Via Latina
A comprehensive knowledge lifecycle system for Obsidian using Claude Code, featuring 12 interconnected skills.
What is Via Latina?
Via Latina is an integrated skill ecosystem for Claude Code that turns Obsidian into a full knowledge lifecycle manager. Instead of isolated skills that do one thing, Via Latina skills orchestrate together — collecting knowledge, refining it, managing projects through their entire lifespan, and auditing quality.
Every skill is named in Latin, following the classical tradition of naming systems after their purpose.
Why This Exists
Most Claude Code skills are standalone utilities. Via Latina is different:
- Pipeline orchestration —
purgatiodetects Latin callouts and hands off tocommentatio, which can triggerelevatioto create projects - Full project lifecycle — Create → Pending → Suspend → Merge → Archive → Revive (6 state transitions, zero data loss)
- Self-auditing —
tentatiovalidates vault-wide consistency and evolves its own checks - Shared data model —
_common/references/ensures all 12 skills speak the same language
Skills
Core Pipeline
| Skill | Latin | Role |
|---|---|---|
| indagatio | investigation | Ingest external sources (URLs, PDFs, repos) into structured quick notes |
| purgatio | purification | Batch-process quick notes: refine, route, split for atomicity |
| commentatio | commentary | Synthesize annotations from Latin callouts |
Project Lifecycle
| Skill | Latin | Role |
|---|---|---|
| elevatio | elevation | Promote a note into a full project with numbered folder structure |
| memorio | memory | Archive completed projects with validated reasoning |
| dilatio | delay | Move projects to Pending when waiting for external triggers |
| suspensio | suspension | Pause projects by internal decision (motivation, priority shift) |
| vivificatio | revival | Restore projects from Archive, Pending, or Someday |
| unio | union | Merge two projects into one, absorbing the secondary |
| locatio | placement | Group unprocessed notes by topic and place on hold |
Quality & Review
| Skill | Latin | Role |
|---|---|---|
| tentatio | testing | Vault-wide quality audit with self-evolution analysis |
| retrospectio | looking back | Generate weekly/monthly review documents |
Pipeline
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ KNOWLEDGE LIFECYCLE │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘
┌───────────┐ ┌───────────┐ ┌─────────────┐ ┌───────────┐
│ indagatio │───▶│ purgatio │───▶│ commentatio │───▶│ elevatio │
│ (collect) │ │ (refine) │ │ (annotate) │ │ (create) │
└───────────┘ └─────┬─────┘ └─────────────┘ └─────┬─────┘
▲ │ │
│ ▼ ┌─────┴─────┐
│ ┌───────────┐ │ PROJECT │
│ │ locatio │ │ STATES │
│ │ (hold) │ ├───────────┤
│ └───────────┘ │ memorio │
│ │ dilatio │
│ │ suspensio │
┌─────┴──────────────────────────────┐ │ vivific. │
│ retrospectio ◀── tentatio │ │ unio │
│ (reflect) (audit) │ └───────────┘
└────────────────────────────────────┘
feedback loop
Installation
Quick Install
Copy all skills to your Claude Code skills directory:
git clone https://github.com/catallactics/via-latina.git
cp -r via-latina/skills/* ~/.claude/skills/
Latin Callouts (Optional)
To enable styled callouts in Obsidian, copy the CSS snippet:
cp via-latina/extras/obsidian-css/latin-callouts.css \
/path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/snippets/
Then enable it in Obsidian: Settings → Appearance → CSS Snippets.
Recommended Vault Structure
Via Latina works best with a numbered folder hierarchy. See docs/vault-setup.md for the recommended structure, or adapt the _common/references/vault-structure.md to match your existing vault.
Latin Callouts
Via Latina introduces 6 custom Obsidian callout types used by commentatio for annotation-driven workflows:
| Callout | Latin | Purpose | What happens |
|---|---|---|---|
[!quaero] | I ask | Questions | WebSearch + answer with sources |
[!emendo] | I improve | Suggestions | Specific improvement applied |
[!disco] | I learn | Study items | Learning roadmap + keywords |
[!facio] | I do | Actions | Converted to task items |
[!moneo] | I remind | Highlights | Vault connections surfaced |
[!cogito] | I think | Musings | Expanded with related ideas |
Usage in Obsidian:
> [!quaero] What is the difference between Hyperreality and Simulacra?
> [!facio] Research competitor pricing models
> [!cogito] This reminds me of how DAWs handle non-destructive editing...
When purgatio processes notes, it detects these callouts and routes them to commentatio for synthesis.
Shared Data Model
All skills share a common reference system in _common/references/:
| File | Purpose |
|---|---|
frontmatter-standard.md | Status lifecycle taxonomy (12 valid statuses) |
type-standard.md | Note type taxonomy (25 valid types) |
vault-structure.md | Recommended folder hierarchy |
logging-standard.md | Activity logging format |
registry-format.md | Project numbering and registry |
child-frontmatter-update.md | Batch frontmatter sync protocol |
This shared model ensures consistency across all 12 skills — every skill writes metadata the same way, routes files to the same folders, and logs activity in the same format.
Key Patterns
Self-Check (indagatio)
After processing, indagatio asks: "Is this more comprehensive than what I'd get manually? Did I discover something the user didn't know?" If not, it re-expands scope automatically.
Self-Evolution (tentatio)
The audit skill detects gaps in its own coverage — uncovered folders, unvalidated fields, unregistered checks — and suggests new audit rules.
Scale-Triggered Behavior (indagatio, purgatio)
The same source gets different treatment based on size: Small (quick summary), Medium (link crawl, structured overview), Large (comprehensive breakdown with hierarchical batching).
Dual-Mode Operation (purgatio)
Runs in full mode (user-triggered, modifies vault) or report-only mode (called by other skills, appends to daily log without changes).
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Short version: PRs welcome for new skills that follow the Latin naming convention and integrate with the existing pipeline. Bug reports and workflow suggestions are appreciated.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.