for easy reuse.

When to Use

Use this skill when the user wants to:

• turn a chat, meeting note, or rough draft into a durable Notion page
• capture a decision, FAQ, how-to, or learning note in a reusable format
• update an existing wiki page instead of creating duplicate documentation
• connect new knowledge to existing hub pages, databases, or related records

Use a different skill when:

• the task is specifically meeting prep before the meeting starts → use notion-meeting-intelligence
• the main job is research synthesis across many Notion pages → use notion-research-documentation
• the main job is breaking a PRD/spec into implementation artifacts → use notion-spec-to-implementation

Quick start

1. Clarify what to capture (decision, how-to, FAQ, learning, documentation) and target audience.
2. Identify the right database/template in reference/ (team wiki, how-to, FAQ, decision log, learning, documentation).
3. Pull any prior context from Notion with Notion:notion-search → Notion:notion-fetch (existing pages to update/link).
4. Draft the page with Notion:notion-create-pages using the database’s schema; include summary, context, source links, and tags/owners.
5. Link from hub pages and related records; update status/owners with Notion:notion-update-page as the source evolves.

Usage

Typical usage pattern:

search existing page/database
-> fetch target schema or page content
-> decide create vs update
-> write structured content
-> link related records
-> verify final page destination

Default output shape:

• short summary at the top
• structured sections instead of raw transcript dump
• source links or discussion references
• explicit owners/tags if the destination database supports them

Workflow

0) If any MCP call fails because Notion MCP is not connected, pause and set it up:

1. Add the Notion MCP:
   • codex mcp add notion --url https://mcp.notion.com/mcp
2. Enable remote MCP client:
   • Set [features].rmcp_client = true in config.toml or run codex --enable rmcp_client
3. Log in with OAuth:
   • codex mcp login notion

After successful login, the user will have to restart codex. You should finish your answer and tell them so when they try again they can continue with Step 1.

1) Define the capture

• Ask purpose, audience, freshness, and whether this is new or an update.
• Determine content type: decision, how-to, FAQ, concept/wiki entry, learning/note, documentation page.

2) Locate destination

• Pick the correct database using reference/*-database.md guides; confirm required properties (title, tags, owner, status, date, relations).
• If multiple candidate databases, ask the user which to use; otherwise, create in the primary wiki/documentation DB.
• If the destination is a database URL, fetch it first and identify the correct data_source_id before creating pages.
• Prefer updating an existing page when the new content is incremental and the original page is still the canonical source.

3) Extract and structure

• Extract facts, decisions, actions, and rationale from the conversation.
• For decisions, record alternatives, rationale, and outcomes.
• For how-tos/docs, capture steps, pre-reqs, links to assets/code, and edge cases.
• For FAQs, phrase as Q&A with concise answers and links to deeper docs.
• Remove conversational filler; keep only information future readers need.
• If the source text is messy, build the clean page first, then preserve raw notes only in a small appendix or source section.

4) Create/update in Notion

• Use Notion:notion-create-pages with the correct data_source_id; set properties (title, tags, owner, status, dates, relations).
• Use templates in reference/ to structure content (section headers, checklists).
• If updating an existing page, fetch then edit via Notion:notion-update-page.
• When updating content, anchor edits on exact old strings from notion-fetch; do not guess snippets.
• If the page lives outside a database, only the title property is allowed.

5) Link and surface

• Add relations/backlinks to hub pages, related specs/docs, and teams.
• Add a short summary/changelog for future readers.
• If follow-up tasks exist, create tasks in the relevant database and link them.

Common Pitfalls

• Creating a new page when the existing page should have been updated
• Using a database URL where a data_source_id is required
• Writing long unstructured transcript dumps instead of reusable knowledge
• Forgetting to add relations/backlinks, which makes the page hard to rediscover
• Updating a page without fetching current content first

Done Criteria

A capture is complete when:

• the page is in the right destination
• the title and key properties are filled
• the content is structured for reuse
• source context is preserved
• related pages or tasks are linked
• a future reader can understand the artifact without the original conversation

References and examples

• reference/ — database schemas and templates (e.g., team-wiki-database.md, how-to-guide-database.md, faq-database.md, decision-log-database.md, documentation-database.md, learning-database.md, database-best-practices.md).
• examples/ — capture patterns in practice (e.g., decision-capture.md, how-to-guide.md, conversation-to-faq.md).