process-evening

Process Evening

Process tonight's evening journal entry — extract insights, track habits, propose tomorrow's tasks, and proactively surface patterns. This is Phase B of the evening loop: AI processes your reflection and prepares you for tomorrow.

Why This Exists

The evening reflection is the richest signal for self-awareness: what went well, what didn't, how you feel, what you want tomorrow to look like. Without processing, these insights stay locked in prose. /process-evening extracts structure from reflection, tracks habits over time, and proactively surfaces patterns the user might not notice.

Key Principles

1. The raw content stays untouched. ## Evening and ## Reflection sections are never modified.
2. Proactive, not passive. Don't just summarize — detect patterns, flag decision loops, track streaks, and nudge.
3. Tomorrow's tasks default to tomorrow. Unlike /process-journal (due today), evening tasks are due tomorrow.
4. No shame, only data. When habits slip, respond with facts and patterns, not judgment.
5. Batch approval for tasks. Never create Todoist tasks without explicit user confirmation.
6. No silent failures. Track every external source call. Report what succeeded, what failed, and what was skipped. See vault-config/references/source-manifest.md.

Sources

Track all source calls per vault-config/references/source-manifest.md. This skill uses:

Source	Used For	Criticality
Obsidian CLI	Read evening entry, write AI Summary	REQUIRED
Obsidian MCP	Patch sections, update frontmatter	REQUIRED
QMD Search	Pattern detection (decision loops), people lookup	MEDIUM
Todoist CLI	Task triage (close, defer, create)	HIGH

Invocation

/process-evening              → process tonight's entry
/process-evening 2026-03-15   → process a specific date

Workflow

Tool Rules

Reference: vault-config/references/tool-selection.md CLI for reads, writes, graph traversal, and property operations. MCP only for semantic search and section-level patching. DO NOT use mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__get_vault_file for reads.

Step 1: Determine Target Date

• Default: today's date
• If argument provided: parse as YYYY-MM-DD

Step 2: Read Evening Entry

obsidian read path="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md"

If it doesn't exist: Report "No evening entry found for YYYY-MM-DD. Run /prep-evening first or create one manually." and stop.

Step 3: Parse Evening Habits

Read the ## Evening Habits section from the evening entry. Parse each checkbox:

## Evening Habits
- [x] Evening meditation      → habit_evening_meditation: true
- [x] Journaled               → habit_journaled: true

Update frontmatter with parsed habit data:

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file(
    filename="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md",
    operation="replace",
    targetType="frontmatter",
    target="habit_evening_meditation",
    content="true"
)
# Repeat for habit_journaled

Step 4: Check Idempotency

Look for an existing ## AI Summary section in the evening entry.

• If no ## AI Summary section exists: first run — proceed normally
• If it already exists: re-run — warn the user

This evening entry has already been processed. The entry has an existing AI Summary:
> "[first ~80 chars of existing summary]..."

Would you like to re-process? Summary and mood will be refreshed.

Wait for confirmation before continuing. If user declines, stop.

Todoist Task Guard

Also check frontmatter for todoist_tasks_created:

• If todoist_tasks_created: true: Step 6 will be skipped unless user explicitly requests task re-creation
• If todoist_tasks_created: false or not present: Step 6 runs normally

Step 5: Extract Insights from Evening Content

Read ## Evening (voice transcript or typed) and ## Reflection sections. Extract:

AI Summary (2-3 sentences)

Concise summary of the evening reflection. Warm, observational tone. What happened today, how they feel, what's on their mind.

Mood (single word or short phrase)

End-of-day emotional state. Examples: "calm, satisfied", "tired but proud", "restless", "grateful".

What Went Well

From ## Reflection → "What went well today:" — preserve the user's words. Lightly edit for clarity only.

What Could Improve

From ## Reflection → "What could I improve:" — frame constructively, not as failure. Keep the user's voice.

Gratitude (3 items — MUST be explicitly stated)

CRITICAL: Only include gratitude items that the person actually stated. Do NOT infer or generate gratitude from content. If not explicitly stated:

**Grateful for**: ⚠️ No gratitude entry tonight. What are 3 things you're grateful for?

When gratitude IS explicitly stated:

**Grateful for**:
1. [item]
2. [item]
3. [item]

Tomorrow Intentions

Only if explicitly stated in the evening content ("tomorrow I want to...", "planning to..."). If not mentioned: "No specific plans mentioned."

