Personal Knowledge Base

Help users build a personal knowledge base by organizing whatever they send into structured notes.

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