Brain Dump Skill

Capture URLs, text, and images into a personal knowledge base stored as Markdown files in ~/.brain-dump/.

Commands

/brain-dump                    → List recent dumps
/brain-dump search <query>     → Search titles and content
/brain-dump learn              → Learn from smart selection (default: random)
/brain-dump learn random       → Learn from random dumps
/brain-dump learn today        → Learn from today's dumps
/brain-dump <url>              → Fetch, summarize, save URL
/brain-dump <image-path>       → Describe and save image
/brain-dump <text>             → Summarize (if long) and save text

Instructions

Step 1: Detect Input Type

Parse the arguments after /brain-dump:

1. No arguments → List mode
2. Starts with search → Search mode (query is everything after "search ")
3. Starts with learn → Learn mode (check for subcommand: random, today, or default to smart selection)
4. Starts with http:// or https:// → URL mode
5. File path ending in .png/.jpg/.jpeg/.gif/.webp/.svg (and file exists) → Image mode
6. Anything else → Text mode

Step 2: Get Home Directory and Ensure Directory Exists

First, get the home directory path and create directories if needed:

echo $HOME && mkdir -p ~/.brain-dump/assets

IMPORTANT: For all Glob, Read, and Write operations, use the full expanded path (e.g., /Users/username/.brain-dump/) not ~. The ~ only works in Bash commands.

Step 3: Process Based on Mode

LIST MODE (no arguments)

1. First, get the home directory using Bash: echo $HOME
   • This returns the full path like /Users/relferreira
2. Use Glob with:
   • pattern: *.md
   • path: The home directory + /.brain-dump (e.g., /Users/relferreira/.brain-dump)
   • NEVER use ~ in path - it won't expand. Always use the full path from step 1.
3. For each file found (up to 10 most recent):
   • Read the frontmatter to extract date, tags, type
   • Extract the title (first # heading)
4. Display a formatted list:

   Recent dumps:
   
   1. [2024-01-28] Article Title (url) #tag1 #tag2
   2. [2024-01-27] Quick Note (text) #notes
   ...
   

5. If no files found, say: "No dumps yet. Use /brain-dump <url>, /brain-dump <text>, or /brain-dump <image-path> to get started."

SEARCH MODE (starts with "search ")

1. Extract the query (everything after "search ")
2. Get the home directory using Bash: echo $HOME
3. Use Grep to search for the query:
   • pattern: the search query (case insensitive with -i: true)
   • path: The home directory + /.brain-dump (e.g., /Users/relferreira/.brain-dump)
   • glob: *.md
   • output_mode: files_with_matches
4. For each matching file:
   • Read the file to extract title, date, tags, and type from frontmatter
   • Show a snippet of the matching content (the line with the match)
5. Display results:

   Search results for "query":
   
   1. [2024-01-28] Article Title (url) #tag1 #tag2
      ...matching text snippet...
   
   2. [2024-01-27] Another Article (note) #notes
      ...matching text snippet...
   

6. If no matches found, say: "No dumps found matching 'query'."

LEARN MODE (starts with "learn")

Learn mode teaches you content from your dumps and then quizzes you.

Step 1: Parse subcommand

• learn or learn random → Smart/random selection
• learn today → Today's dumps only

Step 2: Get home directory and load history

echo $HOME

Then read $HOME/.brain-dump/learn-history.json if it exists.

Step 3: Select dumps based on mode

For today:

• Get all dumps where frontmatter date matches today's date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• If no dumps today, say: "No dumps from today. Try /brain-dump learn random instead."

For random (default - smart selection):

• Get all dump files using Glob
• Select 3-5 dumps using this priority:
  1. 2 new dumps - files never seen in learn history
  2. 1 weak dump - file with lowest score ratio from history (if any)
  3. 1-2 random dumps - any files for reinforcement
• If fewer than 3 total dumps exist, use all of them

Step 4: Teach Phase

1. Read all selected dump files
2. Generate a cohesive lesson that:
   • Introduces the topics covered
   • Highlights key concepts from each dump
   • Makes connections between related ideas
3. Present the lesson:

   📚 Today's Lesson (3 dumps)
   
   You've been learning about [topics]...
   
   Key concepts:
   • [Concept 1 from dump 1]
   • [Concept 2 from dump 2]
   • [Concept 3 from dump 3]
   
   [2-3 paragraphs synthesizing the content]
   

Step 5: Quiz Phase

1. Generate 3-5 questions based on the lesson content
2. Mix question types:
   • Multiple choice (3-4 options)
   • True/False
3. Ask questions one at a time using the AskUserQuestion tool:
   • Use header as the question number (e.g., "Q1 of 4")
   • Use question for the full question text
   • Use options for the answer choices (2-4 options)
   • The tool automatically includes an "Other" option, which serves as a free-form answer
   • Example:

     {
       "questions": [{
         "question": "What is the main benefit of [concept]?",
         "header": "Q1 of 4",
         "options": [
           { "label": "Option 1", "description": "Explanation of option 1" },
           { "label": "Option 2", "description": "Explanation of option 2" },
           { "label": "Option 3", "description": "Explanation of option 3" },
           { "label": "Option 4", "description": "Explanation of option 4" }
         ],
         "multiSelect": false
       }]
     }
     

4. After the user selects an answer, respond with correct/incorrect and a brief explanation
5. Continue to the next question

Step 6: Results and Save History

1. Calculate score
2. Display results:

   📊 Results: 4/5 correct (80%)
   
   ✓ Question 1 - Correct
   ✓ Question 2 - Correct
   ✗ Question 3 - Incorrect (review: thinking-in-react.md)
   ✓ Question 4 - Correct
   ✓ Question 5 - Correct
   
   Great job! Consider reviewing the dumps you missed.
   

