Learn-skills.dev note-taker

Creates and manages structured notes from templates. Use when the user wants to take, add, or write meeting notes, interview notes, 1:1 notes, or any template-based notes.

install

source · Clone the upstream repo

git clone https://github.com/NeverSight/learn-skills.dev

Claude Code · Install into ~/.claude/skills/

T=$(mktemp -d) && git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/NeverSight/learn-skills.dev "$T" && mkdir -p ~/.claude/skills && cp -r "$T/data/skills-md/acron0/skills/note-taker" ~/.claude/skills/neversight-learn-skills-dev-note-taker && rm -rf "$T"

manifest: data/skills-md/acron0/skills/note-taker/SKILL.md

source content

<objective> Create structured notes by selecting a template, copying it to the appropriate directory, and entering a note-taking mode where each subsequent user message is appended context-aware to the active note file. Any `.md` file in the templates directory is a valid note type. Configuration is persisted in `~/.claude/preferences.json` so setup only happens once. </objective>

<quick_start>

Determine note type from user request (or ask)
Load config from
```
~/.claude/preferences.json
```
(or run first-time setup)
Copy matching template to target directory as
```
YYYY-MM-DD-topic-slug.md
```
Fill in template fields (date, topic, attendees, etc.)
Enter note-taking mode: each user message is appended to the file </quick_start>

<process> <step name="determine-note-type"> **Determine note type**

Infer the note type from the user's request (e.g., "take meeting notes" → meeting, "interview notes for Jane" → interview).

If the type is not obvious, ask using AskUserQuestion with available template types as options. If templates haven't been discovered yet, offer common defaults: Meeting, Interview, 1:1. </step>

<step name="load-config"> **Load configuration from preferences.json**

Read

~/.claude/preferences.json

using the Read tool. Look for these keys:

{
  "notesDir": "~/notes",
  "notesTemplates": "~/notes/Work/Templates",
  "notesMeetingDir": "~/notes/Work/Meetings",
  "notesInterviewDir": "~/notes/Work/Interviews",
  "notes1on1Dir": "~/notes/Work/1on1s"
}

notesDir

is missing: Ask the user for their base notes directory.

notesTemplates

is missing: Search for common template locations within

notesDir

```
{notesDir}/Templates
```
```
{notesDir}/templates
```
```
{notesDir}/Work/Templates
```

If found, use it. Otherwise ask the user.

If the per-type output dir is missing (e.g.,

notesMeetingDir

): Explore the directory tree under

notesDir

for folders whose names match the note type (e.g.,

Meetings

meetings

1on1s

). If a likely match exists, use it. If ambiguous or not found, ask the user.

Save all discovered/provided values back to preferences.json:

python3 -c "
import json, os
path = os.path.expanduser('~/.claude/preferences.json')
try:
    with open(path) as f: data = json.load(f)
except (FileNotFoundError, json.JSONDecodeError): data = {}
data['KEY'] = 'VALUE'
with open(path, 'w') as f: json.dump(data, f, indent=2)
"

Ensure all directories exist with

mkdir -p

. </step>

<step name="discover-templates"> **Discover available templates**

List

.md

files in the templates directory. Each filename (without

.md

) is a valid note type. Map each to its output directory using the preference key convention:

notes{PascalCase}Dir

If the requested note type has no matching template, show available types and let the user choose. </step>

<step name="create-note"> **Create the note file**

If topic/title not already provided, ask the user (e.g., "Q1 Planning", "Jane Doe - Senior Engineer")
Generate filename:
```
YYYY-MM-DD-topic-in-kebab-case.md
```
Copy the template to the target directory with the generated filename
Fill in any template placeholders with known values:
- Date fields → today's date
- Title/Topic → provided topic
- Attendees, role, candidate → from context if available
Read the created file back to confirm structure </step>

<step name="note-taking-mode"> **Enter note-taking mode**

Tell the user note-taking mode is active and that each message will be added to the note. Then:

