msd-core/gsd-core/workflows/note.md

Zero-friction idea capture. One Write call, one confirmation line. No questions, no prompts.

Text mode (workflow.text_mode: true in config or --text flag): Set TEXT_MODE=true if --text is present in $ARGUMENTS OR text_mode from init JSON is true. When TEXT_MODE is active, replace every AskUserQuestion call with a plain-text numbered list and ask the user to type their choice number. This is required for non-Claude runtimes (OpenAI Codex, Gemini CLI, etc.) where AskUserQuestion is not available. Runs inline — no Task, no AskUserQuestion, no Bash.

<required_reading> Read all files referenced by the invoking prompt's execution_context before starting. </required_reading>

**Note storage format.**

Notes are stored as individual markdown files:

• Project scope: .planning/notes/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{slug}.md — used when .planning/ exists in cwd
• Global scope: ~/.claude/notes/{YYYY-MM-DD}-{slug}.md — fallback when no .planning/, or when --global flag is present

Each note file:

---
date: "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm"
promoted: false
---

{note text verbatim}

--global flag: Strip --global from anywhere in $ARGUMENTS before parsing. When present, force global scope regardless of whether .planning/ exists.

Important: Do NOT create .planning/ if it doesn't exist. Fall back to global scope silently.

**Parse subcommand from $ARGUMENTS (after stripping --global).**

Condition	Subcommand
Arguments are exactly list (case-insensitive)	list
Arguments are exactly promote <N> where N is a number	promote
Arguments are empty (no text at all)	list
Anything else	append (the text IS the note)

Critical: list is only a subcommand when it's the ENTIRE argument. /gsd-note list of groceries saves a note with text "list of groceries". Same for promote — only a subcommand when followed by exactly one number.

**Subcommand: append — create a timestamped note file.**

1. Determine scope (project or global) per storage format above
2. Ensure the notes directory exists (.planning/notes/ or ~/.claude/notes/)
3. Generate slug: first ~4 meaningful words of the note text, lowercase, hyphen-separated (strip articles/prepositions from the start)
4. Generate filename: {YYYY-MM-DD}-{slug}.md
   • If a file with that name already exists, append -2, -3, etc.
5. Write the file with frontmatter and note text (see storage format)
6. Confirm with exactly one line: Noted ({scope}): {note text}
   • Where {scope} is "project" or "global"

Constraints:

• Never modify the note text — capture verbatim, including typos
• Never ask questions — just write and confirm
• Timestamp format: Use local time, YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm (24-hour, no seconds)

**Subcommand: list — show notes from both scopes.**

1. Glob .planning/notes/*.md (if directory exists) — project notes
2. Glob ~/.claude/notes/*.md (if directory exists) — global notes
3. For each file, read frontmatter to get date and promoted status
4. Exclude files where promoted: true from active counts (but still show them, dimmed)
5. Sort by date, number all active entries sequentially starting at 1
6. If total active entries > 20, show only the last 10 with a note about how many were omitted

Display format:

Notes:

Project (.planning/notes/):
  1. [2026-02-08 14:32] refactor the hook system to support async validators
  2. [promoted] [2026-02-08 14:40] add rate limiting to the API endpoints
  3. [2026-02-08 15:10] consider adding a --dry-run flag to build

Global (~/.claude/notes/):
  4. [2026-02-08 10:00] cross-project idea about shared config

{count} active note(s). Use `/gsd-note promote <N>` to convert to a todo.

If a scope has no directory or no entries, show: (no notes)

**Subcommand: promote — convert a note into a todo.**

1. Run the list logic to build the numbered index (both scopes)
2. Find entry N from the numbered list
3. If N is invalid or refers to an already-promoted note, tell the user and stop
4. Requires .planning/ directory — if it doesn't exist, warn: "Todos require a GSD project. Run /gsd:new-project to initialize one."
5. Ensure .planning/todos/pending/ directory exists
6. Generate todo ID: {NNN}-{slug} where NNN is the next sequential number (scan both .planning/todos/pending/ and .planning/todos/completed/ for the highest existing number, increment by 1, zero-pad to 3 digits) and slug is the first ~4 meaningful words of the note text
7. Extract the note text from the source file (body after frontmatter)
8. Create .planning/todos/pending/{id}.md:

---
title: "{note text}"
status: pending
priority: P2
source: "promoted from /gsd-note"
created: {YYYY-MM-DD}
theme: general
---

## Goal

{note text}

## Context

Promoted from quick note captured on {original date}.

## Acceptance Criteria

- [ ] {primary criterion derived from note text}

9. Mark the source note file as promoted: update its frontmatter to promoted: true
10. Confirm: Promoted note {N} to todo {id}: {note text}

<edge_cases>

1. "list" as note text: /gsd-note list of things saves note "list of things" (subcommand only when list is the entire arg)
2. No .planning/: Falls back to global ~/.claude/notes/ — works in any directory
3. Promote without project: Warns that todos require .planning/, suggests /gsd:new-project
4. Large files: list shows last 10 when >20 active entries
5. Duplicate slugs: Append -2, -3 etc. to filename if slug already used on same date
6. --global position: Stripped from anywhere — --global my idea and my idea --global both save "my idea" globally
7. Promote already-promoted: Tell user "Note {N} is already promoted" and stop
8. Empty note text after stripping flags: Treat as list subcommand </edge_cases>

<success_criteria>

• Append: Note file written with correct frontmatter and verbatim text
• Append: No questions asked — instant capture
• List: Both scopes shown with sequential numbering
• List: Promoted notes shown but dimmed
• Promote: Todo created with correct format
• Promote: Source note marked as promoted
• Global fallback: Works when no .planning/ exists </success_criteria>