Agent skill

Graduate Insights

by Abilityai in Abilityai/cornelius

Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles.

MITAuto-check: notesKnowledge Management

Install Graduate Insights

skills CLI
$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill graduate-insights -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI
$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius graduate-insights --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy
$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/graduate-insights .claude/skills/graduate-insights && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Facts

Skill name
graduate-insights
GitHub stars
109
Token cost
~2k tokens
SKILL.md length
720 words
Files
1
Skills in repo
54
Repo updated
First seen
Licence
MIT

At a glance

Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles.

  • Works in 7 steps: Load State and Find Candidates → For Each Candidate → Handle Promotion → …
  • Tasks that involve Note-taking
  • SKILL.md covers Purpose, State Dependencies, Process and Zettelkasten Graduation Criteria, plus 3 more sections
  • Calls git

What it does

Graduate Insights is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius. Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles. Consolidates AI extractions and document insights into curated permanent notes.

Its SKILL.md is about 2k tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Knowledge Management, covering Note-taking. The repository describes itself as: AI-powered second brain template for Claude Code + Obsidian. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

  • Tasks that involve Note-taking

Example prompts

  • “/graduate-insights”

Requirements

  • Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, Task

Workflow steps

7 steps, taken from the step headings in SKILL.md.

  1. Load State and Find Candidates
  2. For Each Candidate
  3. Handle Promotion
  4. Handle Skip
  5. Handle Delete
  6. Session Summary
  7. Update Changelog

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit b9bea90. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

  • Tool permissions

    Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:

    • Read
    • Write
    • Edit
    • Bash
    • Glob
    • Grep
    • AskUserQuestion
    • Task

    From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.

  • Runs code

    Shell commands in SKILL.md call:

    • git

    From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.

  • Network

    No URLs in SKILL.md. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called.

    From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.

  • Credentials

    Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.

    From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Graduate Insights loads about 2k tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 44 tokens; SKILL.md has 720 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it
~44
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches
~2k

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

  • NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
    allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, Task

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Abilityai/cornelius at commit b9bea90, republished under its MIT licence (© Abilityai). 720 words, ~1,972 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/graduate-insights/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).
name
graduate-insights
description
Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles. Consolidates AI extractions and document insights into curated permanent notes.
allowed-tools
Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, Task
user-invocable
true

Graduate Insights

Review candidate notes from holding areas and promote valuable ones to permanent note status following Zettelkasten principles.

Purpose

The knowledge base accumulates insights in multiple holding areas:

  • AI Extracted Notes/ - Personal insights from conversations (177 notes)
  • Document Insights/ - Research findings from external sources (1,608 notes across 89 sessions)
  • Books/ - Per-book scopes (the gems mined from each ingested book; the _book.md hub is a navigation note, not a candidate)
  • 00-Inbox/ - Raw captures and staging notes (27 notes)

Without periodic graduation, these insights remain unintegrated. This skill provides a structured review process to:

  1. Surface high-value candidates based on retrieval frequency and age
  2. Present each for human judgment (the essential step)
  3. Graduate worthy notes to 02-Permanent/ with proper formatting
  4. Maintain knowledge graph integrity

State Dependencies

SourceLocationReadWrite
Q-valuesresources/local-brain-search/data/q_values.jsonYesNo
AI ExtractedBrain/AI Extracted Notes/YesMove
Document InsightsBrain/Document Insights/*/YesMove
Book scopesBrain/Books/*/YesMove
InboxBrain/00-Inbox/YesMove
Permanent NotesBrain/02-Permanent/NoYes
ChangelogBrain/CHANGELOG.mdYesYes

Process

Step 1: Load State and Find Candidates
bash
# Get Q-values for retrieval frequency signals
cat resources/local-brain-search/data/q_values.json

Find candidate notes prioritized by:

  1. Q-value > 0 - Notes that have been retrieved and used
  2. Age > 14 days - Notes that have had time to prove value
  3. Has connections - Notes with wiki-links to permanent notes

Collect up to 5 candidates per session from:

  • Brain/AI Extracted Notes/*.md
  • Brain/Document Insights/**/*.md (exclude CHANGELOG files)
  • Brain/Books/**/*.md (exclude _book.md hubs and CHANGELOG files)
  • Brain/00-Inbox/*.md
Step 2: For Each Candidate

Present the following information:

## Candidate [N/5]: [Note Title]

**Source:** AI Extracted Notes | Document Insights ([Session Name]) | Inbox
**Created:** [date from frontmatter or file mtime]
**Age:** [X days]
**Q-Value:** [value or "not tracked"]

### Content Preview
[First 500 characters of note content]

### Existing Connections
[List wiki-links found in the note, indicate which link to permanent notes]

### Semantic Neighbors (if available)
[Run quick search to show 3 most similar permanent notes]

Ask user:

Decision for "[Note Title]":

