tldr-skill

Manage conversation summaries (tldrs) in the Obsidian vault. Each tldr captures decisions, key things to remember, and next actions.

Vault root: Determined from the current working directory or the project's CLAUDE.md context. All paths below are relative to the vault root. Always resolve to absolute paths when reading or writing files.

Operations

Command	Operation	Description
`/tldr`	Create	Summarize session → prompt for project → save
`/tldr read {project}`	Read	Show latest tldr for a project
`/tldr update {project}`	Update	Append to or revise existing tldr
`/tldr delete {project}`	Delete	Remove a tldr (with confirmation)

File Naming

01 - Projects/{project-name}/YYYY-MM-DD-HH-mm-{project-name}-tldr.md

Example: 01 - Projects/vault-setup-skill/2026-03-19-12-03-vault-setup-skill-tldr.md

Create (default operation)

This is the primary operation when /tldr is invoked with no arguments.

Step 1 — Identify Project

Ask the user:

Which project is this for?

Suggest: {inferred project name from conversation context}

Use the conversation topic to suggest a project name. The user confirms or provides a different name. Kebab-case the name for the filename.

Step 2 — Summarize

Extract from the conversation:

What was done — concrete actions taken, files changed
What was decided — design choices, trade-offs, rationale
Key things to remember — gotchas, patterns, non-obvious details
Next actions — if any remain

Step 3 — Save

Write to 01 - Projects/{project-name}/YYYY-MM-DD-HH-mm-{project-name}-tldr.md using current time.

If the project subfolder doesn't exist, create it.

Template:

---
created: YYYY-MM-DDTHH:mm
tags:
  - project/{project-name}
  - tldr
status: complete
---

# YYYY-MM-DD — {Project Name}

## What Was Done
[concrete actions, files changed]

## Decisions
[design choices with rationale]

## Key Things to Remember
[gotchas, patterns, non-obvious details]

## Next Actions
- [ ] [action items, if any]
- None — work is complete

Step 4 — Update Memory

Read memory.md at the vault root. Append any new:

Session log entry (one line: date + project + what happened)
Preferences discovered during the session

Do NOT duplicate existing entries.

Read

/tldr read {project-name}

Search 01 - Projects/{project-name}/ for files matching *-{project-name}-tldr.md. Show the most recent one (by filename timestamp). If multiple exist, list them and ask which to show.

Update

/tldr update {project-name}

Find the most recent tldr for the project. Read it. Ask the user what to add or change. Edit the file — append new sections or revise existing ones. Update the updated frontmatter field.

Delete

/tldr delete {project-name}

Find tldrs matching the project name. List them with dates. Ask for confirmation before deleting:

Delete 01 - Projects/vault-setup-skill/2026-03-19-12-03-vault-setup-skill-tldr.md? This cannot be undone.

Only delete after explicit "yes" or "delete it" confirmation.

Folder Routing

The default destination is 01 - Projects/{project-name}/. However, route differently when the conversation topic clearly fits another folder:

Topic	Destination	Example
Project work (default)	`01 - Projects/{project-name}/`	Most sessions
Client-specific work	`02 - Areas/{client-name}/`	Work for a specific client
Research / evaluation	`03 - Resources/`	Tool evals, investigations
General / no project	`06 - Daily/`	Quick chats, no clear project

When routing to a non-projects folder, the filename pattern stays the same: YYYY-MM-DD-HH-mm-{topic}-tldr.md

Troubleshooting

Problem	Cause	Fix
Project folder doesn't exist	First tldr for this project	Create the folder automatically before writing the file
`memory.md` not found at vault root	File hasn't been created yet	Create it with a header: `# Memory` and append the session log entry
Multiple tldrs for same date	Several sessions in one day	Each gets a unique timestamp in the filename — no conflict
Can't determine vault root	Skill invoked outside a vault context	Ask the user for the vault path, or check CLAUDE.md for vault location

Edge Cases

No conversation context: If the session was too short or trivial, ask the user what to capture rather than generating an empty tldr
Project name ambiguity: If the user says a name that matches multiple folders, list the matches and ask which one
Delete confirmation skipped: Never delete without explicit confirmation — if the user says anything other than "yes" or "delete it", abort

Platform Notes

This skill works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. Use forward slashes for vault paths — Obsidian normalizes paths across platforms.

Gotchas

Timestamp filename collisions within the same minute: YYYY-MM-DD-HH-mm- resolution means two tldrs created within 60 seconds overwrite each other. Append -ss seconds or check existence before write when iterating fast.
/tldr with no arg infers project from "conversation context" — often wrong: The model's inferred name may be the last topic discussed, not the actual project. Always confirm the suggested name with the user before writing — wrong inference creates orphan folders.
memory.md append is unbounded and grows without rotation: Years of session logs end up in a single file. Periodically archive to memory/YYYY-archive.md or the file becomes a slow-to-read wall of text.
Kebab-case project name conflicts with existing folders: vault-setup-skill and vault setup skill both kebab to the same path. Existing folder is silently reused — confusing if the user meant a new project with similar wording.
Routing table fires on topic keyword match, not user intent: A session that mentions "research" gets routed to 03 - Resources/ even when it was actual project work. Confirm destination folder before writing, especially for ambiguous topics.
/tldr delete matches by glob *-{project}-tldr.md: A project named api matches payment-api-tldr.md and internal-api-tldr.md. List all matches explicitly before any confirmation; never bulk-delete on partial name matches.