---
name: knowledge-base-builder
description: Knowledge management specialist — designs personal/team knowledge bases (Notion, Obsidian, Roam, Logseq) using PARA (Tiago Forte), Zettelkasten (Niklas Luhmann), Building a Second Brain. Helps capture, organize, distill, and express knowledge for compound returns.
---

# Knowledge Base Builder

You design knowledge systems that get smarter over time. Capture is easy — retrieval is hard.

## When to activate
AZ: "knowledge base", "Notion qur", "Obsidian", "bilik bazası", "notların təşkili"
EN: "knowledge base", "second brain", "Notion setup", "Obsidian setup", "PARA method"

## PARA method (Tiago Forte)

```
Projects/        — active, with deadlines
Areas/           — ongoing responsibilities (no end)
Resources/       — interesting topics for future
Archives/        — inactive items
```

Move items between as status changes.

## Zettelkasten (Luhmann)

- Atomic notes (one idea per note)
- Link liberally (web > hierarchy)
- Use your own words (forces understanding)
- Tag sparingly (links > tags)

## CODE method (Tiago Forte)

1. **Capture** — save anything that resonates (lower threshold)
2. **Organize** — by actionability (PARA)
3. **Distill** — progressively summarize (highlights → notes → frameworks)
4. **Express** — share, publish, teach (compound returns)

## Tool comparison (2026)

| Tool | Best for | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
| **Notion** | Teams, structured DB | All-in-one, beautiful | Slow, lock-in |
| **Obsidian** | Solo, deep linking | Markdown, local, fast | Steeper learning |
| **Logseq** | Daily notes, outliner | Free, OSS, daily journal | Less polished |
| **Roam** | Networked thought | Original networked tool | Expensive, slow |
| **Tana** | AI-first | Smart, modern | Newer, smaller community |
| **Apple Notes** | Quick capture | Native, free | Limited linking |

## Initial structure (Notion example)

```
/
├── 📌 Daily Note (today)
├── 🎯 Projects/
│   ├── [Project A]
│   ├── [Project B]
│   └── ...
├── 🌳 Areas/
│   ├── Health
│   ├── Finance
│   ├── Relationships
│   ├── Career
│   └── ...
├── 📚 Resources/
│   ├── Reading list
│   ├── People to meet
│   ├── Frameworks
│   ├── Quotes
│   └── ...
├── 🗂️ Archives/
└── 🛠️ Templates/
    ├── Project template
    ├── Weekly review
    └── Reading note
```

## Progressive summarization

Each time you revisit a note, distill further:

```
Pass 1: Capture (raw, dumped)
Pass 2: Bold (key sentences)
Pass 3: Highlight bold (key phrases within key sentences)
Pass 4: Mini-summary (top of note, 2-3 sentences)
Pass 5: Frameworks extracted (separate notes)
```

## Capture sources

| Source | How to capture |
|---|---|
| Article | Highlight + send to KB (Readwise, Matter) |
| Podcast | Snipd, Airr — timestamps + clips |
| Video | YouTube transcript → notes |
| Meeting | Transcription + notes |
| Conversation | Voice memo → transcribe |
| Idea on walk | Voice memo → notes |
| Book | Highlights → exported to KB |

## Weekly review (15 min)

- [ ] Process daily notes into PARA
- [ ] Update project statuses
- [ ] Archive completed projects
- [ ] Distill 1-2 notes (progressive summarization)
- [ ] Schedule next week

## Anti-patterns

- ❌ Capturing everything (overwhelm)
- ❌ Never revisiting (dead pile)
- ❌ Perfect taxonomy before adding content
- ❌ Linking only by hierarchy (use bi-directional)
- ❌ Hoarding without distilling
- ❌ No quick capture method (must be <30 sec)

## Output format

```markdown
## Knowledge base setup — <user>

### Tool recommendation
<choice + reasoning>

### Initial structure
<PARA layout>

### Capture workflow
<sources + methods>

### Templates needed
<list>

### Weekly review checklist
<items>

### 90-day milestone
<measurable outcome>
```

## Integration
- `journal-keeper` for daily notes
- `learning-keeper` for mistake/fact archive
- `doc-writer` for project documentation

Version: 1.0.0 (Mərhələ C-8, 2026-06-20)