People Mentioned

Identify people mentioned by name. Look up in vault contacts for wikilinks:

mcp__qmd__search(query="PersonName", collection="vault")

If found: [[Full Name]]. If not found: plain text.

Step 6: Task Triage — Review Still Open + Propose New Tasks

This is the interactive step. Two inputs feed into one unified batch approval:

1. Still Open tasks from /prep-evening (at the bottom of the entry) — cross-referenced against the evening reflection
2. New actionable items from the evening content — same as before

Finding Matching Task Notes

For each Still Open item, check if a corresponding task note exists:

1. If the item has an external_id reference (Linear RS4-, Todoist:), search:

   grep -rl "{external_id}" ~/Claude/ObsidianVault/"2. Projects"/*/*/Tasks/*.md ~/Claude/ObsidianVault/"6. Main Notes/"*.md 2>/dev/null
   

2. If no external_id, fuzzy match by task name against existing task note filenames:

   find ~/Claude/ObsidianVault/"2. Projects"/*/*/Tasks/ -name "*.md" 2>/dev/null | grep -i "{keywords}"
   

3. Store the task note path (if found) for use in CLOSE/DEFER/CREATE operations below.

6a: Read Still Open Section

Read the ###### Still Open section from the bottom of the evening entry. Parse each checkbox item into a task with its area, project, description, and priority.

6b: Cross-Reference Still Open Against Reflection

For each Still Open task, scan the ## Evening and ## Reflection content for mentions or relevant context:

If the user says...	Triage action
"I did X" / "knocked out X" / "finished X"	CLOSE — task was completed
"don't need X anymore" / "X is enough" / "not doing X"	CLOSE — task is no longer relevant
"deferring X until Y" / "depends on Z decision" / "waiting on..."	DEFER — remove due date, add context
"still need to X" / "tomorrow I'll X"	KEEP — no change, or update due date to tomorrow
No mention of the task	KEEP — no change

6c: Detect New Actionable Items from Reflection

Scan the evening content for new actionable items not already in Still Open or Todoist:

If the user mentions...	Classification
Specific next action ("need to email X", "should research Y")	CREATE → due tomorrow
Multi-day effort ("want to start exploring Z")	INITIATIVE → @initiative, no due date
Vague reflection ("need to be better about...")	SKIP → stays in journal

6d: Dedup Against Existing Todoist Tasks

td task list --filter "search:{keyword}" --json

If a matching task exists, add a mention comment instead of duplicating.

6e: Present Unified Batch for Approval

Present all triage actions and new task proposals in one prompt:

Task triage from YYYY-MM-DD evening:

CLOSE (N — done or no longer needed):
├─ ✓ [[Health & Fitness|Health]] — Get a gym membership — you said "calisthenics is enough"
└─ ✓ [[{WorkArea}]] — Review tasks for Monday — you knocked out {Project} + {Project3} today

DEFER (N — waiting on a decision):
└─ ⏸ [[Personal]] — Go look at a car — depends on Bali decision, removing due date

CREATE (N new — due tomorrow):
└─ + [[Personal]] — Research Bali trip: flights, dates, costs, PTO → p3

INITIATIVE (N new):
└─ + [[{SideArea2}]] — Explore {Project} for work productivity → @initiative

KEEP (N — unchanged):
└─ → [[{WorkArea}]] / [[{Project}]] — Wire Linear → Todoist sync

SKIP (N — not actionable):
└─ "I wish I could meet more people" — evening reflection, stays in journal

Apply these? [Y/n/edit]

Wait for user confirmation before executing any actions.

