ibz-04/gloamy/automating-notes
Claude Code and agent skill by ibz-04/gloamy
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Automates Apple Notes via JXA (osascript). Use when asked to "create notes programmatically", "automate Notes app", "JXA notes scripting", or "organize notes with automation". Covers accounts/folders/notes, HTML bodies, queries, moves, and Objective-C/UI fallbacks for Notes.app automation on macOS. ALWAYS use JXA via osascript as the primary method — PyXA silently fails on note creation and must NOT be used as the first approach.
Install
npx vskill@latest install ibz-04/gloamy/automating-notesSKILL.md
Automating Apple Notes (JXA-first, AppleScript discovery)
Relationship to the macOS automation skill
- Standalone for Notes; reuse
automating-mac-appsfor permissions, shell, and Objective-C/UI scripting patterns. - PyXA Installation: To use PyXA examples in this skill, see the installation instructions in
automating-mac-appsskill (PyXA Installation section).
Core framing
- Notes uses an AEOM hierarchy: Application → Accounts → Folders → Notes (with nested folders).
- Load:
automating-notes/references/notes-basics.mdfor complete specifier reference.
Workflow (default)
1) Resolve account/folder explicitly (iCloud vs On My Mac); validate existence and permissions. 2) Ensure target path exists (create folders if needed); handle creation failures gracefully. 3) Create notes with explicit name and HTML body; verify creation success. 4) Query/update with .whose filters; batch delete/move as needed; check counts before/after operations. 5) For checklists/attachments, use clipboard/Objective-C scripting if dictionary support is insufficient; test fallbacks. 6) For meeting/people workflows, file notes under meetings/<company>/<date>-<meeting-title> and people/<first>-<last>/...; validate final structure.
Quickstart (ensure path + create)
IMPORTANT: Always use JXA viaosascript -l JavaScriptas the primary and recommended approach. PyXA's.push()silently no-ops on Notes without creating anything — never use it as first choice. Run the JXA inline or as a heredoc via the shell tool.
JXA (Recommended — use this first):
PyXA (Legacy — unreliable for note creation, avoid unless JXA fails):
PyObjC with Scripting Bridge:
Validation Checklist
- [ ] Account access works (iCloud vs On My Mac)
- [ ] Folder creation and path resolution succeeds
- [ ] Note creation with valid HTML body completes
- [ ] Note appears in Notes UI
- [ ]
.whosequeries return expected results - [ ] Error handling covers missing accounts/folders
HTML & fallbacks
- Allowed tags:
<h1>-<h3>,<b>,<i>,<u>,<ul>/<ol>/<li>,<div>/<p>/<br>,<a>. - Security: Always sanitize HTML input; avoid
<script>,<style>, or event handlers to prevent XSS in rendered notes. - Checklists/attachments: Objective-C/clipboard fallback (Cmd+Shift+L for checklist, paste image via NSPasteboard + System Events).
- Append helper: replace
</body>with extra HTML, or append when missing; validate HTML structure post-modification.
When Not to Use
- Cross-platform note taking (use Notion API, Obsidian, or Markdown files)
- iCloud sync operations requiring status feedback (limited API support)
- Non-macOS platforms
- Rich formatting beyond supported HTML tags
- Collaborative editing workflows (no multi-user support)
What to load
- Basics & specifiers:
automating-notes/references/notes-basics.md - Recipes (create/move/query/ensure path/checklists):
automating-notes/references/notes-recipes.md - Advanced (HTML body rules, attachments/UI, JSON import/export, ObjC bridge):
automating-notes/references/notes-advanced.md - Dictionary/type map:
automating-notes/references/notes-dictionary.md - PyXA API Reference (complete class/method docs):
automating-notes/references/notes-pyxa-api-reference.md
Security
- Security scanPassed, 100 of 100Pattern checks on the skill's files.
- Model reviewNot runA model review is scheduled for the next rescan.
Quality evaluation
- Task evaluationNot runNo evaluation yet. Run one in Skill Studio.
Source
- SKILL.md in the repositoryCheckingskills/automating-notes/SKILL.md
Popularity
- Repository stars
- 60
- Repository forks
- 10
- 7-day trend score
- 21
Stars and forks are for the whole GitHub repository, not this skill alone. Not refreshed yet.
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