3. Save session to history file

History File Format: ~/.brain-dump/learn-history.json

{
  "sessions": [
    {
      "date": "2024-01-28T10:30:00Z",
      "mode": "random",
      "dumps": [
        {
          "file": "thinking-in-react.md",
          "correct": 2,
          "total": 2
        },
        {
          "file": "hooks-note.md",
          "correct": 1,
          "total": 2
        }
      ],
      "score": 4,
      "total": 5
    }
  ]
}

Smart Selection Algorithm: When selecting dumps for random mode:

1. Parse history to calculate per-file stats:
   • timesStudied: how many sessions included this file
   • correctRatio: total correct / total questions for this file
2. Categorize files:
   • New: timesStudied === 0
   • Weak: correctRatio < 0.7 and timesStudied > 0
   • Strong: correctRatio >= 0.7
3. Select in order:
   • Pick up to 2 from New (random)
   • Pick 1 from Weak (lowest ratio first)
   • Fill remaining (up to 5 total) from Strong or any available

URL MODE (starts with http:// or https://)

1. Fetch content using WebFetch with prompt:

   Extract the main content of this page. Provide:
   1. A clear, descriptive title (not the site name)
   2. A 2-4 sentence summary of the key points
   3. 2-3 relevant tags as a comma-separated list (lowercase, single words)
   
   Format your response as:
   TITLE: [title]
   SUMMARY: [summary]
   TAGS: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   

2. Parse the response to extract title, summary, and tags

3. Generate filename:

   • Take the title
   • Convert to lowercase
   • Replace spaces and special chars with hyphens
   • Remove consecutive hyphens
   • Truncate to 50 characters max
   • Add .md extension
   • If file exists, append date: filename-20240128.md
   • If still exists, append counter: filename-20240128-2.md

4. Create markdown file:

   ---
   date: YYYY-MM-DD
   source: [original URL]
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   type: url
   ---
   
   # [Title]
   
   [Summary]
   
   ---
   Source: [original URL]
   

5. Write file to ~/.brain-dump/[filename].md

6. Confirm to user:

   Saved: [title]
   File: ~/.brain-dump/[filename].md
   Tags: #tag1 #tag2 #tag3
   

Error handling: If WebFetch fails, offer to save as a simple bookmark:

---
date: YYYY-MM-DD
source: [URL]
tags: [bookmark]
type: bookmark
---

# Bookmark: [URL domain]

URL saved for later review.

---
Source: [URL]

IMAGE MODE (image file path)

1. Validate file exists using Bash test -f

2. Generate unique asset filename:

   • Use format: YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS-[original-filename]
   • Copy to ~/.brain-dump/assets/

3. Read and describe image using the Read tool (which handles images)

4. Generate content based on the image:

   • Create a descriptive title
   • Write a 2-4 sentence description
   • Extract 2-3 relevant tags

5. Generate markdown filename from the description (same rules as URL mode)

6. Create markdown file:

   ---
   date: YYYY-MM-DD
   source: [original file path]
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   type: image
   ---
   
   # [Descriptive Title]
   
   ![image](assets/[asset-filename])
   
   [Description of the image]
   
   ---
   Original: [original file path]
   

7. Write file and confirm to user

Error handling: If file doesn't exist, ask user to verify the path.

TEXT MODE (anything else)

1. Analyze the text:

   • If less than 500 characters: save as-is, generate title and tags
   • If 500+ characters: generate a 2-4 sentence summary

2. Generate title:

   • If text has a clear subject, use it
   • Otherwise, extract key phrase or use first few words

3. Generate 2-3 tags relevant to the content

4. Generate filename (same rules as URL mode)

5. Create markdown file:

   For short text (< 500 chars):

   ---
   date: YYYY-MM-DD
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   type: note
   ---
   
   # [Title]
   
   [Original text]
   

   For long text (>= 500 chars):

   ---
   date: YYYY-MM-DD
   tags: [tag1, tag2, tag3]
   type: note
   ---
   
   # [Title]
   
   [Summary]
   
   ---
   
   ## Original Content
   
   [Full original text]
   

6. Write file and confirm to user

Filename Generation Helper

To generate a valid filename:

1. Take the source string (title, description, or first words)
2. Convert to lowercase
3. Replace any character that isn't a-z, 0-9, or hyphen with a hyphen
4. Replace multiple consecutive hyphens with a single hyphen
5. Remove leading/trailing hyphens
6. Truncate to 50 characters (don't cut mid-word if possible)
7. Check if file exists in ~/.brain-dump/:
   • If yes, append today's date: name-20240128.md
   • If that exists too, append counter: name-20240128-2.md, name-20240128-3.md, etc.

Response Format

Always be concise. After successful save:

Saved: [title]
File: ~/.brain-dump/[filename].md
Tags: #tag1 #tag2 #tag3

For list mode, show a clean formatted list. For errors, be helpful and suggest fixes.