Create Topic Skill

This skill creates a new topic file in the .notes/ directory with structured frontmatter and section headers.

Instructions for Claude

When this command is invoked with /ccn:create-topic $ARGUMENTS:

Step 1: Validate argument

If $ARGUMENTS is empty or not provided:

• Show error: "Error: Topic name required"
• Show usage: "Usage: /ccn:create-topic <topic-name>"
• STOP - do not continue

Step 2: Normalize topic name to filename

Take the provided topic name and transform it:

1. Replace all spaces with underscores
2. Replace all hyphens with underscores
3. Convert to UPPERCASE
4. Add .md extension

Examples:

• "api-design" → "API_DESIGN.md"
• "my topic" → "MY_TOPIC.md"
• "error_handling" → "ERROR_HANDLING.md"

Store the result as the filename.

Step 3: Check if file exists

Use the Read tool to check if .notes/{filename} already exists.

• If the file EXISTS:

  • Tell user: "Error: Topic already exists: .notes/{filename}"
  • Tell user: "Use /ccn:update-topic to add entries to this topic"
  • STOP - do not continue

• If the file DOES NOT exist:

  • Continue to next step

Step 4: Create .notes/ directory if needed

Use the Bash tool to ensure the directory exists:

mkdir -p .notes

Step 5: Generate frontmatter

Create YAML frontmatter with these fields:

1. description: "Knowledge and patterns for {original topic name}"

   • Use the original input, not the normalized filename
   • Example: input "api-design" → "Knowledge and patterns for api-design"

2. keywords: Generate array from normalized filename

   • Split filename (without .md) on underscores
   • Lowercase each part
   • Include the combined form (full filename without .md, lowercased)
   • Example: "API_DESIGN.md" → ["api", "design", "api_design"]

3. last_updated: Today's date in YYYY-MM-DD format

Step 6: Create file with template

Use the Write tool to create .notes/{filename} with this structure:

---
description: "Knowledge and patterns for {topic}"
keywords: [{keyword array}]
last_updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"
---

# {Topic Name}

## Overview

(Add overview content here)

## Key Concepts

(Document key concepts here)

## Patterns

(Capture recurring patterns here)

## Notes

(Add detailed notes here)

---

*Topic created: YYYY-MM-DD*

Important formatting notes:

• Use the original topic name (not normalized) for the H1 heading
• Use proper YAML array syntax for keywords
• Include the footer timestamp at the bottom

Step 7: Confirm completion

Tell the user: "Created: .notes/{filename}"

Error Handling

If any tool fails (mkdir, Read, Write):

• Show the error message
• Explain what went wrong
• Do NOT create partial files