Spawned Knowledge

/book-notes

Create structured book notes with parallel extraction of concepts, frameworks, and actionable insights. Uses three agents to extract different dimensions simultaneously, producing a rich reference note. Optionally spawns standalone knowledge nodes for concepts, patterns, and themes worth preserving independently.

Usage

/book-notes "<book-title>" --author "<author>" [options]

Parameters

Instructions

Phase 1: Gather Input

Ask the user for their source material: highlights/annotations, chapter summaries, overall impressions, or key quotes. If the user has no notes, offer to create a template they can fill in, or search for the book online to gather context.

Phase 2: Parallel Extraction — Agent Team

Launch three agents simultaneously using the Task tool.

Agent 1: Concept Extractor (Sonnet) Task: Identify and describe key concepts and ideas

• Extract all distinct concepts, theories, and ideas from the input
• For each concept: name, definition, significance, related concepts
• Identify the book's central thesis or argument
• Map how concepts relate to each other
• Note which concepts are original vs building on existing work Return: List of concepts with descriptions and relationships

Agent 2: Framework Extractor (Sonnet) Task: Identify frameworks, models, and methodologies

• Extract all structured frameworks, models, and step-by-step processes
• For each: name, purpose, steps/components, when to use it
• Identify mental models the author uses or promotes
• Note practical tools or templates described
• Create visual representations where possible (tables, lists) Return: List of frameworks with descriptions and application guidance

Agent 3: Action Extractor (Sonnet) Task: Extract practical advice and recommendations

• Pull out all actionable advice and recommendations
• For each: what to do, when to do it, expected outcome
• Identify exercises, experiments, or practices suggested
• Note warnings or anti-patterns the author highlights
• Prioritise actions by impact and ease of implementation Return: Prioritised list of actionable takeaways with context

Phase 3: Synthesise Book Note

Combine agent outputs into a comprehensive reference note:

1. Book metadata and rating
2. One-paragraph summary
3. Key concepts (from Agent 1)
4. Frameworks and models (from Agent 2)
5. Actionable takeaways (from Agent 3)
6. Key quotes
7. Personal reflections

If --spawn is active, proceed to Phase 4 after writing the book note.

Phase 4: Knowledge Compounding (Optional)

Activated by the --spawn flag. Default behaviour (no flag) creates only the book note.

Step 1: Check for Existing Spawned Nodes (Idempotent Handling)

If the book note already exists, read its frontmatter for a spawnedNodes field.

When running incrementally, append new nodes to spawnedNodes rather than replacing the list.

Step 2: Vault Deduplication Search

Before proposing spawn candidates, search existing notes to avoid duplicates.

For each potential candidate:

1. Exact match search — check for files named Concept - <candidate>, Pattern - <candidate>, or Theme - <candidate>
2. Partial match search — search note contents for the candidate term

Decision Matrix:

Report results before proceeding.

Step 3: Classify and Assess Candidates

Using the extracted concepts (from Phase 2 agents), classify each candidate:

For each candidate, determine:

Step 4: Map Inter-Node Relationships

Before creating notes, map how candidates relate to each other using typed relationships:

This ensures spawned notes link to siblings, not just back to the source book.

Step 5: Create Spawned Notes

Create notes in this order (so earlier notes can be referenced by later ones):

1. Themes first (broadest scope)
2. Concepts second (foundational)
3. Patterns last (apply concepts)

For each node:

1. Create file using the appropriate spawned note template (see below)
2. Populate provenance fields: sourceBook, sourceChapters, sourcePrimary
3. Set confidence based on the inheritance rules
4. Include relatedTo linking to sibling nodes AND the source book

Step 6: Update Book Note

Add the spawnedNodes field to the book note frontmatter and append a "Spawned Knowledge" section to the body:

## Spawned Knowledge

This book is a primary source for the following knowledge notes:

### Themes
| Note | Description |
|------|-------------|
| [[Concept - <Name>]] | <description> |

### Core Concepts
| Note | Description | Chapters |
|------|-------------|----------|
| [[Concept - <Name>]] | <description> | Ch. N |

### Implementation Patterns
| Note | Description | Chapters |
|------|-------------|----------|
| [[Pattern - <Name>]] | <description> | Ch. N |

Output Format

Book Note Template

---
type: Reference
title: "Reference - <Book Title>"
referenceType: book
created: YYYY-MM-DD
author: "<Author>"
isbn: "<ISBN if available>"
yearPublished: YYYY
tags: [content/book, domain/relevant-tag]
rating: X/5
summary: "<One-line summary>"

# Knowledge Compounding (populated by --spawn)
spawnedNodes: []
---

# <Book Title>

> **Author:** <Author> | **Published:** YYYY | **Rating:** X/5

## One-Paragraph Summary

<The book's core message in one paragraph>

## Key Concepts
<!-- From Agent 1: name, definition, significance, relationships -->

## Frameworks and Models
<!-- From Agent 2: name, purpose, steps, when to use -->

## Actionable Takeaways
<!-- From Agent 3: prioritised by impact — High Impact / Quick Wins -->

## Key Quotes

## Personal Reflections

## Related Reading

Spawned Concept Template

Filename: Concept - <Name>.md

Create for "What is X?" knowledge — definitions, frameworks, models.