Each user message is content to append to the active note file
Use the Edit tool to append content
Format context-aware based on the template structure:
- If the template has bullet-point sections → append as bullet points under the appropriate section
- If there are distinct sections (Discussion, Action Items, Decisions) → route content to the matching section based on keywords
- If the user prefixes with a section name → place in that section
- Default: append to the main notes/content section
If the user says "done", "finish", "close", or "end notes" → exit note-taking mode, confirm the final file path

Be quiet during note-taking. Just append and confirm briefly (e.g., "Added." or "Added to Action Items."). Do not narrate what you are doing. </step>

</process>

<configuration_reference> All keys in

~/.claude/preferences.json

Key	Description	Example
`notesDir`	Base notes directory	`~/notes`
`notesTemplates`	Templates directory	`~/notes/Work/Templates`
`notes{Type}Dir`	Output dir per note type	`~/notes/Work/Meetings`

The

{Type}

is PascalCase derived from the template filename:

```
meeting.md
```
→
```
notesMeetingDir
```
```
interview.md
```
→
```
notesInterviewDir
```
```
1on1.md
```
→
```
notes1on1Dir
```
```
standup.md
```
→
```
notesStandupDir
```
</configuration_reference>

<examples> <example number="1"> <scenario>First-time use - taking meeting notes</scenario> <interaction> **User:** Take meeting notes

Claude: Reads ~/.claude/preferences.json - no notes config found Claude (AskUserQuestion): Where do you keep your notes? Options: ~/notes, ~/Documents/Notes, Other User: ~/notes

Claude: Finds ~/notes/Templates with meeting.md, interview.md, 1on1.md Saves notesDir and notesTemplates to preferences.json Claude (AskUserQuestion): Where should meeting notes be saved? Options: ~/notes/Meetings, ~/notes/Work/Meetings, Other User: ~/notes/Work/Meetings

Claude: Saves notesMeetingDir, creates directory if needed Claude: What's the topic or title for this meeting? User: Q1 Planning

Claude: Copies meeting.md template to ~/notes/Work/Meetings/2026-02-12-q1-planning.md Fills in date and title Note created:

2026-02-12-q1-planning.md

Note-taking mode active. Each message will be added to the note. Say "done" when finished.

User: Discussed roadmap priorities for Q1 Claude: Added.

User: Action item: Sarah to draft the proposal by Friday Claude: Added to Action Items.

User: done Claude: Notes saved to ~/notes/Work/Meetings/2026-02-12-q1-planning.md </interaction> </example>

<example number="2"> <scenario>Returning user - interview notes (all config already saved)</scenario> <interaction> **User:** Interview notes for Jane Doe, Senior Engineer

Claude: Reads preferences.json - all config present Copies interview.md template to ~/notes/Work/Interviews/2026-02-12-jane-doe-senior-engineer.md Fills in date, candidate name, role Note created:

2026-02-12-jane-doe-senior-engineer.md

Note-taking mode active.

User: Strong system design skills, explained distributed caching clearly Claude: Added.

User: Struggled with concurrency question on mutex vs semaphore Claude: Added.

User: Decision: move to next round Claude: Added to Decision.

User: done Claude: Notes saved to ~/notes/Work/Interviews/2026-02-12-jane-doe-senior-engineer.md </interaction> </example>

<example number="3"> <scenario>New template type auto-discovered</scenario> <interaction> **User:** Take standup notes

Claude: Scans templates dir, finds standup.md - new type No notesStandupDir in preferences Claude (AskUserQuestion): Where should standup notes be saved? Options: ~/notes/Work/Standups, ~/notes/Standups, Other User: ~/notes/Work/Standups

Claude: Saves notesStandupDir, creates dir, copies template Note created:

2026-02-12-standup.md

Note-taking mode active. </interaction> </example>

</examples>

<success_criteria>

Note type correctly identified from request or asked when ambiguous
All config loaded from preferences.json without redundant questions on repeat use
Template correctly copied and populated with known field values
File named as
```
YYYY-MM-DD-topic-slug.md
```
in the correct directory
Note-taking mode: messages appended context-aware to appropriate sections
Clean exit on "done" / "finish" / "close" / "end notes" </success_criteria>