Knowledge Capture

Transforms conversations, discussions, and insights into structured documentation within your Obsidian vault. Captures knowledge from chat context, formats it appropriately, and saves it with proper organization, tags, and links.

Quick Start

When asked to save information to Obsidian:

1. Extract content: Identify key information from conversation
2. Determine content type: Classify knowledge (concept, how-to, decision, FAQ, etc.)
3. Structure information: Apply appropriate template and frontmatter
4. Choose location: Determine optimal folder and organization
5. Create note: Generate markdown file with structured content
6. Make discoverable: Add tags, links, and MOC entries

Knowledge Capture Workflow

Step 1: Identify content to capture

From conversation context, extract:

• Key concepts and definitions
• Decisions made and rationale
• How-to information and procedures
• Important insights or learnings
• Q&A pairs and explanations
• Examples and use cases
• Best practices and patterns

Step 2: Determine content type

Classify the knowledge for appropriate structuring:

Concept/Definition: Explaining what something is How-To Guide: Step-by-step instructions Decision Record: Important decisions and context FAQ Entry: Common questions and answers Meeting Summary: Meeting notes and outcomes Learning/Post-Mortem: Lessons from experience Reference Documentation: Technical or factual reference Pattern: Reusable solution or approach

See reference/content-types.md for detailed templates.

Step 3: Structure the content

Apply appropriate template based on content type:

Frontmatter structure:

---
type: [concept|how-to|decision|faq|meeting|learning|reference|pattern]
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags:
  - knowledge
  - TOPIC
  - DOMAIN
status: draft|published|archived
related:
  - "[[related-note-1]]"
  - "[[related-note-2]]"
---

Content structure: Use section headings, bullet points, examples, and links as appropriate for the content type.

See reference/content-types.md for complete templates.

Step 4: Choose vault location

Determine where to save based on content and context:

General knowledge base:

vault/
└── knowledge/
    ├── concepts/
    ├── how-to/
    ├── decisions/
    └── reference/

Project-specific knowledge:

vault/
└── projects/
    └── project-name/
        └── docs/

Team wiki structure:

vault/
└── team/
    ├── onboarding/
    ├── processes/
    └── decisions/

Domain-organized:

vault/
└── domains/
    ├── engineering/
    ├── product/
    └── design/

Step 5: Create the note

# Create note file
touch /path/to/vault/knowledge/how-to/topic-name.md

Write structured content using template:

• Clear, searchable title
• Complete frontmatter with metadata
• Well-organized sections with headings
• Examples and context where helpful
• Links to related notes
• Tags for discoverability

Step 6: Make content discoverable

Add to MOC (Map of Content):

# Knowledge Base MOC

## How-To Guides
- [[how-to/deploy-to-production]]
- [[how-to/debug-performance-issues]]
- [[how-to/write-technical-specs]]  ← New entry

Link from related notes: Update notes that reference this topic to link to the new note.

Use consistent tags:

• Domain tags: #engineering, #product, #design
• Type tags: #how-to, #concept, #decision
• Topic tags: #deployment, #database, #api

Create backlinks: Reference related concepts within the note to generate natural backlinks.

Content Type Templates

Concept Note

---
type: concept
tags: [concept, DOMAIN]
---

# Concept: [Name]

## Overview
Brief definition and purpose.

## Definition
Detailed explanation of what this is.

## Key Characteristics
- Characteristic 1
- Characteristic 2

## Examples
Concrete examples demonstrating the concept.

## When to Use
Situations where this concept applies.

## Related Concepts
- [[related-concept-1]]
- [[related-concept-2]]

How-To Guide

---
type: how-to
tags: [how-to, DOMAIN]
difficulty: beginner|intermediate|advanced
estimated-time: X minutes
---

# How to [Task]

## Overview
What you'll learn and why it matters.

## Prerequisites
- Requirement 1
- Requirement 2

## Steps

### Step 1: [Action]
Detailed instructions with code examples if needed.

### Step 2: [Action]
Continue with clear, actionable steps.

## Verification
How to confirm it worked.

## Troubleshooting
Common issues and solutions.

## Related Guides
- [[related-guide-1]]
- [[related-guide-2]]

Decision Record

---
type: decision
tags: [decision, DOMAIN]
date: YYYY-MM-DD
status: proposed|accepted|rejected|deprecated
deciders: [[person-1]], [[person-2]]
---

# Decision: [Title]

## Context
What situation led to this decision?

## Decision
What was decided?

## Rationale
Why was this the best choice?

## Options Considered

### Option 1: [Name]
- Pros:
- Cons:

### Option 2: [Name]
- Pros:
- Cons:

## Consequences
What are the implications?

## Implementation
How to implement this decision.

## Related Decisions
- [[previous-decision]]
- [[related-decision]]

See reference/content-types.md for all templates.