  1. Promote - Graduate to permanent notes
  2. Skip - Review again later (note stays in place)
  3. Delete - Remove entirely (rare, for duplicates/errors)
Step 3: Handle Promotion

When user chooses Promote:

  1. Check for duplicates in 02-Permanent/:

    bash
    # Search for similar titles
    grep -r "similar keywords" Brain/02-Permanent/
  2. Prepare note for graduation:

    • Ensure frontmatter includes:
      yaml
      ---
      created: [original date]
      updated: [today]
      created_by: [original model if present]
      updated_by: [current model]
      agent_version: 01.25
      provenance: [see rule below]
      graduated_from: [original path]
      graduated_date: [today]
      ---
    • Provenance rule (mandatory): default by source - Document Insights/ and Books/ -> encountered; AI Extracted Notes/ or agent synthesis -> ai-inferred. Preserve an existing provenance: value if the candidate already carries one. Per CLAUDE.md's guarded boundary, only set originated or endorsed when the user explicitly says so at the Promote decision - graduation must never silently mint originated.
    • Verify atomic insight format (single clear idea)
    • Ensure wiki-links use [[Note Title]] format
    • Remove source-specific metadata (session info, extraction date)
    • Note: BDG will auto-classify the layer on next bootstrap (insight or framework based on heuristics)
  3. Optionally refine: Ask user: "Refine title/content before promoting? (or press Enter to keep as-is)"

  4. Move to permanent:

    • Generate clean filename: Brain/02-Permanent/[Title].md
    • Move file (not copy - maintains git history)
    • Verify move succeeded
Show full SKILL.md (279 more words)Show less
Step 4: Handle Skip

Note remains in original location. No action needed.

Step 5: Handle Delete

Confirm before deleting:

Are you sure you want to DELETE "[Note Title]"?
This cannot be undone. Type 'yes' to confirm.

If confirmed, remove file.

Step 6: Session Summary

After processing all candidates:

## Graduation Session Complete

**Reviewed:** 5 notes
**Promoted:** X notes
**Skipped:** Y notes
**Deleted:** Z notes

### Promoted Notes:
- [[New Permanent Note 1]] (from AI Extracted Notes)
- [[New Permanent Note 2]] (from Document Insights/Session Name)

### Remaining Candidates
- AI Extracted Notes: [count] notes
- Document Insights: [count] notes
- Inbox: [count] notes

Run `/graduate-insights` again to continue review.
Step 7: Update Changelog

Append to Brain/CHANGELOG.md:

markdown
## [DATE] - Insight Graduation Session

**Promoted to Permanent:**
- [[Note 1]] - graduated from AI Extracted Notes
- [[Note 2]] - graduated from Document Insights/[Session]

**Session Stats:** Reviewed 5, Promoted X, Skipped Y

Zettelkasten Graduation Criteria

When reviewing candidates, consider these principles:

Promote If:
  • Atomic - Contains ONE clear idea (not a list or summary)
  • Evergreen - Will remain true/relevant over time
  • Connected - Links meaningfully to existing permanent notes
  • Original - Adds unique perspective not already captured
  • Actionable - Can inform thinking or decisions
Skip If:
  • Ephemeral - Time-sensitive or will become outdated
  • Compound - Contains multiple ideas (may need splitting)
  • Duplicate - Similar insight exists in permanent notes
  • Unripe - Not yet clear how it connects or matters
Delete If:
  • Exact duplicate - Same content exists elsewhere
  • Error - Extraction mistake or corrupted content
  • Obsolete - Information proven wrong or superseded

Outputs

  1. Promoted notes in Brain/02-Permanent/ with graduation metadata
  2. Updated Brain/CHANGELOG.md with session record
  3. Session summary showing graduation statistics

Notes

  • Human judgment is essential - This skill surfaces candidates, humans decide
  • No automated promotion - Every graduation requires explicit approval
  • Batch size is 5 - Keeps sessions focused and completable
  • Priority by Q-value - Notes that have been retrieved rank higher
  • Recommend weekly cadence - Prevents backlog accumulation

Self-Improvement

After completing this skill's primary task, consider tactical improvements:

  • Review execution: Were there friction points, unclear steps, or inefficiencies?
  • Identify improvements: Could error handling, step ordering, or instructions be clearer?
  • Scope check: Only tactical/execution changes - NOT changes to core purpose or goals
  • Apply improvement (if identified):
    • Edit this SKILL.md with the specific improvement
    • Keep changes minimal and focused
  • Version control (if in a git repository):
    • Stage: git add .claude/skills/graduate-insights/SKILL.md
    • Commit: git commit -m "refactor(graduate-insights): <brief improvement description>"

© Abilityai, MIT. Rendered from Markdown: HTML in the file is shown as text, images as links, and headings moved down two levels. Raw file

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/graduate-insights of Abilityai/cornelius.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit b9bea90

