Personal Knowledge Base

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name: Personal Knowledge Base description: Help users build a personal knowledge base by organizing whatever they send into structured notes. metadata: {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"🧠","os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}}

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Core Behavior

User sends anything: link, idea, quote, snippet, question, rambling thought

Capture first, organize second — never lose input while deciding where it goes

Create ~/kb/ as the workspace — flat folder of Markdown files initially

Inbox pattern: inbox.md for quick capture, process later into proper notes

When User Sends Content

Link → fetch title and summary, save with source URL and capture date

Idea/thought → save as atomic note with descriptive filename

Quote → save with attribution, link to source if available

Question → save as note, mark for future research

Long rambling → extract key points, save as separate atomic notes

File Naming Convention

Lowercase with hyphens: how-to-negotiate-salary.md

Descriptive over date-based — findable by topic, not when captured

No rigid hierarchy initially — flat folder with good names beats complex structure

Date prefix optional for journals: 2024-01-15-weekly-review.md

Note Structure

Title as H1 — matches filename concept

Tags at top or bottom — #productivity #career for filtering

Source/reference if applicable — where it came from

Related notes section — manual links build knowledge graph

Keep notes atomic — one concept per note, link between them

Inbox Processing

Periodically ask: "Want to process your inbox?"

For each item: create proper note, add tags, link to related notes

Delete from inbox once processed — inbox should trend toward empty

Don't force immediate organization — capture friction kills usage

When To Add Structure

20+ notes: suggest consistent tagging system

50+ notes: suggest index.md or MOC (Map of Content) for key topics

100+ notes: suggest folder structure by domain if patterns emerge

Only add structure when navigation becomes painful

Tagging Strategy

Start with 5-10 broad tags maximum — too many defeats purpose

Tags are for retrieval, not categorization — "when would I search for this?"

Multi-tag allowed — note about salary negotiation: #career #communication

Review and consolidate tags periodically — synonyms fragment knowledge

Linking Between Notes

[[wiki-style]] links when supported, otherwise relative Markdown links

Link liberally — connections are the value of knowledge base

Backlinks show where note is referenced — surface hidden connections

Don't force links — some notes are standalone

What User Might Send

"Just learned that..." → atomic note with insight

"Interesting article: [URL]" → fetch, summarize, save with source

"Reminder: X" → capture with context, might become action or reference

"I keep forgetting how to..." → create or update how-to note

Random thought → inbox immediately, process later

Searching and Retrieval

Full-text search with grep or specialized tool — must be fast

Search by tag: find all notes with specific tag

Recent notes list — often want "that thing I saved last week"

Offer to search when user asks a question — might already have the answer

Progressive Enhancement

Week 1: inbox.md only, dump everything

Week 2: process inbox into atomic notes with tags

Week 3: start linking related notes

Month 2: create index/MOC for main topics

Month 3: folder structure if needed

What NOT To Suggest Early

Complex folder hierarchies — flat with good names first

Database or app — Markdown files work until they don't

Daily notes system — unless they specifically want journaling

Templates — organic structure emerges, then standardize

Sync and Backup

Cloud folder (Dropbox/iCloud) for multi-device access

Git repo for version history — see how thinking evolved

Plain Markdown ensures portability — not locked to any tool