Text-to-Note Converter

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Target: $ARGUMENTS

Parse immediately:

• If target contains just a note name or path: convert text → note
• If target requests another conversion form, explain that only text → note is currently implemented
• If target is empty: ask which note to convert

Supported conversions

text → note (current)

The primary conversion. Adds frontmatter to a raw text file, making it structured and connectable.

Step 1: Locate and verify

Resolve the target to a file path. If just a name, search kb/notes/ recursively.

Read the file. Verify it has no frontmatter (does not start with ---). If it already has frontmatter, report that it's already structured and stop.

Step 2: Understand the content

Read the full file. Identify:

• The core topic (what is this about?) — needed for writing the description
• Whether the current filename matches the # Title heading (see Step 3a)

Step 3: Generate frontmatter

Add YAML frontmatter at the top of the file:

---
description: [50-200 chars, adds mechanism/scope/implication beyond the title]
type: kb/types/note.md
traits: []
tags: []
---

Rules:

• Do not add user-verified — conversion structures the note but cannot grant human attestation.
• description must add information beyond the title. See note base type for quality criteria.
• traits is always [] — trait assignment is semantic work, done later by the cp-skill-validate skill or human review.
• tags is always [] — tag assignment is semantic work, done later by the cp-skill-connect skill or human review.
• Do NOT modify the body content. Conversion adds structure, not editorial changes.

Step 3a: Rename the file

After adding frontmatter, check whether the filename matches the # Title heading.

The filename should match the title — whether the title itself is good is a semantic question for the cp-skill-validate skill.

Decide whether to rename:

• If the current filename is already a good slug of the # Title — keep it
• If the filename diverges from the title (e.g. file is connect-pipeline-features.md but the title is # Connect pipeline should detect reciprocal links) — rename it to match

To rename:

1. Derive the new filename from the # Title heading. Slugify: lowercase, hyphens for spaces, strip punctuation, .md extension.
2. Check for backlinks to the old path:

   rg -l 'old-filename\.md' kb/
   

   Copy
3. If backlinks exist, update them all to point to the new filename (preserve the same relative path structure — only the filename changes, not the directory).
4. Rename the file:

   git mv old-path/old-filename.md old-path/new-filename.md
   

   Copy

Rules:

• The file stays in its current directory. Rename only, no move.
• If the title heading changed during frontmatter addition (it shouldn't — see "Do NOT modify body content"), use the original title.

Step 4: Report

=== CONVERTED: filename.md ===

text → note (unverified)

renamed: old-filename.md → new-filename.md  [or "filename unchanged" if no rename]
backlinks updated: 3 files  [or "none" if no backlinks]

description: [the description you wrote]
tags: []

Next steps:
- Run the `cp-skill-connect` skill on `new-filename.md` — find connections
- Run the `cp-skill-validate` skill on `new-filename.md` — check quality
- Optionally ask the user to verify the artifact after review; only the human may add `user-verified: true`
===

Future conversions (not yet implemented)

These are documented as directions, not working features. If a user requests one, explain it's not implemented yet.

• note → structured-claim: add Evidence/Reasoning/Caveats sections and set the collection-local structured-claim type
• note → spec: add Design/Implementation sections
• note → review: add Findings section, date
• note → adr: add Context/Decision/Consequences sections
• any → text: strip frontmatter, demote to raw capture (for notes that didn't work out)

Critical Constraints

Never:

• Add user-verified — that requires explicit human attestation after review
• Modify body content — only add/change frontmatter
• Convert a text file that already has frontmatter (it's not a text file)
• Write a description that merely restates the title
• Move a file to a different directory — rename only changes the filename within its current directory
• Install software — if a required tool is missing, bail with an error

Always:

• Leave user-verified absent for text → note conversions
• Write a description that adds mechanism, scope, or implication
• Rename the file to match the # Title heading (unless it already does)
• Fix all backlinks when renaming
• Use git mv for renames so git tracks the history
• Report what was done so the user can review