name: inbox-triage description: Process raw Todoist inbox items into a structured knowledge system using GTD (actions → Todoist) and PARA (reference → Obsidian). Use when batch-processing inbox captures, triaging voice notes and links, filing raw ideas into Obsidian with MOC suggestions, or running an inbox-to-knowledge-system pipeline. Handles enrichment (URL fetching, voice interpretation), clustering related items, generating Obsidian reference notes, filing Todoist actions, and producing a triage report. Self-improving via prompt-self-improvement protocol.
Inbox Triage
Process a batch of raw Todoist inbox items and produce: a triage report (audit trail), Obsidian reference notes (semi-atomic, linked), and Todoist action items (filed to projects).
Step 0: Load Context
- Read references/scenarios.md for correction patterns and domain-specific guidance
- Load recent triage sessions (prioritize ones with corrections)
- Check
~/ws/notes/.claude/rules/coach-patterns.mdfor learned filing patterns - Adapt approach based on what you see — don't apply rules mechanically
Step 1: Project Check-In
Present the current active projects list and ask if anything has changed:
Current active projects: [list from para-index system IDs] Have any projects changed, been completed, or been added since last triage?
Wait for confirmation before proceeding. Use the para-index skill's references/system-ids.md for current project/area/resource IDs across Todoist, Notion, and Obsidian.
Step 2: Ingest & Classify
2a. Enrich
- URL/link items: Fetch the page, summarize in 2-3 sentences (what it is, why relevant). For GitHub repos: one sentence on what it does, note stars/last-commit/activity, flag if relevant to active project. Don't summarize the README.
- Voice captures (informal language, stream-of-consciousness): Interpret intent. Voice captures using modal/conditional language (could, might, what if, idea for) are ideation — classify as Reference or Project Seed. Imperative language (tell, send, make, build) with a specific target signals Action.
- Ambiguous items: Flag for clarification rather than guessing.
2b. Classify into exactly one category
| Category | Definition | Destination |
|---|---|---|
| Action | Clear next physical action. Imperative + specific target. | Todoist → matching active project |
| Reference | Information, tool, framework, or idea worth keeping. Not actionable now. | Obsidian → Resources or relevant Area |
| Project Seed | Could become a project. Needs incubation. | Obsidian → Resources/Project Seeds + flag in report |
| Clarify | Can't determine intent without more context. | Hold → list in report with best guess + question |
2c. Cluster Related Items
Before filing, scan ALL items for clusters — items about the same topic, tool, or idea:
- Multiple links about the same tool → one reference note
- Several voice notes about the same concept → synthesize into one note
- An action and a reference about the same project → link them
Cluster by problem domain and use case, not by source. Multiple tools solving the same problem = one note.
Step 3: Generate Outputs
Obsidian Reference Notes
For each reference item or cluster, create a semi-atomic note. See references/examples.md for the full template.
Key rules:
- Tags:
[source-type, topic-tags] - Include original inbox text verbatim in Source Links section
- If 3+ notes cluster under one topic → suggest a MOC (Map of Content)
- MOC naming: use conceptual theme, not tool name ("Agent Orchestration Frameworks" not "Claude Code Links")
- Filing:
Resources/[Topic Area]/orAreas/[Area Name]/— check~/ws/notes/vault structure. See_agent/Idea-Places.mdfor routing heuristics.
Todoist Actions
For each action item:
- Task title: Clear next action, starts with a verb
- Project: Which active project (or Inbox if none match). When an item references a person, use their known project association as the primary signal over keywords.
- Context/label if obvious (@computer, @call, @waiting-for)
- Link to any related Obsidian note:
📎 See also: [[Note Title]]
Triage Report
Master document per session. See references/examples.md for the full template. Includes: projects confirmed, summary stats, actions filed table, reference notes table, clusters identified, items needing clarification, MOC suggestions.
Processing Principles
- Bias toward reference over action. "I should look into this someday" = reference note, not a task.
- Preserve original context. Always include original inbox text verbatim somewhere.
- Don't over-organize. No clear cluster → standalone note is fine.
- Surface implicit project relevance. Reference clearly related to active project → note the connection, still file as reference unless there's a clear action.
- 80% confidence threshold. Above 80% → proceed but flag reasoning. Below 80% → Clarify.
- Primary project default. Items matching the user's primary project domain associate with it unless they clearly belong elsewhere.
- Dynamic taxonomy. Suggest new categories/MOCs when items reveal patterns without a home. But keep it minimal.
Session Folder Structure
triage/
{date}-{uuid}/
input.json # Raw Todoist items
triage-report.md # The output
notes/ # Generated Obsidian notes
corrections.md # User corrections (post-review)
Self-Improvement
This prompt is self-improving. After review, follow the prompt-self-improvement skill. Domain-specific correction examples are in references/scenarios.md.
Related Skills
- para-index — System IDs for Todoist/Notion/Obsidian PARA structure
- todoist — CLI operations for Todoist (
tdcommands) - idea-capture — Real-time single-idea capture to Obsidian (this skill does batch processing)
- prompt-self-improvement — General protocol for improving this prompt from corrections
- coach — Daily startup/shutdown may surface items for triage