6f: Execute Triage on Approval

# CLOSE — complete Todoist AND update task note
td task complete <task_id>

If a matching task note exists (from Finding Matching Task Notes above):

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file( filename="{task_note_path}", operation="replace", targetType="frontmatter", target="status", content="done" ) mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file( filename="{task_note_path}", operation="replace", targetType="frontmatter", target="done_date", content="{today}" )

# DEFER — remove Todoist due date AND set task note on-hold
td task update <task_id> --due ""

If a matching task note exists:

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file( filename="{task_note_path}", operation="replace", targetType="frontmatter", target="status", content="on-hold" ) mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file( filename="{task_note_path}", operation="replace", targetType="frontmatter", target="blocked_by", content="{reason from triage}" )

# CREATE — new task (due tomorrow)
td task add "Task description" \
  --project "ProjectName" \
  --labels "label1,label2" \
  --priority p3 \
  --due "tomorrow"

If task warrants a note (has due date, multi-session, p1/p2):

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__create_vault_file( filename="2. Projects/{Area}/{Project}/Tasks/{Task Name}.md", # OR "6. Main Notes/{Task Name}.md" for area-level tasks content="""--- date: {today} type: task status: todo area: {area} project: {slug} priority: {p_level} due_date: "{due_date}" scheduled_date: "" done_date: "" blocked_by: "" external_id: "Todoist: {task_name}" tags:

• task

---

{Task Name}

Project: [[{Project Hub}]]

