Is capture

Capture

Capture is the agreement moment: conversation becomes shared state.

Do not make the user or agent choose between Write, is_write, git add, and is_commit at the top level. The intent is capture. This skill chooses the mechanism.

Canonical protocols: read ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/capture.md and ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/reference/writing.md when the task needs the full capture and writing standards.

When to Propose

• Decision made. "We're going with X because Y." Highest-value capture — prevents relitigating.
• Understanding shifted. Something got articulated that wasn't clear before.
• Research produced a finding. Took effort to produce, would take effort to reproduce.
• Pattern emerged. Same thing surfaced three times — the common thread is worth naming.
• Context that saves time. Next session would need this to be productive.

Don't propose when it's already in code/git, is a temporary task detail, is a personal preference, or the conversation is still forming.

Mechanism Choice

Situation	Use
New or updated knowledge Note	is_write — creates frontmatter, stages, tracks, and returns sha
Purpose / Now / Note-style markdown refinement	is_write with a safe-update sha
Existing spec/doc/README/agent contract edit	native Edit / Write, then is_commit with explicit paths
File move/delete	native Bash (git mv, rm), then is_commit with explicit paths
User asks to share/push after capture	is-push / is_push

is_write is a capture primitive, not the outer intent. Use it when the target is a Note that should carry Layer 1 frontmatter (name, summary) and optional Layer 2 fields (tags, attached_to). Use native edits for README/spec/docs and _agent/ primitives that are not Note-style files; still end at the same capture boundary with is_commit unless the user explicitly wants local draft state.

How

Brief. Don't interrupt flow.

"That decision about [X] is worth capturing. Want me to write it to the space?"

If yes:

1. Search first with Glob / Grep to avoid duplicates; Read the target area for context.
2. Choose the mechanism:
   • Note capture or Note-style refinement → is_write.
   • Existing README/doc/spec/contract refinement → native Edit / Write.
   • Moves/deletes → Bash (git mv, rm).
3. For is_write refinements, use safe updates:
   • first update to an existing file: is_status({ path }) → use its sha as if_match
   • refinement of a file just written: use the previous is_write response's sha
   • force: true only after re-reading and reconciling divergent content
4. Show what changed when useful. The user confirms the capture boundary.
5. Commit with is_commit({ message, all: true }) for paths captured by this session's is_write calls, or explicit paths for native edits. all never adopts other staged knowledge.
6. Optionally use is-push / is_push to share it (or is-pull first to get the latest).

If the user says no, drop it and don't re-ask.

Reaching the tools

Prefer the plugin's is_* MCP tools for frontmatter-aware Note writes and the explicit commit boundary. Use native tools for ordinary docs/specs, moves, and deletes, then commit those exact paths with is_commit. If an is_* tool isn't in your palette, load it with ToolSearch — e.g. select:mcp__plugin_ideaspaces_core__is_write (same for is_commit, is_status, is_push, is_pull).

Commit message

Use the space's commit convention when present (for example _agent/skills/commit.md). It defines the message shape; don't restate it here.

Rhythm

One or two captures per meaningful session. Not every session produces one.

After meaningful captures, check: does Now still match? → is-reflect