Conversation Distill#

The biggest waste of a conversation isn't that nothing was saved — it's that valuable insights are buried in the process and never revisited.

This skill closes every meaningful conversation with one explicit action: classify → confirm → write.

When to Use#

The core problem this solves: real-time capture ≠ session-level distillation.

Real-time capture handles individual highlights as they appear. This skill is the closing ritual — a full scan of the entire conversation to see what was produced, identify relationships, and catch what slipped through.

Trigger when:

• User says a closing phrase: "that's all", "got it", "thanks", "done for now", "wrap up"
• 3+ consecutive turns with no new topics (just confirmations or thanks)
• User switches to an unrelated topic and the previous topic had substantive output not yet saved
• User explicitly says: "distill", "save this session", "wrap up", "收尾", "沉淀"

Do NOT trigger for:

• Quick single-turn queries (one question, one answer)
• Casual conversation or emotional support
• Pure coding/debugging/execution tasks with no knowledge output
• When user is already actively writing notes this session
• When user says "don't save" or "skip it"

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Soft Ask Pattern (Ask First, Never Auto-Start)#

When you detect a conversation-ending signal, ask one short question — do not launch the 5-step flow automatically.

When to Show the Reminder (Both Conditions Required)#

Condition A — Ending signal (any one):

• User says: "thanks", "done", "that's all", "good", "got it", "OK", "谢谢", "好的就这样", "搞定了", "没了"
• 3+ consecutive turns with no new topics

Condition B — Conversation had distillation value (any one):

• A decision or trade-off was made
• Architecture, design, or strategy was discussed
• A lesson, mistake, or best practice emerged
• There are unrecorded TODOs or open questions

Both conditions required. Saying "thanks" after casual chat → no reminder. Substantive conversation still in progress → no reminder.

Pre-Scan Before Reminding#

Before showing the reminder, do a quick scan of the conversation. Pick the single most representative item (a decision, a lesson, an open question) to use as the preview. Be specific — "the decision about X" beats "some content".

Reminder Phrasing (With Preview)#

For Chinese conversations:

💾 这次对话有 {N} 条值得沉淀的内容（比如{最代表性的一条，10字内}...）。要收尾整理吗？（说「要」开始，「不用」跳过）

For English conversations:

💾 Found {N} things worth saving ({one-line preview, e.g. "the decision about X"}...). Quick distill? (say "yes" to start, "skip" to pass)

Good vs bad:

• ✅ 💾 Found 3 things worth saving (e.g. the trade-off decision about auth strategy...). Quick distill?
• ❌ 💾 This conversation has content worth saving. Want a quick distill? (too generic — doesn't signal understanding)

Response Handling#

User replyClaude action"要" / "好" / "收尾" / "distill" / "yes" / "go"Launch full 5-step flow immediately"不用" / "跳过" / "skip" / "no" / "pass"Reply "好的，跳过。" / "Sure, skipping." — then stop, do not remind again this sessionUser continues with new topic (no direct reply)Do not treat as permanent skip — allow one more reminder at the next conversation-ending signal

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Five-Step Flow#

Step 1: Full Scan — 7-Category Classification#

Scan the entire conversation. Classify everything with distillation value into these 7 categories. Skip any category with no content — don't force it.

CategoryTag / MarkerNotes💡 Insights / Conclusions#insightNew understanding, "aha" moments, validated hypotheses🧭 Judgments[Judgment] prefix + #judgmentFalsifiable claims that can later be proven right or wrong — see Judgment Card below🎯 Decisions[Decision] prefixChoices made with reasoning, not just outcomes📊 Facts / Data✅ stable, 🕒 + date if time-sensitiveExternal facts worth keeping🪞 Observations about yourself#selfPatterns, preferences, habits noticed during conversation✅ Action items / TODOs#todoConcrete next steps with owner and (optionally) deadline❓ Open questions#open-questionThings worth answering later, not yet resolved

Judgment Card

Judgment vs Insight: an insight explains what you learned (backward-looking). A judgment is a falsifiable claim — about what something is, what causes what, or what will happen — that future events can prove right or wrong. If it can't be wrong, it's not a judgment. Vague opinions ("X is important") don't qualify.

Body format:

text

Claim: {one falsifiable sentence}
Chain: what it is → what causes it → expected consequence → why
Evidence: L{1-5} + source (L1 observed behavior > L2 config/state > L3 official docs > L4 third-party data > L5 descriptions/marketing)
Status: unverified | Review by: YYYY-MM

Lifecycle:

• New judgments start unverified with a review date (default: +3 months)
• When verified, update the entry's status to verified or refuted — keep the original claim text intact
• When a new judgment overturns an old one, write a new entry that explicitly states "refutes: {old entry title}" — never delete or rewrite the old one. The chain of refuted judgments is how you see your own judgment improving.

