Problem

When working in a different project directory (e.g., ~/my-project), there is no way to capture an insight to the vault without switching to the vault directory first. The current workflow requires:

cd ~/kb
claude
/remember "description"

This breaks the flow of work. Insights emerge while working on other projects — that's exactly when capture friction should be lowest.

Current Architecture

The infrastructure for cross-directory support partially exists:

Hook scripts already use ${CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR:-$(pwd)}, but skills use bare relative paths like ops/methodology/, assuming pwd is the vault root.

Proposed Solution

A vault registry + path resolution layer.

1. Vault registry — a global file (e.g., ~/.arscontexta/vaults.json) that maps vault names to paths:

   {
     "default": "/Users/hw/kb",
     "work": "/Users/hw/work-vault"
   }

   /arscontexta:setup registers the vault automatically on creation.

2. Path resolution in skills — a "Step 0" block that resolves the vault root before any file I/O:

   1. If pwd contains .arscontexta marker → use pwd (current behavior)
   2. Else if CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR contains marker → use CLAUDE_PROJECT_DIR
   3. Else if ~/.arscontexta/vaults.json has a "default" → use that path
   4. Else → error: no vault found
   

3. Cross-directory capture skill — either extend /remember or create a plugin-level arscontexta:capture that:

   • Resolves vault from registry
   • Accepts a description or topic keyword
   • Writes to the vault's ops/methodology/ or inbox/
   • Runs auto-commit on the vault

Use Case

~/my-project $ claude
> (working on code...)
> /remember "structured output prevents parsing errors in inter-agent data transfer"
  → resolves default vault at ~/kb
  → creates ops/methodology/note.md in ~/kb
  → auto-commits in ~/kb
> (continues working in ~/my-project)

Why This Matters

The README says: "Most AI tools start every session blank." The same applies to capture — if insights can only be recorded when you're already inside the vault, many insights from actual project work are lost. The lowest-friction capture point is the moment of discovery, regardless of which directory you're in.

Scope

This is specifically about capture (writing to the vault from outside). Full pipeline operations (/extract, /connect, /ralph) are complex enough that running them from the vault directory makes sense. But /remember and quick inbox capture should work from anywhere.