Zettelkasten note tool

Create, manage, and operate a Zettelkasten slip-box note system using the zk.py CLI script. Use this skill whenever a user wants to build or use a Zettelkasten note system, manage atomic notes, create fleeting/literature/permanent notes, link notes together, find orphaned notes, generate Maps of Content, or search/browse a note vault. Trigger on phrases like "zettelkasten", "slip box notes", "atomic notes", "permanent notes", "znote", "zk notes", "note vault", "create a note", "link my notes", "find orphaned notes", "map of content", or "manage my notes with zk".

znote: Zettelkasten CLI Note Manager

A single-file Python CLI tool (zk.py) implementing the full Zettelkasten method as described in the Desktop Commander / Obsidian Practical Setup Guide. No dependencies beyond Python 3.8+ stdlib. Creates and manages a local markdown vault compatible with Obsidian.

Inputs

• Python 3.8+ (no pip installs needed)
• Optional: ZK_VAULT environment variable to set vault location (default: ~/Zettelkasten)
• Optional: EDITOR environment variable for note editing (default: nano)

Vault Structure

~/Zettelkasten/
  00-Inbox/        ← fleeting notes (quick captures)
  10-Literature/   ← one note per source, in your own words
  20-Permanent/    ← atomic notes, one idea, fully linked
  30-MOC/          ← Maps of Content (navigation layers)
  40-Templates/    ← markdown templates for each type

Workflow

Step 1: Deliver the script

Copy zk.py to /mnt/user-data/outputs/zk.py and present it to the user via present_files. Also deliver README.md.

Step 2: User installs

chmod +x zk.py
cp zk.py ~/.local/bin/zk        # optional: make globally available
export ZK_VAULT=~/Zettelkasten  # add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc

Step 3: Initialise vault

python3 zk.py init
# Creates all 5 folders + 4 markdown templates

Step 4: Daily workflow

Capture (fleeting note, no friction):

zk new fleeting

Process inbox weekly (flags notes older than 7 days):

zk inbox

Write permanent notes (one atomic idea per note):

zk new permanent "Claim written as a full sentence"

Link notes — edit the ## Connections section and add [[note-stem]] links.

Promote fleeting → permanent:

zk promote "fragment of title"

Generate Map of Content when a topic has 8+ notes:

zk moc "Topic Name"

Step 5: Maintenance commands

zk links                    # find orphaned notes (no links in/out)
zk links "note title"       # show forward + backlinks for one note
zk graph                    # ASCII link graph of entire vault
zk stats                    # counts, top tags, orphan count
zk search "query"           # full-text search with highlights
zk list --folder permanent  # list notes in a specific folder
zk list --tag psychology    # filter by tag

Output

• zk.py — single-file Python CLI, ~400 lines, no dependencies
• README.md — full usage guide with workflow and tips
• A local markdown vault fully compatible with Obsidian

Note Types & Templates

Type	Folder	Filename pattern	Template fields
Fleeting	00-Inbox/	{timestamp}.md	created, status
Literature	10-Literature/	{date}-{slug}.md	created, status, source, author, tags
Permanent	20-Permanent/	{date}-{slug}.md	created, status, tags, source, Connections, Source
MOC	30-MOC/	MOC-{slug}.md	created, status, tags, linked notes

Key Method Rules (from the guide)

• One idea per permanent note — if a second idea appears, create a new note and link
• Titles are claims, not topics: "Attention is a finite resource" not "Attention"
• Link from day one — every permanent note needs at least one [[link]]
• Tags supplement links — use broad tags (#psychology), not fine-grained ones
• MOCs emerge late — only create when navigation actually becomes difficult
• Inbox rule — fleeting notes must be processed within 7 days

Notes / Edge Cases

• The script uses [[double-bracket]] wiki-link syntax identical to Obsidian — vaults are fully interoperable
• Link targets are matched by filename stem (case-insensitive)
• zk graph marks missing link targets with ⇢? in red
• --no-edit flag on new, promote, moc skips opening the editor (useful for scripting)
• ZK_VAULT env var overrides --vault flag and default path
• The zk promote command fuzzy-matches on filename and note body content
• Templates folder is excluded from stats/orphan counts automatically