Compare with similar skills

Graduate Insights next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Graduate Insights compared with similar skills
SkillStarsUsed inTokensAuto-checkLicenceRepo updated
Graduate Insights this skillAbilityai/cornelius109—~2kAutomated safety check: NotesMIT
Qmdalsk1992/CloddsBot3k3 repos~1.2kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
Obsidian Canvas BoardsAgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian15k—~1.4kAutomated safety check: PassMIT
LLM Wikilewislulu/llm-wiki-skill655—~3.7kAutomated safety check: PassNone
Para Memory Filespaperclipai/paperclip100k1 repos~909Automated safety check: PassMIT
Add Frontmatterheyitsnoah/claudesidian2.6k—~951Automated safety check: PassMIT

Similar skills

  • Qmd

    alsk1992/CloddsBot

    Local hybrid search for markdown notes and docs. An agent skill from alsk1992/CloddsBot.

    3k GitHub starsUsed in 3 repos~1.2k tokens
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
  • Obsidian Canvas Boards

    AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian

    Creates, inspects and updates Obsidian JSON Canvas boards in a vault, with text, file, link, group and edge nodes, using safe recoverable edits.

    15k GitHub stars~1.4k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
  • LLM Wiki

    lewislulu/llm-wiki-skill

    Build and maintain a Karpathy-style LLM knowledge base — a self-compiling Obsidian markdown wiki where an Agent ingests raw sources, compiles cross-linked concept/entity/summary pages, answers…

    655 GitHub stars~3.7k tokensUpdated 5 mo ago
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
  • Para Memory Files

    paperclipai/paperclip

    Use a file-based PARA memory system to store, retrieve, and organize durable knowledge across sessions.

    100k GitHub starsUsed in 1 repo~909 tokens
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
  • Add Frontmatter

    heyitsnoah/claudesidian

    Add or update YAML frontmatter properties to enhance Obsidian note organization.

    2.6k GitHub stars~951 tokensUpdated 6 mo ago
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed
  • Obsidian Bases Editor

    AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian

    Explains, drafts and validates Obsidian Bases .base files, building filters, formulas and table, card or list views, and applying edits only through one inspected transaction.

    15k GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 1 mo ago
    Knowledge ManagementAuto-check passed

More from Abilityai/cornelius

All 54 skills in this repo
  • Nano Banana Image Generator

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Generate images using Google's Nano Banana (Gemini 2.5 Flash Image).

    109 GitHub stars~1.2k tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check: notes
  • Benchmark Memory

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Systematic benchmarking framework for Local Brain Search memory system with LLM-as-judge scoring

    109 GitHub stars~3.1k tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check: notes
  • Changelog Protocol

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Protocol for creating dated changelog files after significant agent sessions.

    109 GitHub stars~555 tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check passed
  • Create Article

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Create long-form articles from knowledge base insights. An agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius.

    109 GitHub stars~3k tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check: notes
  • Decide

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Structure a decision, not just advise on it. An agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius.

    109 GitHub stars~2.7k tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check: notes
  • Epistemic Classification

    Abilityai/cornelius

    Framework for distinguishing research findings from hypotheses and speculative synthesis.

    109 GitHub stars~1.5k tokensUpdated 3 days ago
    Auto-check passed

Questions about Graduate Insights

What does Graduate Insights do?

Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles. Graduate Insights is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius. Review and graduate notes to permanent status using Zettelkasten principles.

When should I use Graduate Insights?

Graduate Insights fits situations like: tasks that involve Note-taking.

How do I install Graduate Insights in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill graduate-insights -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/graduate-insights in Abilityai/cornelius) into .claude/skills/graduate-insights in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Graduate Insights in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill graduate-insights -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/graduate-insights in Abilityai/cornelius) into .agents/skills/graduate-insights in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Graduate Insights in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill graduate-insights -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/graduate-insights, .gemini/skills/graduate-insights, .github/skills/graduate-insights and .opencode/skills/graduate-insights in your project.

What does Graduate Insights need to run?

Going by SKILL.md and its folder, Graduate Insights needs the command-line tools its instructions call (git). Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash, Glob, Grep, AskUserQuestion, Task.

Does Graduate Insights access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Its commands use git, which can reach the network depending on how they are called. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Graduate Insights safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Graduate Insights use?

Graduate Insights is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Graduate Insights use?

About 2k tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 7.9k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Graduate Insights?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Graduate Insights: Qmd (alsk1992/CloddsBot, 3k stars), Obsidian Canvas Boards (AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian, 15k stars), LLM Wiki (lewislulu/llm-wiki-skill, 655 stars) and Para Memory Files (paperclipai/paperclip, 100k stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Graduate Insights?

Abilityai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Abilityai/cornelius, which has 109 GitHub stars. The repository holds 54 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

Source: Abilityai/cornelius on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.