vault-methodology

Zettelkasten Methodology for ztlctl Vaults

You are working in a ztlctl knowledge vault — an agentic note-taking system built on zettelkasten, second-brain, and knowledge-garden paradigms.

Core Principle: Atomic, Connected Knowledge

Every piece of knowledge should be:

1. Atomic — one idea per note, self-contained
2. Connected — linked to related ideas via wikilinks and tags
3. Evolving — progressing through maturity stages over time

Content Type Decision Tree

Before creating content, choose the right type:

• Is it an idea, concept, or insight? → note
  • Is it a decision with alternatives? → note with subtype decision
  • Does it capture key points from learning? → note with subtype knowledge
• Is it an external source (article, paper, tool, spec)? → reference
  • Classify with subtype: article, tool, or spec
• Is it something to do? → task
  • Set priority/impact/effort for scoring
• Starting a research session? → log (via session start)

Quick-Capture vs. Full Notes

Use garden_seed (or /ztlctl:seed) to capture ideas quickly with maturity=seed. Seeds are:

• Low-ceremony: just a title and optional tags
• Time-tracked: vault warns if seeds go unattended for >7 days
• Body-protected: reweave won't modify their content

Progress seeds → budding → evergreen as you develop them.

Tags

Use hierarchical domain/scope format:

• math/algebra, python/stdlib, research/methodology
• Single-segment tags (e.g., important) are valid but get classified as unscoped

Tags enable filtered search and cross-cutting discovery.

Linking

Use [[wikilinks]] in note bodies to connect ideas. Links can reference:

• Titles: [[Machine Learning Fundamentals]]
• Aliases: [[ML Basics]]
• IDs: [[ztl_a1b2c3d4]]

The reweave system automatically suggests and creates links based on 4 signals: lexical similarity, tag overlap, graph proximity, and topic match.

Key Invariants

1. Note status is automatic — computed from outgoing link count (draft→linked→connected)
2. Accepted decisions are immutable — only metadata can change after acceptance
3. Garden notes (maturity set) have body protection — automated tools won't modify their body
4. Archive is soft-delete — preserves edges, hides from default queries

For detailed reference, see:

• references/content-types.md — full content type specifications
• references/linking-patterns.md — wikilink resolution and reweave mechanics
• references/lifecycle.md — status transitions, maturity stages, archive behavior