Scratch Pad - Markdown-Based Task Memory

Simple markdown file for tracking progress during complex tasks. All content is directly written to a .md file for immediate use.

Quick Start

Initialize scratch pad

python scripts/scratch_pad.py init "Task Name"

Add content

python scripts/scratch_pad.py append "Finding: The analysis shows..."

Log tool calls

python scripts/scratch_pad.py log-tool "web_search" '{"query": "AI trends"}' "Found 10 results"

Read current content

python scripts/scratch_pad.py read

Core Commands

Basic Operations

Start new task

python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file /path/to/scratch.md init "Task Name"

Add any content

python scripts/scratch_pad.py append "Content to add..."

Add section header

python scripts/scratch_pad.py section "Research Findings"

Read entire pad

python scripts/scratch_pad.py read

Structured Logging

Log tool execution

python scripts/scratch_pad.py log-tool "tool_name" '{"param": "value"}' "result text"

Add finding

python scripts/scratch_pad.py finding "Important discovery" --category "Analysis"

Add checkpoint

python scripts/scratch_pad.py checkpoint "Phase 1 Complete"

Add TODO

python scripts/scratch_pad.py todo "Follow up on this" python scripts/scratch_pad.py todo "Completed task" --done

Mark complete

python scripts/scratch_pad.py complete

When to Use

ALWAYS use for:

• Tasks with 5+ tool calls

• Multi-source research ("조사해줘")

• Comparative analysis ("비교해줘")

• Information synthesis ("정리해줘")

• Step-by-step processing

Integration Pattern

1. Initialize at task start

SCRATCH_FILE="FILESYSTEM_BASE_DIR/files/{channel_id}/tmp/scratch_{timestamp}.md" python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file $SCRATCH_FILE init "User request summary"

2. Log each tool call

python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file $SCRATCH_FILE log-tool "mcp__perplexity__search" '{"query": "..."}'

Execute tool...

python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file $SCRATCH_FILE append "Result: Found X relevant items"

3. Add findings

python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file $SCRATCH_FILE finding "Key insight from research"

4. Read content for reference (DO NOT include raw content in response)

CONTENT=$(python scripts/scratch_pad.py --file $SCRATCH_FILE read)

Use $CONTENT as reference to write organized response in mcp__slack__answer

5. Clean up (REQUIRED)

rm $SCRATCH_FILE

Important:

• The scratch pad is for YOUR reference only

• DO NOT copy/paste the raw markdown into responses

• USE it to organize and write a proper answer

• ALWAYS delete the scratch file after use

Output Format

The markdown file is structured for easy reading:

📋 Task Name

Created: 2025-11-05 10:00:00 Status: 🔄 In Progress

📝 Task Overview

Task: Research competitor products Started: 2025-11-05 10:00:00

Research Findings (10:05:23)

[10:05:30] Found 3 main competitors...

🔧 [10:06:15] Tool: web_search

Parameters:

{
  "query": "competitor analysis"
}

Result:

Found 10 relevant results

✅ Checkpoint: Initial Research Complete

Time: 10:15:00
Gathered basic information on all competitors

## Best Practices

1. **Use descriptive section headers** - Makes content easy to navigate
2. **Log tools immediately** - Capture parameters before execution
3. **Add findings as you go** - Don't wait until the end
4. **Use checkpoints** - Mark major milestones
5. **Reference, don't copy** - Use scratch pad as reference for organized response
6. **Always clean up** - Delete scratch files after task completion
7. **Keep it concise** - Focus on key information for YOUR reference

## Module Usage

```python
from scripts.scratch_pad import ScratchPadManager

# Initialize
manager = ScratchPadManager('/tmp/task.md')
manager.init("Complex Analysis Task")

# Add content
manager.add_section("Research Phase")
manager.append("Starting research on topic X...")

# Log tool
manager.log_tool("web_search", {"query": "topic X"}, "10 results found")

# Add finding
manager.add_finding("Topic X is growing 50% annually", "Market Trends")

# Read content
content = manager.read()

# Mark complete
manager.complete()

File Management

- Location: Always in FILESYSTEM_BASE_DIR/files/{channel_id}/tmp/

- Naming: scratch_{timestamp}.md
 or scratch_{task_id}.md

- Cleanup: Delete after task completion

- Size limit: Keep under 1MB for performance

Why Markdown?

- ✅ Human-readable format

- ✅ No JSON parsing overhead

- ✅ Direct append operations

- ✅ Easy to include in responses

- ✅ Can be viewed/edited manually

- ✅ Natural structure for documentation