# Supported Note Organization Modes in claude-obsidian: A Complete Guide to PARA, LYT, Zettelkasten, and Generic

> Explore supported note organization modes in claude-obsidian: PARA LYT Zettelkasten and Generic. Discover the best way to structure your Obsidian notes for efficient knowledge management.

- Repository: [Agrici.Daniel/claude-obsidian](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian)
- Tags: how-to-guide
- Published: 2026-08-28

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**claude-obsidian supports four distinct note organization modes—generic, lyt, para, and zettelkasten—that determine how new notes are routed and filed within an Obsidian vault.**

The open-source tool `AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian` provides a configurable **note organization system** that lets users align their vault structure with established productivity methodologies. By selecting one of the four supported modes, you control whether new notes land in hierarchical folders, linked clusters, or ID-based Zettelkasten structures.

## The Four Note Organization Modes

According to the [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) specification and the repository's [`README.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/README.md), claude-obsidian enforces exactly four valid methodology strings. The validation logic in [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) explicitly checks for the literals `generic`, `lyt`, `para`, or `zettelkasten` when processing mode changes.

### Generic Mode

The **generic** mode serves as the default fallback when [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json) is missing or unreadable. In this mode, the system routes all new notes into a standard `wiki/pages/` directory without applying any specialized naming or linking conventions. This is ideal for users who prefer simple, flat hierarchies without methodology-specific constraints.

### LYT (Link-Your-Thoughts) Mode

When configured for **lyt**, claude-obsidian implements the LYT (Link-Your-Thoughts) filing convention. This mode groups notes by linked-thought clusters, typically routing files to `wiki/links/` and emphasizing bi-directional relationships over folder hierarchies. The system expects notes to reference each other through contextual links rather than rigid directory structures.

### PARA (Projects-Areas-Resources-Archives) Mode

The **para** mode activates the PARA system, routing notes into four distinct buckets: **Projects**, **Areas**, **Resources**, and **Archives**. When this mode is active, new notes are directed to paths such as `wiki/areas/` or `wiki/projects/` based on their classification. This methodology excels for action-oriented workflows where notes align with active responsibilities and reference material.

### Zettelkasten Mode

Enabling **zettelkasten** transforms the vault into a slip-box workflow where each note is a "Zettel" identified by a unique ID. The system routes these atomic notes to `wiki/zettels/` and expects dense interlinking via timestamp or random identifiers. This mode enforces a bottom-up knowledge building approach suitable for academic research and long-term knowledge accumulation.

## How to Configure and Switch Modes

The active organization mode persists in [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json) at the vault root. You can query or modify this configuration using the `wiki-mode` skill via the CLI entry point [`scripts/claude-obsidian.py`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/scripts/claude-obsidian.py).

To check the current methodology:

```bash
python3 scripts/claude-obsidian.py mode get --vault /path/to/vault

```

To switch to PARA mode:

```bash
python3 scripts/claude-obsidian.py mode set para \
    --vault /path/to/vault \
    --generated-at "$(date -u +%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%SZ)" \
    --operation-id mode-reviewed

```

The command validates the input against the four supported literals defined in [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) before persisting the change to [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json).

## Programmatic Access to Organization Modes

Custom scripts can read the active mode directly from the JSON configuration to determine routing logic at runtime. The file stores the mode under the `mode` key, defaulting to `generic` if the key is absent.

```python
import json
import pathlib

# Read the vault's methodology configuration

mode_path = pathlib.Path("/path/to/vault/.vault-meta/mode.json")
mode = json.loads(mode_path.read_text()).get("mode", "generic")

# Route based on the selected organization mode

if mode == "para":
    destination = "wiki/areas/"
elif mode == "lyt":
    destination = "wiki/links/"
elif mode == "zettelkasten":
    destination = "wiki/zettels/"
else:  # generic fallback

    destination = "wiki/pages/"

print(f"Route new note to: {destination}")

```

This pattern allows automation scripts to respect the vault's chosen methodology without hardcoding folder paths.

## Summary

- **Four supported modes**: generic, lyt, para, and zettelkasten, as defined in [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) and [`README.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/README.md).
- **Configuration location**: The active mode is stored in [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json) within the vault root.
- **Default behavior**: When no configuration exists, the system falls back to **generic** mode and routes notes to `wiki/pages/`.
- **Validation**: The CLI and skill system only accept the four literal strings `generic`, `lyt`, `para`, or `zettelkasten`.
- **Routing differences**: PARA uses `wiki/areas/`, LYT uses `wiki/links/`, Zettelkasten uses `wiki/zettels/`, and Generic uses `wiki/pages/`.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the default note organization mode in claude-obsidian?

The default mode is **generic**. When [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json) is missing or corrupted, the system automatically falls back to generic mode and routes new notes to `wiki/pages/`, as implemented in the `wiki-mode` skill logic.

### How do I switch between PARA, LYT, and Zettelkasten modes?

Use the CLI command `python3 scripts/claude-obsidian.py mode set <mode>` with the `--vault` flag pointing to your vault path. The command validates the mode against the four supported options in [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) before writing to [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json).

### Where is the active organization mode stored?

The mode is persisted in a JSON file located at [`.vault-meta/mode.json`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/.vault-meta/mode.json) relative to the vault root. This file contains a `mode` key whose value must be one of the four supported strings.

### Can I create a custom organization mode beyond the four options?

No. The validation logic in [`skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md`](https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian/blob/main/skills/wiki-mode/SKILL.md) explicitly restricts the mode parameter to the literals `generic`, `lyt`, `para`, or `zettelkasten`. Attempting to set any other value will result in a validation error from the CLI.