Extraction Patterns

From Chat Discussion

Extract:

• Key points and conclusions
• Important resources and links
• Action items
• Q&A exchanges
• Decisions made

From Problem-Solving

Capture:

• Problem statement
• Approaches tried
• Solution that worked
• Why it worked
• Future considerations

From Knowledge Sharing

Document:

• Concept explained
• Examples provided
• Best practices mentioned
• Common pitfalls warned about
• Resources referenced

Formatting Best Practices

Headings: Use # for title, ## for sections, ### for subsections

Lists: Use - for unordered, 1. for ordered, - [ ] for task lists

Links: Use [[note-name]] for internal, [text](url) for external

Code: Use code for inline, ```language for blocks

Emphasis: *italic* for emphasis, **bold** for strong emphasis

Callouts: Use Obsidian callouts for important information:

> [!note]
> Additional context or information

> [!warning]
> Important caution or warning

> [!tip]
> Helpful tip or best practice

Tagging Strategy

Domain tags: #engineering, #product, #design, #ops

Type tags: #concept, #how-to, #decision, #reference

Topic tags: #api, #database, #deployment, #testing

Status tags: #draft, #published, #needs-review

Audience tags: #beginner, #advanced, #team-specific

Linking Strategy

Bidirectional links: Link related concepts in both directions

Hierarchical structure: Link to parent concepts and child details

Related topics: Link to complementary information

Examples: Link to real-world examples or case studies

Sources: Link to original sources or references

MOC (Map of Content) Integration

Create and maintain MOC notes for major topics:

# Engineering Knowledge MOC

## Concepts
- [[concepts/microservices-architecture]]
- [[concepts/event-driven-design]]

## How-To Guides
- [[how-to/deploy-to-production]]
- [[how-to/rollback-deployment]]

## Decisions
- [[decisions/choose-database-system]]
- [[decisions/api-versioning-strategy]]

## Patterns
- [[patterns/retry-with-backoff]]
- [[patterns/circuit-breaker]]

## Reference
- [[reference/api-conventions]]
- [[reference/coding-standards]]

Update Management

Create new note when:

• Content is substantive (>3 paragraphs)
• Will be referenced multiple times
• Part of knowledge base
• Needs independent discovery

Update existing note when:

• Adding to existing topic
• Correcting information
• Expanding on concept
• Updating for changes

Version tracking:

## Revision History

### 2025-10-20
- Added new section on advanced techniques
- Updated examples for v2 API

### 2025-09-15
- Initial creation

Dataview Queries

Recent knowledge captures:

TABLE created, type, tags
FROM "knowledge"
WHERE type != null
SORT created DESC
LIMIT 10

How-to guides by topic:

LIST
FROM "knowledge"
WHERE type = "how-to"
GROUP BY file.folder
SORT file.name

Decisions by status:

TABLE date, deciders, status
FROM "knowledge"
WHERE type = "decision"
SORT date DESC

Best Practices

1. Capture promptly: Document while context is fresh
2. Structure consistently: Use templates for similar content
3. Link extensively: Connect related knowledge
4. Write for discovery: Use clear titles and tags
5. Include context: Why this matters, when to use
6. Add examples: Concrete examples aid understanding
7. Maintain: Review and update periodically
8. Make it scannable: Use headings, lists, callouts

Common Issues

"Not sure where to save": Default to general knowledge base, can reorganize later

"Content is fragmentary": Group related fragments into cohesive note

"Already exists": Search first using tags or content, update existing if found

"Too informal": Clean up language while preserving insights

"Missing context": Add background section explaining why this matters

Scripts

scripts/create_note.py: Generate note from template scripts/add_to_moc.py: Automatically add note to relevant MOC scripts/tag_suggestion.py: Suggest tags based on content scripts/find_related.py: Find related notes for linking

Examples

See examples/ for complete workflows:

• examples/conversation-to-how-to.md
• examples/decision-capture.md
• examples/concept-extraction.md