---
type: Concept
title: "<Name>"
aliases: []
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: []

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
sourceChapters: [N, N]
sourcePrimary: true|false

# Relationships
relatedTo:
  - "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
  - "[[Concept - <Sibling>]]"

# Quality
summary: "<One-line definition>"
confidence: high|medium|low
---

# <Name>

> **Definition:** <Clear, concise definition>

## Overview

<2-3 paragraphs explaining the concept, written to be standalone>

## Key Characteristics

- <Characteristic 1>
- <Characteristic 2>

## Related Concepts

- [[Concept - <Sibling>]] — <relationship>

## Sources

- [[Reference - <Book Title>]] — Ch. N (primary|secondary source)

Spawned Pattern Template

Filename: Pattern - <Name>.md

Create for "How to do X?" knowledge — approaches, architectures, solutions.

---
type: Pattern
title: "<Name>"
aliases: []
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: []

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
sourceChapters: [N, N]
sourcePrimary: true|false

# Relationships
relatedTo:
  - "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
  - "[[Concept - <Related>]]"

# Quality
summary: "<One-line description>"
confidence: high|medium|low
---

# <Name>

> **Intent:** <What problem does this pattern solve?>

## Context and Problem

<When to use this pattern and what challenge it addresses>

## Solution

<How the pattern works>

## Consequences

**Benefits:** / **Trade-offs:**

## Related Patterns

- [[Pattern - <Sibling>]] — <relationship>

## Sources

- [[Reference - <Book Title>]] — Ch. N

Spawned Theme Template

Filename: Concept - <Name>.md (themes use conceptType: theme)

Create for cross-cutting concerns, paradigm shifts, strategic directions.

---
type: Concept
title: "<Name>"
conceptType: theme
aliases: []
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: []

# Source Provenance
sourceBook: "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
sourceChapters: [N, N]
sourcePrimary: true|false

# Relationships
relatedTo:
  - "[[Reference - <Book Title>]]"
  - "[[Concept - <Manifestation>]]"
  - "[[Pattern - <Implements theme>]]"

# Quality
summary: "<One-line description>"
confidence: high|medium|low
---

# <Name>

> **Essence:** <One sentence capturing the core of this theme>

## Overview

<2-3 paragraphs explaining the theme and its significance>

## Manifestations

- [[Concept - <X>]] — <How this concept embodies the theme>
- [[Pattern - <Y>]] — <How this pattern implements the theme>

## Tensions and Trade-offs

<What this theme trades off against, competing concerns>

## Sources

- [[Reference - <Book Title>]] — Primary exposition

Knowledge Compounding Reference

Confidence Inheritance

Typical Spawn Counts

Spawn Decision Rules

Do spawn when the term needs standalone explanation, the book is THE primary source, or the concept/pattern will be referenced from multiple notes. Do not spawn when an existing note covers it (link instead), the term is too narrow or book-specific, or coverage is too brief to support a useful standalone note.

Examples

Example 1: From Highlights

/book-notes "Thinking in Systems" --author "Donella Meadows" --input highlights

User provides Kindle highlights; agents extract systems thinking concepts, leverage points framework, and actionable mental models.

Example 2: With Knowledge Compounding

/book-notes "Team Topologies" --author "Matthew Skelton" --spawn

Creates the book note, then identifies candidates such as Concept - Cognitive Load, Concept - Team API, Pattern - Stream-Aligned Team, and Theme - Team-First Thinking. Searches the vault for existing coverage, presents candidates for approval, and creates standalone notes with provenance tracking.

Example 3: Spawn from Existing Book Note

/book-notes "Designing Data-Intensive Applications" --author "Martin Kleppmann" --spawn-only

Reads the existing book note, identifies concepts and patterns not yet spawned, and creates standalone notes without recreating the book note.

Invoke with: /book-notes "<title>" --author "<author>" to create structured book notes with parallel extraction, or add --spawn to also create standalone knowledge notes