How to work in a Plain Notes project (the `plain-notes` starter pack): a flat notes/ folder plus a daily/ journal. The 'I just want to write' layout. Read when the project has these folders, OR when asked to jot a note, capture a quick thought, or write today's journal entry. Carries the linking habit and daily-entry behavior so templates and folder descriptions stay minimal. Complements the platform `open-knowledge` skill; does not replace it.
SkillScore91Maintained
Automatic
◆Knowledge Management pack
Last verified 8/11/2026
What it changes
Passed 19 of 21 test cases with the skill, and 11 of 21 without it.
Without skill50%
With skill91%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The YAML frontmatter includes mood.
The YAML frontmatter includes top3.
The YAML frontmatter includes gratitude.
and 12 more in the full report
9 fixed11 passed either way2 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+41 pp
Tokens
-21%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-41%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 8/11/2026v220 of 22 cases passed with skill · 21 comparable
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 8 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 8
Prompt
Draft the header block for my daily entry for November 12, 2026. I want to limit my focused priorities for the day to my primary items.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The frontmatter key top3 is used for priorities.
Missed
Passed
case-13 · gemini-3.6-flash · 8/11/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
SKILL.md20 linessingle file
Plain Notes pack — how to work here
The lightest pack: no posture imposed, just write and link.
This skill is pack guidance. The platform /open-knowledge skill (read/write/preview/linking/grounding rules) still governs every markdown operation — this layers the notes habit on top.
Folders
notes/ — one file per topic, flat. Promote a note into a more structured layout later if you outgrow this.
daily/ — one journal entry per day (YYYY-MM-DD.md): morning intentions, capture through the day, evening reflection.
Agent behaviors
Link liberally. The value of this pack is the graph that emerges from links — when a note or entry mentions something worth its own page, link it (stub the page if it doesn't exist yet). OK's link graph builds itself from those edges.
Daily entries: on the first entry of a day, link to yesterday's entry (its own dated file, e.g. 2026-07-08.md) and pre-fill the date, so the linear journal is also a navigable graph.
The mood, top3, and gratitude frontmatter fields on daily entries let you look back across days; fill them when journaling.
Templates
note and daily carry only structure; write freely.
Records an architecture decision as a Nygard/MADR-shaped ADR under decisions/ — capturing the context that forced the choice, the options weighed, the decision itself, and its consequences in both directions, plus the supersedes chain that keeps a decision log honest. Read when asked to record an architecture decision, write an ADR, log the decision we made, document why we chose X over Y, capture this decision for the record, or supersede an old decision with a new one. Do NOT read to frame a p