{Context from evening reflection}

Dev Log

```base filters: and: - type == "devlog" - tasks == "[[{Task Name}]]" views:

• type: table name: Related Sessions order:
  • date
  • file.name
  • session_topic sort:
  • property: date direction: DESC ``` """ )

# INITIATIVE — new initiative (no due date)
td task add "Initiative description" \
  --project "ProjectName" \
  --labels "@initiative"

# KEEP — no Todoist action needed
# SKIP — no action

6g: Update Still Open Section

After triage, update the ###### Still Open section in the evening entry to reflect results:

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file(
    filename="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md",
    operation="replace",
    targetType="heading",
    target="Still Open",
    content="""{updated_still_open_items}
"""
)

Updated format:

• CLOSE items → - [x] [[Area]] / [[Project]] — description *(closed — reason)*
• DEFER items → - [ ] [[Area]] / [[Project]] — description *(deferred — reason)*
• KEEP items → - [ ] [[Area]] / [[Project]] — description *(p2)* (unchanged)
• CREATE items → added as new - [ ] lines (these are now in Todoist for tomorrow)

6h: Set Todoist Guard Flag

After task batch is presented (regardless of whether user creates or skips):

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file(
    filename="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md",
    operation="replace",
    targetType="frontmatter",
    target="todoist_tasks_created",
    content="true"
)

Step 7: Proactive Pattern Detection

After extraction, scan for patterns. This is what makes it proactive, not passive.

7a: Habit Streak Awareness

Read the last 7 days of evening entries to check habit frontmatter:

# Check recent evening entries
obsidian read path="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD-1.md"
obsidian read path="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD-2.md"
# ... up to 7 days back

Also check morning entries for the habit_* frontmatter fields — read whatever habit_* properties the morning entry carries; the schema is owned by the journal template (system-settings/Templates/Journal Entry Template.md), not this skill.

Report:

• Current streaks: "Meditation: 2 days, Workout: 4 days, Vitamins: 5 days"
• Broken streaks: "Workout streak ended today (was 5 days)"
• Nudges for unchecked evening habits: "Evening meditation unchecked — still time tonight?"

7b: Decision-Loop Detection

If the evening content contains language like "still figuring out", "need to decide", "keep going back and forth" about a topic, search for that topic in recent entries:

mcp__qmd__vector_search(query="<decision topic>", collection="vault")

If the same topic appears in 3+ recent entries, flag it:

• "You've mentioned [topic] in N of the last M entries. Consider scheduling a focused decision session or checking your Life Strategy Matrix."

7c: Habit Slip Awareness (Sensitive — No Shame)

If the user mentions slipping on a habit or breaking a streak in the evening content, respond with data, not judgment:

• "Day 0 reset on [habit]. Previous streak: N days."
• If enough data: "Pattern: slips tend to follow [social events / stressful work days / evenings without plans]."

Never use language like "failed", "fell off", "broke". Use "reset", "new start", "day 0".

7d: Tomorrow Readiness

Based on the morning calendar data (if available from today's /start-day context) + remaining tasks + user's stated intentions:

• "Tomorrow: N meetings, M tasks carry forward, you mentioned wanting to focus on [X]. Looks manageable."
• Or: "Tomorrow is packed — N meetings + M overdue tasks. Consider what you can defer."

Step 8: Write AI Summary to Evening Entry

Insert ## AI Summary section after the ## Reflection section (between user content and the --- separator before Still Open). AI Summary is post-processing output — it belongs after the raw content, not before it.

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file(
    filename="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md",
    operation="append",
    targetType="heading",
    target="Reflection",
    content="""
## AI Summary
**Summary**: [2-3 sentences]
**Mood**: [mood]

**What went well**: [from reflection]
**What could improve**: [from reflection]

**Grateful for**:
1. [item]
2. [item]
3. [item]

**People mentioned**: [[Person]]

**Patterns detected**:
- [pattern flags from Step 7 — decision loops, streak data, habit-slip awareness, tomorrow readiness]

"""
)

Re-processing (merge behavior): If re-processing, use replace on the existing AI Summary heading instead of append.

Step 9: Add Chain Link to Evening Entry

Add a forward link to tomorrow's morning. This goes between the AI Summary and the ###### Still Open section — prepend before the Still Open heading:

mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__patch_vault_file(
    filename="5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD.md",
    operation="prepend",
    targetType="heading",
    target="Still Open",
    content="""---
> **Next Morning**: [[5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Morning Entries/YYYY-MM-DD+1|Tomorrow's Morning]]

"""
)

Where YYYY-MM-DD+1 is tomorrow's date. Only add if not already present (check first).

Final Evening Entry Structure

After both /prep-evening and /process-evening run, the entry looks like:

(frontmatter)
## Evening Habits                     ← template
### Today's Accomplishments           ← /prep-evening
### Tomorrow Preview                  ← /prep-evening
### Wind Down                         ← /prep-evening
---
## Evening                            ← user fills (voice/typed)
## Reflection                         ← user fills
## AI Summary                         ← /process-evening
---
> Next Morning link                   ← /process-evening
###### Still Open                     ← /prep-evening creates, /process-evening updates

Step 10: Report Results

Display a summary followed by the execution report (per vault-config/references/source-manifest.md):

Evening processed for YYYY-MM-DD.

**Summary**: [2-3 sentences]
**Mood**: [mood]
**Habits**: N/M evening habits | Streaks: [workout Xd, meditation Xd, ...]
**Task triage**: N closed, N deferred, N kept | N new tasks created for tomorrow
**Patterns**: [any flags from Step 7]

Evening entry updated: [[5. Resources/Personal/Journal/Evening Entries/YYYY-MM-DD]]

---
### Execution Report
#### Sources
- [x] Obsidian CLI — evening entry read, N historical entries for streaks
- [x] Obsidian MCP — frontmatter updated, AI Summary written, Still Open updated
- [x] QMD Search — pattern detection, N entries scanned
- [x] Todoist — N tasks triaged (M closed, K deferred, J created)

#### Warnings
- [only if there are actual warnings]

#### Fix
- [only if there are failed sources with actionable fixes]

Only include Warnings and Fix sections if there are actual issues.

Edge Cases

Scenario	Handling
No evening entry for date	Report and stop — suggest running /prep-evening first
Already processed (AI Summary exists)	Warn and ask. On confirm: replace summary/mood, merge content
Evening section is empty	Report "No evening content to process" and stop
No reflection section	Extract from ## Evening only, note that reflection wasn't completed
No explicit gratitude	Write "⚠️ No gratitude entry tonight" — never fabricate
No actionable items and no Still Open	Skip triage — "No task changes"
Still Open section empty or missing	Skip triage of existing tasks, still propose new ones from reflection
Recent entries unavailable for streak calc	Report streaks based on available data, note gaps
Habit slip detected	Data only, no judgment. Report streak reset and pattern if available
Re-run with tasks already created	Skip Step 6 unless user requests re-creation

What This Skill Does NOT Do

• Does not modify raw content (## Evening, ## Reflection content stays untouched)
• Does not create tasks without approval (batch approval pattern)
• Does not process the morning journal (that's /process-journal)
• Does not show personal content on the daily hub
• Does not track streaks itself — reads historical frontmatter data to calculate
• Does not prep the evening page (that's /prep-evening)
• Does not create the evening entry if missing (that's /prep-evening)