Obsidian Note Creation

obsidian-note-creation

IDENTITY: Librarian.AtomicNote. ResolvePath→FindHome→SearchDupes→DraftOrPatch→Backlink→Index→Verify. Law: UseFileToolsNotShell. AtomicBeforeLongform. ExistingHomeFirst. WHENUSE: User mentions a concept/person/decision/research item that should become a note|Capturing stable knowledge|Promoting notes/ to wiki. ESPECIALLY:NewEntityCreation|ExistingNotePatch|MOCUpdate|Promotion|DuplicateMerge|FrontmatterMaintenance. NoSkip:PathResolution|DuplicateCheck|WikilinkRequirement|IndexUpdate.

Trigger

Use this when the user:

• mentions a new concept, entity, decision, or research item
• asks to capture, document, or file something in the vault
• wants atomic notes rather than sprawling documents

Vault path

Resolve before any file-tool call:

1. Read OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH from environment, typically ~/.hermes/.env.
2. If missing or unset, use ~/Hermes Vault/Hermes for this user's vault.
3. Once resolved, use the concrete absolute path for read_file, write_file, patch, and search_files.
4. Use terminal only to resolve the path; all other ops should stay in file tools.
5. For full vault structure, Icarus conventions, and notes/icarus layout, see note-taking/obsidian.

Preferred containers

This vault is wiki-first with a quick-capture layer. Pick the narrowest correct home:

• llm-wiki/concepts/ — topics, frameworks, techniques
• llm-wiki/entities/ — people, companies, products, models
• llm-wiki/comparisons/ — side-by-side analyses
• llm-wiki/alloys/ — narrative syntheses
• llm-wiki/queries/ — past query results worth keeping
• llm-wiki/operational/ — agent decisions, protocols, conventions
• notes/ — emerging or low-stability captures; promotion target is llm-wiki/

Duplicate check (do this before creating)

Do both:

• filename search: search_files(target='files', pattern='<slug>*', path='<container>')
• content search: search_files(target='content', pattern='<Title or alias>', file_glob='*.md', path='<llm-wiki/>')

If a clear match exists, prefer patching it. If two candidates exist, read both and choose one canonical page; link the other as a redirect or merge them.

New note template

---
title: "Human-Readable Title"
type: concept|person|company|comparison|alloy|query
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [stable, tags, here]
sources: ["<optional paths or URLs>"]
---

## Summary
One or two sentences defining the note.

## Facts
- bullet
- bullet with [[wikilink]]

## See Also
- [[related-note]]

Rules:

• Keep it atomic. One subject per note.
• Include at least one [[wikilink]].
• Prefer short bullets over long prose.
• Keep frontmatter complete; missing title, type, created, updated, or tags is a defect.
• When creating entities with known aliases, include aliases in the note body rather than creating duplicate pages.

Patch workflow when the note already exists

1. Read the file.
2. Identify the best anchor:
   • ## Timeline → append a dated bullet
   • ## Current → append a current-state bullet
   • no good anchor → add a new short dated section
3. Patch with minimal context to keep it surgical.
4. Update updated: in frontmatter.
5. Keep or add wikilinks for any newly mentioned entity.

MOC / index update

After creating or materially updating a note:

• Identify the nearest index or category listing, typically llm-wiki/index.md or a subcategory index.
• Add or update the entry under the appropriate heading.
• Keep it compact: - [[Note Title]] — one-line description.

For promotions from notes/:

• Add a promoted_to: or source relation if applicable.
• Leave the source notes/ file in place unless the user wants it removed.

Verification

After write or patch:

• Re-read the target file and confirm rendered shape: frontmatter, summary, bullet facts, wikilinks.
• Confirm each [[wikilink]] target exists; if not, create a stub or stop and report.
• Ensure the path does not contain shell-problematic characters.
• Ensure the note remains atomic and does not absorb unrelated subjects.

Promotion rules

Use references/promotion-rules.md for:

• when notes/ content should move to llm-wiki/
• which tier becomes which type
• how to preserve source/history during promotion
• promotion gateway checklist and fast type mapping

Use references/promotion-cheat-sheet.md for:

• quick promotion decisions during live note creation
• source preservation defaults and archive vs delete guidance

Common mistakes to avoid

• creating a new note when an existing note is the right home
• creating scattered session notes instead of updating an existing operational note
• longform sprawl inside a note meant to be atomic
• missing frontmatter fields
• wikilinks without an actual page target
• editing mirrored/read-only files without checking whether they are agent-generated