remember-conversations

Remember Conversations

Capture valuable conversation output as permanent vault notes. Log so insights compound, not vanish into chat.

Outputs

Each session up to two outputs. Pick combo by what happened.

Changelog entry

Create Utility/obsidian-knowledge/changelog/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-<slug>.md if session produced substance — edits, decisions, discoveries, dead ends. Filename example: 2026-05-12-143022-vault-organizer.md. Contents: one terse line per significant action, format YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM — <what happened> [→ [[wikilink]] if diary/convo filed]. No narrative, no code blocks — pointers only. Immediately add the new file to Utility/obsidian-knowledge/changelog/index.md with - [[YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-slug]] — short orientation phrase; do not leave it for vault-gardener to discover as an orphan. Skip if nothing meaningful or already logged.

Session notes

Create session note when convo produced something future agent or user benefit finding later. Three types, separate locations:

• Learning page — wiki-style topic note. Built by accretion: each Q&A on a topic enriches same topic page. Use for educational Q&A — concept explanations, technical deep-dives, "explain X" exchanges, things user learned. Synthesize answer into wiki prose; preserve key user questions verbatim as > **Q:** ... blockquotes when framing load-bearing. Default output for any Q&A with meaningful answer — even quick concept lookup, accrete it. Filing topic-driven: page goes in existing wiki subtree covering topic. Dedicated learning subtree (if vault has one, e.g. wiki/learning/) is fallback when no better home. See "Filing location" below for search procedure.
• Convo note — analytical synthesis: option comparisons, decision rationales, research summaries, discoveries, non-obvious connections. Always preserve user's questions verbatim alongside answers — question is half the value (frames problem, surfaces what user actually wanted to know). Lives in convos/ subfolder of relevant area.
• Diary note — narrative: what happened, what tried, what worked or not, why. Use for processes, incidents, debug sessions, event sequences worth retell. Lives in diary/ subfolder of relevant area.

Single session can produce multiple types (e.g., debug session that also taught a concept → diary + learning page).

Do not create session notes for:

• Pure factual lookups, no conceptual content ("what time is it", "what's path to X")
• Edits to existing pages (already persisted)
• Back-and-forth that didn't converge on anything useful

In doubt for educational Q&A: file learning page. Cost of extra short page low; cost of losing synthesis high.

Never write to CLAUDE.md. That file user-owned, edited only by explicit user request. Agent-generated knowledge → wiki/. Behavioral rules → wiki/ too, pointer in CLAUDE.md only if user explicitly says "add this to CLAUDE.md". In doubt, wiki note wins.

Note structure

Every session note follow this structure:

# {Descriptive title}

## Context

{What prompted this — question, task, or trigger. 1-2 sentences.}

## {Body}

{Narrative or analysis. Section heading + structure fit content —
"What happened" for diaries, "Analysis" or "Comparison" for convos,
etc. As long as it needs to be.}

{Convo notes especially: capture user's actual questions verbatim
(quoted) followed by substantive answer. Q&A format preserves framing
user brought, often load-bearing — paraphrasing destroys nuance.
Pattern:

> **Q:** "{exact user question}"
>
> **A:** {full answer with reasoning, not just conclusion}

Use whenever conversation driven by user asking things.}

## Key takeaways

- {Concise bullets summarizing actionable or memorable points}

## Related

- [[wikilinks to relevant vault pages]]

Adapt sections to fit — not every note needs every section.

Filing location

Three filing patterns:

Learning pages (topic-driven, anywhere in wiki)

Topical wiki pages, one per concept. Knowledge accretes — return visits enrich same page rather than spawn new files.

Filing decision: route by topic, not by type. If vault already has subtree covering concept's domain, page goes there. Fall back to dedicated learning subtree only when no suitable home exists. User's CLAUDE.md + wiki's top-level index.md declare layout; defer to them.

Filename: human-readable concept name, no date prefix. Date prefix implies chronology; learning pages concept-keyed.