Step 2: Relationship Mapping#

Look for connections between entries. Default to granular over aggregated:

• Two entries are different angles on the same decision → keep separate, cross-reference in body
• A is prerequisite for B → mention A's title in B's body
• An insight came from a specific fact → note the source

Do not default to merging everything into one long summary note. Granular entries are more useful — they're easier to find, tag, link, and reuse independently.

Step 3: User Confirmation (Mandatory)#

Present the classified list to the user in this format:

text

This conversation produced N items worth saving:

💡 Insights (2)
  1. [title] — one sentence summary
  2. [title] — one sentence summary

🧭 Judgments (1)
  3. [Judgment] [title] — claim + evidence level, review by [YYYY-MM] #judgment

🎯 Decisions (1)
  4. [Decision] [title] — the key choice + reason

✅ Action items (2)
  5. [title] #todo
  6. [title] #todo — due: [date if mentioned]

❓ Open questions (1)
  7. [title] #open-question

Tell me:
- Numbers to remove
- Numbers to edit (give the new version)
- Numbers to merge
- Say "write" or "save" when ready

Iron rule: do not write anything until the user explicitly says "write", "save", or equivalent. "Looks good" is not enough — ask once more to confirm.

Step 4: Batch Write#

After explicit confirmation, write entries one by one to the user's preferred notes tool. Report back a confirmation (ID, title, or link) for each successful write. For any failures, list them separately and ask the user what to do: retry / rewrite / skip.

Which tool to write to:

• If the user has KnowMine MCP configured → use add_knowledge for insights/judgments/decisions/facts, save_memory for self-observations, consistent tagging as above; for judgments that refute or refine an existing entry, also call add_knowledge_link ( refutes / evolved_from)
• If the user has another notes MCP (Notion, Obsidian, etc.) → use that tool
• If no MCP available → output entries as clean Markdown for the user to copy

Step 5: Surface Leftovers#

Some content isn't worth saving to a notes system but the user might want to keep handy (a prompt idea to try, a quick reminder, a half-formed thought). Don't force these into any tool. Output as a plain Markdown block:

markdown

## Leftovers (not saved — for your reference)

- [rough idea or reminder]
- [something to try next time]

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Key Principles#

Granular over hub Default to separate entries. One insight per entry, one decision per entry. Build a summary note only when explicitly useful, and cross-reference the granular entries in it.

Falsifiable or it's not a judgment Judgments must be checkable against future reality. Refuted judgments are kept and referenced, never deleted — the refutation chain is the asset.

Confirm before write Never batch-write without the user's explicit go-ahead. The confirmation step is not optional — it's where the user catches misclassifications and adjusts framing.

Tags over folders for action items Don't create a dedicated "TODO folder". Tag action items with #todo inside whatever folder/space makes contextual sense. The tag is searchable; the folder is just noise.

Time-sensitivity matters Data that will become stale (prices, versions, availability) should be flagged 🕒 + date so you know when to re-verify.

Bilingual tags when relevant If the user works in multiple languages, add tags in both languages to improve cross-language search recall.

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This Skill vs Real-Time Capture#

Real-time captureConversation DistillWhenDuring the conversation, on highlightsAt natural conversation endScopeSingle entryEntire sessionRelationship mappingNoYesMiss-detectionNoYes — catches what slipped throughConfirmation styleQuick single-entryFull classification list

Both run in parallel. Real-time capture handles obvious highlights. This skill handles value that's only visible with a full-session view — relationships, patterns, and things you didn't realize were worth saving in the moment.

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Works Best With#

• KnowMine — remote MCP server with semantic search; add_knowledge, save_memory, recall_memory, get_soul integrate directly with Step 4. Install: npx clawhub@latest install knowmine
• Any MCP-compatible notes tool (Notion, Obsidian via MCP, etc.)
• Works without any MCP too — outputs clean Markdown for manual paste

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Anti-Patterns#

• ❌ Writing before user confirms
• ❌ Creating a "TODO folder" — use tags
• ❌ Merging everything into one summary note
• ❌ Saving unfalsifiable opinions as judgments ("X matters", "Y is the future")
• ❌ Triggering on single-turn Q&A
• ❌ Re-triggering after user said "skip it"
• ❌ Forcing low-value leftovers into the notes tool

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Self-Check Before Presenting the List#

• Any category with no real content? (remove it — don't pad)
• Every judgment falsifiable, with an evidence level and review date? Anything that can't be wrong demoted to insight or dropped?
• Every decision has [Decision] prefix?
• Time-sensitive data marked 🕒 + date?
• Action items tagged #todo, not put in a new folder?
• Any "fake summary" entries that should be split granularly?

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Evolving This Skill#

The best distillation process is one that fits how you think and work. After a few sessions, ask yourself:

• Which step felt unnecessary or awkward?
• Which type of content keeps needing special handling?
• Is the 7-category split right for you, or should some be merged / split?

When you find patterns, update your personal copy of this skill to reflect them. Your tools should adapt to you, not the other way around.