# Building an AI-Enhanced Quick Capture System for Obsidian > [!metadata]- Metadata > **Published:** [[2025-06-06|June 06, 2025]] > **Tags:** #🌐 #automation #obsidian #apple-shortcuts #productivity #ai > [!tip] Quick Start > Want to jump right in? Skip to the [download links](#download-the-shortcuts) and setup instructions. These shortcuts work with any Obsidian vault using daily notes, but you'll need to customize the file paths and people names for your setup. ![[00 - Meta/Attachments/digital_shortcuts_graphics.png]] ## Who This Is For This system is perfect if you: - Use Obsidian daily notes and get frustrated with mobile loading times - Want to capture thoughts instantly without opening any apps - Use iOS and don't mind tinkering with Apple Shortcuts - Want AI to help organize your quick captures automatically If you're happy with Obsidian mobile or prefer other capture apps, this probably isn't for you. ## The Problem: Missing Great Ideas Because of Slow Apps Picture this: You're walking your dog, and suddenly have a brilliant idea for a project. You fumble for your phone, wait for Obsidian to load (and load… and load), navigate to today's daily note, and—the idea's gone. This happened to me constantly. Obsidian is incredible on desktop, but the mobile experience feels clunky for quick capture. I was missing too many fleeting thoughts because the friction was too high. After months of lost ideas and frustrated attempts at mobile note-taking, I built something better using Apple Shortcuts. The result captures four types of content instantly, uses AI to enhance everything automatically, and works without opening Obsidian at all. ## My Solution: Four Types of Smart Capture I created shortcuts that handle: **🧠 Thoughts** - Timestamped entries that automatically link people **☑︎ Tasks** - AI-parsed with optional Todoist sync **💡 Ideas** - Marked for easy filtering later **📸 Media** - Photos with AI-generated meaningful filenames ### Simplified Workflow ```mermaid flowchart TD A[Add to Journal] --> B{What are you capturing?} B --> C[🧠 Thought<br/>Quick + timestamp] B --> D[☑︎ Task<br/>AI parsing + Todoist?] B --> E[💡 Idea<br/>Marked for later] B --> F[📸 Media<br/>Smart filename] C --> G[Auto-link people mentions] D --> H[Parse with AI<br/>Set due date] E --> I[Add idea marker] F --> J[AI analyzes image<br/>Creates descriptive name] G --> K[Append to daily note] H --> K I --> K J --> K K --> L[Get instant notification] ``` ## How Each Type Works (With Real Examples) ### Thoughts: Just Talk Naturally When I capture "Had coffee with Sakshi this morning, she mentioned wanting to visit that new place downtown," the system: 1. Adds timestamp: `- **10:23 AM:** Had coffee with…` 2. Auto-links people: `Had coffee with [[Sakshi Chopra|Sakshi]] this morning…` 3. Appends to today's daily note instantly **Sample Output in Daily Note:** ```markdown # Day's Notes - **10:23 AM:** Had coffee with [[Sakshi Chopra|Sakshi]] this morning, she mentioned wanting to visit that new place downtown - **02:38 PM:** [[Mishti]] learned to sit on command today. Progress! - **05:50 PM:** Reworked the prompt for auto-generating Git commit messages ``` ### Tasks: AI Does the Heavy Lifting For tasks, I just speak naturally: "book dentist appointment for next week about that tooth pain" The AI parses this and creates: - **Obsidian**: `- [ ] Book dentist appointment about tooth pain 📅 2025-06-14` - **Todoist**: "Book dentist appointment 🦷" (assigned to Health project, due next week) The magic is in the due date logic. I'm prompted with a past date as default. If I accept it (by not changing it), no due date gets added anywhere. If I set a real date, it gets properly formatted for both systems. **Sample Regex Pattern for Daily Note Insertion:** ```javascript // Find the "Day's Notes" section and insert after it var notesSection = /# Day's Notes\n/; var insertPoint = content.search(notesSection) + "# Day's Notes\n".length; ``` ### Ideas: Tagged for Later Discovery Ideas get a simple `[I]` marker: ```markdown - **[I] 11:15 PM:** What if we created a vacation rental search that shows Wi-Fi speeds? ``` ### Media: Actually Meaningful Filenames Instead of `IMG_1234.jpeg`, the AI analyzes photos and creates names like: - `mishti_playing_in_backyard_snow.jpeg` - `sakshi_reading_coffee_shop_window.jpeg` - `shayon_coding_late_night_multiple_monitors.jpeg` The AI knows our family context (me, Sakshi, Mishti, our Toronto location) and creates searchable, meaningful names. ## The AI Magic: Why It Actually Works ### Smart Task Parsing The AI reads my existing Todoist project structure and automatically categorizes tasks. "Buy groceries" goes to Personal, "update portfolio website" goes to Business, "book vet appointment" goes to Mishti. ### Contextual Photo Naming The AI prompt includes personal context: > "You're helping name photos for Shayon (Indian man, glasses, often coding), his wife Sakshi, and their yellow Labrador puppy Mishti. They live in Toronto. Create descriptive filenames…" This personal context makes the difference between generic descriptions and actually useful ones. ## Technical Bits That Make It Work ### Reading Markdown Files Apple Shortcuts can't read .md files directly, so I created a helper that temporarily renames files to .txt: ```javascript // Workaround for Shortcuts .md file limitation 1. Rename daily_note.md → daily_note.txt 2. Read contents with "Get Text from Input" 3. Process normally ``` ### Modular Architecture Instead of one massive shortcut, I built: - **Add to Journal**: Main coordinator - **Add Wikilink to People Names**: Automatic relationship linking - **Task**: AI parsing and Todoist integration - **SubShortcutGPT**: OpenAI API wrapper - **Image File Name using ChatGPT**: AI media naming This keeps everything maintainable and reusable. ## Setting It Up for Your Life **Important**: These shortcuts are heavily customized for my setup. You'll need to modify: - Vault file paths (currently points to my iCloud Obsidian folder) - People names for auto-linking (mine includes Sakshi, Mishti, family members, doctors) - API keys for OpenAI and Todoist - Daily note template structure - Your Todoist project list for AI categorization The system assumes you use daily notes with a "Day's Notes" section and the Tasks plugin for due date formatting. ## Download the Shortcuts - [Add to Journal](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/3a63c82c5189485c83c2313276939efe) - Main shortcut - [Add Wikilink to People Names](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/96ab9c82214c417c9750ba4e49a01058) - Auto-linking - [Task](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/9e8fdac28f5d4f8e9bdcf45684c48b93) - AI task processing - [Get Contents of a Markdown File](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/a35d1daeb4b44bb8aff0c71f33ee5f97) - File reading helper - [Image File Name using ChatGPT](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/f759b52a0f324a98a0b11ac77b444b5e) - AI image naming - [SubShortcutGPT](https://www.icloud.com/shortcuts/85115117cec94a4cb637734b5caf0b62) - OpenAI API wrapper ## Why This Beats Other Options Unlike Quick Note, Drafts, or other capture apps, this system: - Works entirely locally (thoughts don't need internet) - Doesn't depend on any third-party apps (not even Obsidian itself) - Maintains your existing vault structure and linking patterns - Uses AI to enhance content without changing your workflow ## The Real Result I now capture thoughts the moment they happen. No hesitation, no lost ideas, no friction. The AI handles the tedious parts (linking, categorizing, formatting) while preserving my natural capture style. The best part? When I open Obsidian later, everything is already organized exactly how I want it, with proper links and structure intact. If you're missing great ideas because of app friction, try building your own capture system. Start simple and add AI enhancements where they actually help. The goal isn't perfect automation—it's eliminating the barriers between you and your thoughts.