/flight-memo — record an open task or a memo

/flight-memo — record an open task or a memo

Capture an open task or a memo into the per-user files under flight-workbench/memos/. When the user says "remember", "add a task", "we need to", "later", or anything similar, use this skill.

Never write tasks or memos into CLAUDE.md. CLAUDE.md is auto-loaded into every Claude Code session and is shared with other tools (e.g. fusion) whose own CLAUDE.md upkeep would prune or overwrite anything flight stores there. All flight tracking data lives under flight-workbench/, which other tools never touch.

Per-user files

Determine the OS user first: echo "$USER". Two files, both under flight-workbench/memos/:

• flight-workbench/memos/tasks-$USER.md — the open-task checklist. A living list: items are added here, pruned by /flight-cleanup, carried forward by /flight-land, and surfaced at /flight-start.
• flight-workbench/memos/memos-$USER.md — the memo log. Append-only, dated ## sections, verbatim captures (the fusion memo model).

Create either file if missing (see headers below). Always mkdir -p ./flight-workbench/memos first.

Step 1 — Determine what the user wants to record

If text was passed as an argument to /flight-memo, use it verbatim. Otherwise, ask:

What should I record?

When the user replies, decide which of three shapes the input is:

1. An open task — actionable, short ("call Stefan about the v2 schema", "draft a reply to the auditor"). Default for short imperative input.
2. A longer memo — context, background, a reference list, anything that is not a single task. Default if the input is more than ~2 sentences or has multiple paragraphs.
3. Ambiguous — ask the user via AskUserQuestion whether to file it as an open task or as a memo.

Step 2a — File as an open task (tasks-$USER.md)

Read ./flight-workbench/memos/tasks-$USER.md. If it does not exist, create it with this header and nothing else:

# Open tasks — <username>

<!-- flight open-task checklist. One file per OS user. Added via /flight-memo, pruned via /flight-cleanup, carried forward by /flight-land, surfaced at /flight-start. Not stored in CLAUDE.md (shared with other tools). -->

(No open tasks yet. Use /flight-memo <task> to add one.)

Append the new task as a markdown list item with a date prefix:

- [<prefix>] <task text>

Get the timestamp from date +"${FLIGHT_FILE_PREFIX:-%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M}" (env var FLIGHT_FILE_PREFIX overrides the default; default renders as YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM). If the file still holds the placeholder line (No open tasks yet...), remove that line first.

After updating, confirm to the user:

Added to your open tasks. ""

You currently have N open tasks. Type /flight-cleanup any time to remove ones that are no longer relevant.

Step 2b — File as a longer memo (memos-$USER.md)

Read ./flight-workbench/memos/memos-$USER.md. If it does not exist, create it with this header and nothing else:

# Memos — <username>

Append the memo as a single dated ## section at the end of the file (leave one blank line before it). Capture the user's content verbatim — do not rewrite it in your own words.

Timestamp: date +"%Y-%m-%d %H:%M". Run it in the shell and use the output verbatim — never type a time from your own sense of "now" (your clock is UTC and would be off by the local offset).

## YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM — <topic>

<memo body, verbatim from the user>

Refs: <optional — path(s) to related files; drop this line if there is nothing to point to>

Keep memos concise. If a memo would run longer than ~15 lines, it probably belongs in flight-workbench/decisions/ or as a deliverable at the project root, not in the memo log. Never reorder or rewrite prior memos.

Confirm to the user:

Memo saved. flight-workbench/memos/memos-<user>.md (topic: "")

Want me to also add a one-line open task pointing at it, so it surfaces at next session start? (yes/no)

If yes, add this to tasks-$USER.md following Step 2a:

- [<prefix>] Follow up on memo: <topic> (see flight-workbench/memos/memos-<user>.md)

Step 3 — Append to the session history

Append a one-line entry to today's session history file (flight-workbench/history/<latest-TS>-session.md, find the most recent one) under the ## Log section:

- <HH:MM> memo: added open task "<task text>"

or

- <HH:MM> memo: filed memo "<topic>" in flight-workbench/memos/memos-<user>.md

This keeps the history file as a complete record of what was discussed and produced.

What this skill does NOT do

• Never writes to CLAUDE.md. Tasks go to tasks-<user>.md, memos to memos-<user>.md.
• Does not delete or modify existing tasks (use /flight-cleanup for that).
• Does not reorder or rewrite existing memos.

Flight conventions (works without the pilot agent)

In Claude Desktop there is no pilot agent and no auto-loaded CLAUDE.md, so apply these rules directly:

• No setup step needed: if ./flight-workbench/ does not exist yet, create its folders (and copy the bundled style profiles if present) on first use, then continue — never ask the user to run a separate setup command first.
• Existing documents: the first time you work in a folder that already holds documents, offer to create an overview of them at the folder root — name what you see and ask first; don't analyze them unasked.
• Workbench location: all flight tracking lives under ./flight-workbench/ in the connected folder — history/, decisions/, memos/, archive/, stilwerk/. Never put tasks or memos in CLAUDE.md.
• Memos & tasks: open tasks → flight-workbench/memos/tasks-<user>.md; longer memos → flight-workbench/memos/memos-<user>.md (one file per OS user).
• Filenames: <prefix>-<name>.<ext>, prefix from date +"${FLIGHT_FILE_PREFIX:-%Y-%m-%d_%H-%M}". Always get timestamps by running date in the shell — never from your own clock (it is UTC and will be off by the local offset).
• Deliverables the user asks you to produce go to the connected folder root, not under flight-workbench/.
• Style: apply flight-workbench/stilwerk/professional-voice-<LANG>.yaml to long-form documents and chat-voice-<LANG>.yaml to short chat replies; if the language has no profile, read the -en variant and apply its intent.
• Does not run inside long-running work — it is a quick capture step.