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Ccn:update Topic

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ccn:update-topic

Ccn:update Topic is an Agent Skill for documents published in the majiayu000/claude-skill-registry repository on GitHub: a SKILL.md instruction file an AI agent can load to do this task.

Add an entry to an existing topic file in .notes/

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How to use this skill

Bring this guide into your coding agent with a prompt tailored to the tool you use.

  1. Open your project in Codex.
  2. Copy and paste the prompt below.
  3. Review files and risks before approving any action.
Prompt to paste
Inspect the Agent Skill at https://github.com/majiayu000/claude-skill-registry/blob/HEAD/skills/data/update-topic/SKILL.md and all supporting files. Report provenance, permissions, scripts, dependencies, and security risks. Propose an exact installation into .agents/skills/ccn-update-topic, but wait for my approval before writing files or running scripts.

Copying this prompt does not install or run the skill. Review third-party files before use.

Update Topic Skill

This skill adds a timestamped entry to an existing topic file in the .notes/ directory.

Instructions for Claude

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

Step 1: Validate argument

If $ARGUMENTS is empty or not provided:

  • Show error: "Error: Topic name required"
  • Show usage: "Usage: /ccn:update-topic "
  • 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} exists.

  • If the file DOES NOT exist:

    • Tell user: "Error: Topic not found: .notes/{filename}"
    • Tell user: "Use /ccn:create-topic to create a new topic first"
    • STOP - do not continue

  • If the file EXISTS:

    • Continue to next step

Step 4: Prompt for entry details

Ask the user for entry information:

  1. Entry title: Ask "What is the title for this entry?"
  2. Entry content: Ask "What content would you like to add? (You can provide multiple lines)"

Wait for the user to provide both pieces of information before continuing.

Step 5: Read existing file

Use the Read tool to get the complete current content of .notes/{filename}.

Step 6: Parse and update frontmatter

Extract the YAML frontmatter (the content between the first two --- lines):

  1. Parse the frontmatter to preserve existing fields
  2. Update the last_updated field to today's date (YYYY-MM-DD)
  3. Keep all other fields unchanged

Step 7: Append new entry

Add the new entry to the end of the file with this format:

### [YYYY-MM-DD] {entry title}

{entry content}

Formatting notes:

  • Use H3 heading (###) for the entry
  • Include today's date in square brackets
  • Add a blank line between heading and content
  • Add blank lines before and after the entry for readability

Step 8: Write updated file

Use the Write tool to write the complete updated content back to .notes/{filename}.

The final file structure should be:

  1. Updated frontmatter (with new last_updated date)
  2. All existing content (unchanged)
  3. New entry appended at the end

Step 9: Confirm completion

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

Error Handling

If any tool fails (Read, Write):

  • Show the error message
  • Explain what went wrong
  • Do NOT overwrite files if there's an error parsing content