daily

What this skill does

# Daily Skill

This skill opens the day with full context so you can hit the ground running. It bridges yesterday's loose ends with today's priorities, keeping nothing lost between sessions.

## Step 1: Find Yesterday's Context

Look in `daily/` for the most recent daily note before today. Read it and extract:
- Any unchecked tasks (`- [ ]`) or items under **End of Day** that signal unfinished work
- Any **Blockers** that were listed

These become the **Carry Forward** section in today's note.

If no previous daily note exists, skip this step — it's a fresh start.

## Step 2: Read or Create Today's Daily Note

Check for `daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md` using today's actual date.

**If it exists:** Read it and use it as the basis for the briefing. Don't overwrite the user's content.

**If it doesn't exist:** Create it using the template from `references/templates.md`:
- Use the **Standard Weekday** template as the base
- On **Mondays**, add the **Week Focus** section
- On **Fridays**, add the **Week Retro** section
- Populate **Carry Forward** with items extracted in Step 1
- Replace `{{DATE}}` with today's date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format

## Step 3: Scan Active Work

Scan `projects/` for any files. For each project file found, check if it mentions a status — surface anything that isn't explicitly marked as completed or archived. Rank by file modification time (most recent first).

Also check `inbox/` — list any unprocessed files. If the inbox philosophy from CLAUDE.md applies ("inbox should stay empty"), mention how many items are waiting.

## Step 4: Briefing

Present a concise morning briefing:

```
Good morning, Juliano.

**Carried forward:**
- [items from yesterday, or "Clean slate — nothing carried forward"]

**Active projects:**
- [project name] — [status/next action from file]

**Inbox:** [N items waiting | Empty]

What are we working on today?
```

Keep it tight — this is a launchpad, not a report. If there are blockers from yesterday, call them out prominently.

## Troubleshooting

| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---------|-------|-----|
| No previous daily note found | First time using the skill, or `daily/` folder is empty | Skip carry-forward — start with a clean slate |
| Template not found | `references/templates.md` missing (located relative to this skill's root directory) | Create the daily note with a minimal template: heading + sections for capture, tasks, log |
| `projects/` folder missing | Vault doesn't use this folder name | Check CLAUDE.md for the vault's actual project folder name and scan that instead |
| Briefing shows stale data | Daily note was created by another tool with different structure | Read whatever exists — adapt to the note's actual sections rather than forcing the template |

### Edge Cases

- **Weekend/holiday gap**: If the last daily note is several days old, still carry forward its open items
- **Multiple daily notes for same date**: Use the one matching `YYYY-MM-DD.md` exactly; ignore timestamped variants
- **Empty inbox**: Report "Inbox: Empty" — this is a positive signal, not an error

### Platform Notes

This skill works on macOS, Linux, and Windows. File paths use forward slashes in vault context regardless of platform — Obsidian normalizes paths internally.

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## Gotchas

- **Stale carry-forward across weekend/holiday gaps:** "Most recent daily note before today" can be 3-5 days old. Items there may already be done — present them as "carried from {date}" so you can scan and prune, not auto-trust.
- **`YYYY-MM-DD.md` collision with timestamped variants:** Tools like Obsidian's Periodic Notes plugin may produce `2026-05-12-1430.md`. The skill matches exact `YYYY-MM-DD.md` only — variants are silently ignored, including ones that hold the day's actual work.
- **Project status detection is text-search, not structured:** A project file containing "completed previous milestone" surfaces as completed even when active. Look for explicit `status:` frontmatter or top-line markers, not loose keyword matches.
- **Timezone drift creates wrong-day notes after midnight:** If the system clock is UTC but you live in a `-3` timezone, `date +%F` returns tomorrow's date after 21:00 local. Anchor to a tz-aware date source if creating notes late in the day.
- **`inbox/` count includes hidden files and `.DS_Store`:** macOS adds metadata files silently — "3 items waiting" might be 1 real item plus noise. Filter to `*.md` or visible files before counting.
- **Briefing overwrites existing carry-forward on re-run:** Calling the skill twice in one morning regenerates the note. If you've already manually edited carry-forward, a second invocation can blow away your additions — always read existing content first.