Capture Desktop
Capture a claude.ai Desktop session into the MEL file system. Use when Ane finishes a session in the Claude Desktop app and wants the work captured on the device — triggered by "/capture-desktop", "capture this desktop session", "I did this on Claude desktop", "save my desktop work", "import from claude.ai". Paste-driven; no cloud API exists. Stages a local transcript, classifies content into deliverables, decisions/rules, project-knowledge changes, and full log, then files each to its home. Auto-files transcript + deliverables; confirms memory/wiki/CLAUDE.md writes one-by-one.
- Skill ID
- gasserane/personal-skills/capture-desktop
- Publisher
- gasserane
- Repository
- personal-skills
- Installs
- 0
- Files
- 1
- Synced
- Sep 23, 2026
Open any RiverX project, open the Skills panel in the chat, and search for this identifier. The files are fetched from the source repository at install time.
gasserane/personal-skills/capture-desktopInstalls these files- SKILL.md
What this skill tells the agent
Capture Desktop Session
The device-side mirror of scripts/check_desktop_sync.py. That script governs device-to-cloud sync. This skill governs cloud-to-device capture. claude.ai has no API, so capture is paste-driven: Ane pastes a finished Desktop session and this skill routes its content to the right places on disk.
Step 1 — Get the content
Ask Ane to paste the Desktop conversation, or accept a file path if she gives one. If the paste is long, write it to a temp file first to avoid truncation.
Step 2 — Stage the transcript
Run the helper to stage a verbatim, deduplicated transcript:
python scripts/capture_desktop.py stage --input <tempfile> --title "<short title>"- Exit 0: prints the transcript path. Continue.
- Exit 3:
[DUP] already captured— this session was captured before. Tell Ane and stop unless she confirms she wants to re-route it anyway.
Transcripts are local-only (gitignored, OneDrive-backed). The staged transcript IS the "full log" bucket — no further action for that bucket.
Step 3 — Classify the content
Read the staged transcript. Sort its substantive content into four buckets:
- Deliverables — documents, analyses, tables, drafts Ane produced.
- Decisions / rules / lessons — locked decisions, framework calls, guidance on how the system should work, feedback on your behaviour. Capture successes as well as corrections: an approach the transcript shows Ane praised, reused, or locked is a success worth banking as a
feedbackmemory (with Why: and How to apply:) so/improve-systemtrends confirmed successes, not only corrections. - Project-knowledge changes — edits that belong in canonical sources (
mel_wiki/pages,~/.claude/CLAUDE.md). - Full log — already staged in Step 2. No action.
If a bucket is empty, say so. Do not invent content to fill it.
Step 4 — Route each bucket
Deliverables (auto-file). Propose a path under the work folder, save with the Write tool, and name it in the summary. Apply mel_wiki/wiki/concepts/edit-preservation-protocol.md when target file exists.
Decisions / rules / lessons (confirm each). For each item, propose the target — a memory file under the memory dir, a wiki entry, or a feedback memory — and show the exact content you will write. Get a yes/no from Ane before writing. Apply mel_wiki/wiki/concepts/edit-preservation-protocol.md when target file exists.
Project-knowledge changes (confirm each). For each item, propose the exact edit to the canonical source and get a yes/no. Apply the change with the Edit tool, scope-bounded. Apply mel_wiki/wiki/concepts/edit-preservation-protocol.md when target file exists.
- For
mel_wiki/edits: stage for the work-folder commit in Step 5. - For
~/.claude/CLAUDE.mdedits: after applying, commit cross-repo by runningbash ~/.claude-config-clone/scripts/sync-from-local.sh --auto "capture-desktop: <one-line reason>". This copies live CLAUDE.md into the claude-config clone, reconciles, commits, and pushes. It exits 0 silently if nothing changed.
Step 5 — Close the loop and commit
If any canonical source was edited (wiki or CLAUDE.md), run the sync check so the re-upload flag for the Desktop project fires:
python scripts/check_desktop_sync.pyReport any [DRIFT] it surfaces. Then commit the work-folder changes (deliverables and mel_wiki/ edits only — transcripts are gitignored). Stage by name, never git add -A:
git add <deliverable paths> <mel_wiki paths>
git commit -m "feat(capture): desktop session <slug> — <what landed>"
git pushStep 6 — Report
Deliver a tight summary:
CAPTURE-DESKTOP — <date>
Transcript: desktop-captures/<slug>/transcript.md (local)
Deliverables: <list or none>
Decisions/rules written: <list or none>
Canonical edits: <list or none> (CLAUDE.md pushed to claude-config: yes/no)
Sync check: <in sync / N drift flagged>
Commit: <short-SHA> pushed / nothing to commitMore from gasserane
Use this skill in a project
Open any RiverX project, search the Skills panel for gasserane/personal-skills/capture-desktop, and install it in one click.