Example layout (abstract — concrete paths come from vault):

wiki/
├── index.md                       # always start here
├── <topic-area>/
│   ├── index.md
│   └── <concept>.md               # learning page accretes here
├── learning/                      # fallback subtree if vault uses one
│   ├── index.md
│   └── <subtopic>/<concept>.md
└── ...

Convo + diary notes

Convo notes in convos/, diary notes in diary/ subfolders within relevant area subtree:

area/topic/
├── _sources/
├── convos/
│   ├── index.md
│   └── 2026-04-05-deduction-analysis.md
├── diary/
│   ├── index.md
│   └── 2026-04-06-tax-filing-process.md
├── index.md
└── ...

Choosing the right subtree

Place note in most specific subtree covering topic. For learning pages, see procedure below — consult wiki's top-level index.md + run vault search before defaulting to learning subtree. Spans multiple domains: pick primary, add wikilinks to others in Related.

Filename convention

• Learning pages: concept name, no date prefix. Slugify per vault's conventions.
• Convo/diary: YYYY-MM-DD-{slug}.md. Folder location distinguishes type; -convo or -diary suffix optional.

Follow vault's CLAUDE.md for any vault-specific overrides.

Procedure

For learning pages

1. Identify concept — what did this Q&A teach? One concept per page. Multi-concept session → file separately under each.

2. Find the right home — route by topic, not by default location. Run all three checks before deciding:

   1. Read wiki's top-level index.md — scan for domain that fits concept.
   2. Vault search — run obsidian-knowledge search "<concept>" and inspect top hit paths to see where neighboring notes live. Use exact-string search only when looking for a literal name, phrase, or token.
   3. Fallback — no existing subtree clearly fits → file under dedicated learning subtree (e.g. wiki/learning/<subtopic>/) per vault's convention. Create subtopic folder (with index.md) if needed.

3. Search for existing page — within chosen subtree, look for page already covering concept. Check by concept name (find <subtree> -iname '*concept*') + via search from step 2. Found → step 5 (append). Not found → step 4 (create).

4. Create new page via Obsidian CLI:

   obsidian create path="<subtree>/<concept>.md" content="..." vault="<vault-name>"
   

   Initial content: one-paragraph definition + Q&A material organized as wiki prose, not transcript. Add page to subtree's index.md. New subtree → also link from parent index.md.

5. Append to existing page — read current content. Integrate new Q&A into wiki narrative — don't paste transcript. New heading section if question covered new ground; extend existing section if refined existing material. Preserve verbatim user question as > **Q:** "..." blockquote when framing matters (most cases).

6. Cross-link — add [[wikilinks]] to related concept pages encountered. Search results from step 2 good candidates.

For convo / diary notes

1. Determine subtree — identify where session notes belong by topic.

2. Determine type — convo or diary — target matching subfolder (convos/ or diary/).

3. Create subfolder if needed — subtree lacks target folder → create with index.md:

   # Conversations
   
   - [[YYYY-MM-DD-slug]] — orientation phrase
   

   (Use # Diary for diary folders.)

4. Write note — create file via Obsidian CLI so Obsidian link index stays in sync:

   obsidian create path="{subtree}/convos/YYYY-MM-DD-slug.md" content="..." vault="<vault-name>"
   

   Use \n for newlines in content value. Always specify vault name if more than one vault registered.

5. Update subfolder's index.md — add entry for new note.

6. Update parent index.md — convos/ or diary/ subfolder new → add to parent folder index:

   - [[convos/index|Conversations]] — analytical synthesis notes
   - [[diary/index|Diary]] — narrative session accounts
   

Always

Update changelog — create Utility/obsidian-knowledge/changelog/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS-<slug>.md summarizing actions as terse 1-liners. Link to session notes, not inline detail. No narrative in changelog itself. Add the same file to Utility/obsidian-knowledge/changelog/index.md before finishing.