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/inbox - Process Captures and Route
Runtime ~5 minutes
Reads 00_Inbox/ folder, capture.md, theme context files
Writes Processed files to theme folders, tasks to tasks.md
Model Claude Code

What It Does

Processes everything that landed in your inbox - transcripts, voice captures, PDFs, quick notes - and routes each item to the right theme folder with tasks extracted.

Why It Matters

Capture is easy. Processing is where most systems break down. You record a meeting, dump a voice note, forward an email, save a PDF. A week later you have 30 unprocessed files and zero institutional memory.

/inbox is the bridge between capture and knowledge. Drop things in, they get processed, routed, and turned into searchable, actionable content. Run it end of day and nothing slips through.

How It Works

graph TD
    A[Inbox scan<br/><small>files, transcripts,<br/>captures</small>] --> B{File type?}
    B -->|Transcript| C[Create TWO files<br/><small>raw + processed<br/>summary</small>]
    B -->|PDF/Email| D[Extract + summarise<br/><small>route to theme</small>]
    B -->|Quick capture| E[Parse task<br/><small>infer theme,<br/>extract date/people</small>]
    C --> F[Extract tasks<br/><small>decisions, actions,<br/>waiting items</small>]
    D --> F
    E --> F
    F --> G[Route to tasks.md<br/><small>themed, dated,<br/>tagged</small>]

    style A fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style B fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style C fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style D fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style E fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style F fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3
    style G fill:#161b22,stroke:#5eead4,color:#e6edf3

Two Processing Streams

New files in 00_Inbox/:

  • Transcripts get TWO files: raw transcript preserved, processed summary with decisions and actions extracted
  • PDFs and emails get summarised and routed to the relevant theme folder
  • Audio processing artifacts archived to system logs

Quick captures in capture.md:

  • Parsed for task content, people, dates, blocking info
  • Theme inferred from people names (strongest signal) and topic keywords
  • Routed to tasks.md under the right section and theme heading

Theme Routing

The system infers themes from content:

  • People names are the strongest signal - mentions of specific stakeholders map to their theme
  • Topic keywords are secondary - domain-specific terms help disambiguate
  • When uncertain, it asks - "Is this for Project A or Project B?"
  • Default fallback - personal tasks go to #personal

Task Extraction

Tasks extracted from processed content get:

  • Theme tag (#project-a, #personal)
  • Due date (parsed from "tomorrow", "next Friday", "Jan 20")
  • Waiting tag if someone is blocking (@waiting(Name))
  • Context tag if location-dependent (@context(Home))
  • Section routing: urgent items to In Progress, blocked items to Waiting, default to Next Up

Automation

The inbox can run autonomously via the always-on daemon:

  • Hourly heartbeat checks for new files
  • Small files auto-processed, large files (>5000 words) flagged for manual review
  • Processed files tracked in a manifest to prevent double-processing