vault-note
Standardizes Obsidian note creation with required frontmatter and taxonomic tagging.
Install
mkdir -p .claude/skills/vault-note && curl -L -o skill.zip "https://agentskills.codes/api/skills/download/11783" && unzip -o skill.zip -d .claude/skills/vault-note && rm skill.zipInstalls to .claude/skills/vault-note
Activation
This is the description your AI agent reads to decide when to run this skill — the better it matches your request, the more reliably it fires.
Create Obsidian vault notes with correct frontmatter, taxonomy, and formatting conventionsKey capabilities
- →Create Obsidian vault notes with correct YAML frontmatter
- →Apply approved tags from a defined taxonomy to notes
- →Enforce directory placement based on content type
- →Include a numbered Table of Contents for notes with four or more sections
- →Find linking candidates using the Obsidian CLI
- →Check for orphans and verify placement using the Obsidian CLI
How it works
The skill creates Obsidian notes by applying predefined frontmatter, selecting tags from a taxonomy, and placing the note in the correct directory. It also enforces formatting conventions like TOCs and wiki-links.
Inputs & outputs
When to use vault-note
- →Creating structured research notes
- →Organizing project documentation in Obsidian
- →Applying standard frontmatter to new notes
About this skill
Vault Note
Create notes for Kyle's Obsidian vault following all established conventions.
Frontmatter
Every note must include:
---
date: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
- <tag>
status: active | archive
aliases: []
---
dateis the creation or last-major-edit datetagsmust include at least one from the taxonomystatusisactivefor current notes,archivefor completed/retiredaliasescan be empty[]but the field must exist
Tag Taxonomy
Use only these tags: ai, tools, business, marketing, career, finance, strategy, plan, architecture, review, playbook, research, delightful, github, braze, rosetta, clipping, briefing, meta, audit
If a note doesn't fit cleanly, use the closest match. Don't invent new tags.
Placement Rules
| Content type | Location |
|---|---|
Formal research — /research output or Kyle-authored | Research/<Month YYYY>/ |
Research-adjacent deliverables staging (not from /research) | Claude/Findings/<Month YYYY>/ |
| Active project work | Projects/<project-name>/ |
| Clippings, PDFs, external material | References/ |
| Topic synthesis pages (wiki) | Wiki/ |
| Completed/retired notes | Archive/ (set status: archive) |
Table of Contents
Notes with 4 or more ## sections must include a numbered TOC after the frontmatter using [[#Section]] wiki-links. Do NOT put numbers in section headers — numbering belongs in the TOC list only.
Pre-Write Vault Check (CLI)
Before writing a note, use the Obsidian CLI to improve placement and linking (requires Obsidian running — skip if unavailable):
- Find linking candidates —
obsidian search query="<topic keywords>" limit=10to discover notes worth wiki-linking - Check for orphans —
obsidian backlinks file="<similar note>"to see what links into related content and mirror those patterns - Verify placement —
obsidian files folder="<target folder>"to confirm the destination folder exists and see sibling notes
Fall back to Glob/Grep if the CLI is unavailable.
- Wiki relevance — If the note is tagged
research, checkWiki/for a topic page that should link to this note. Flag it for the user if a wiki update seems warranted. Do not auto-edit wiki pages from vault-note — that's the research skill's job or a manual session.
Formatting Conventions
- Monolithic notes. Notes are long-form and heavily cross-referenced. Don't atomize.
- Wiki-links are organic. Use
[[note name]]and[[note name#section]]inline where contextually relevant. No forced## Relatedappendix sections. - Obsidian callouts. Use
[!note],[!tip],[!warning],[!danger],[!info],[!success],[!question],[!quote]sparingly — 1–3 per note max. - Footnotes for sources. Prefer footnotes over inline URLs when a sentence references a source.[^1] Inline URLs are fine in lists or when the link IS the content.
- No inline
#tagsin runner/automated output. Inline tags are welcome in conversational notes. - Block quotes from previous outputs. When continuing or contradicting a previous note, pull it in with a wiki-linked block quote:
From [[AI Briefing — 2026-02-27#News]]: Content from that note...
- No loose files in vault root. Everything has a home.
When not to use it
- →When the user wants to invent new tags not in the taxonomy
- →When the user wants to put loose files in the vault root
- →When the user wants to auto-edit wiki pages from vault-note
Limitations
- →Tags must be from the approved taxonomy
- →Notes with 4 or more `##` sections must include a numbered TOC
- →No loose files in vault root
How it compares
This skill automates the creation of structured Obsidian notes by enforcing specific frontmatter, tagging, and placement rules, ensuring consistency across the vault compared to manual note creation.
Compared to similar skills
vault-note side by side with the closest alternatives in the catalog.
| Skill | Installs | Updated | Safety | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vault-note (this skill) | 0 | 4mo | No flags | Intermediate |
| scratch-pad | 1 | 5mo | Review | Beginner |
| vault-org | 0 | 2mo | Review | Beginner |
| thought-recording | 0 | 4mo | No flags | Intermediate |
Try saying
Example prompts that trigger this skill in your AI assistant.
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