A terminal-first note-taking system for developers — timestamped markdown notes, architecture documentation, and daily task tracking, all managed from the command line and opened in Cursor.
| Category | Files | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture docs | vbms-core-auth-flow.md |
Deep-dive technical references (VBMS auth flow, system traces) |
| Timestamped notes | 20260302_*.md, etc. |
Session notes, investigation logs, meeting captures |
| Daily task lists | templates/doingit.md |
"Doing It" lists — 5 items per day + timesheet reminder |
| Dev reference | aliases.md |
Quick-reference for git, npm, and editor commands |
| CLI toolkit | functions.sh |
Shell functions for creating, viewing, and searching notes |
| Templates | templates/ |
Reusable note scaffolds (daily dev notes, doing-it lists) |
The repo doubles as a living knowledge base. Key documents:
- vbms-core-auth-flow.md — End-to-end VBMS Core authentication & authorization trace: Browser → Apache/SiteMinder → Keycloak → IDP Proxy → CSS → SAML → XACML. Every redirect, cookie, token, and transformation across 5 systems and 3 protocols (765 lines).
The mcgraw/ directory holds daily notes and is .gitignored. Structure:
mcgraw/
├── daily/ # Daily "doing it" lists
│ ├── 20250206_111354_thursday.md
│ └── ...
└── docs/ # Meeting notes, research
git clone git@github.com:mmcgraw73/cursor-notes.git
cd cursor-notesAdd to your ~/.zshrc:
source ~/Developer/CLI/cursor-notes/functions.shInstall dependencies:
brew install glow bat| Dependency | Purpose |
|---|---|
| glow | Rendered markdown in the terminal |
| bat | Syntax-highlighted file viewing |
| Cursor | AI-native editor (notes auto-open here) |
note "CSAP 403 Investigation" # Creates timestamped .md, opens in CursorCreates 20260302_143500_csap-403-investigation.md and opens it.
notes # 10 most recent, with first-line previewvn auth-flow.md # Rendered markdown (glow)
vnr auth-flow.md # Syntax highlighted (bat)
vnc auth-flow.md # Clean text (cat)The viewer searches in order: current directory → mcgraw/daily/ → notes root.
sn auth-flow.md "securityLevel" # Search within a specific note
sn "" "XACML" # Search across all notesContext defaults: 1 line before, 20 lines after. Override:
sn auth-flow.md "SAML" 3 10 # 3 before, 10 afterNotes are auto-named with a timestamp prefix:
YYYYMMDD_HHMMSS_slug.md
Examples:
20260302_083609.md— daily doing-it list (no slug = quick note)20260226_125635.md— session note20250617_170136_local-arm-mac_updates.md— titled investigation
| Template | Path | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Doing It | templates/doingit.md |
5-item daily task list with timesheet |
| Daily Dev Notes | templates/daily_dev_notes.md |
Focus areas, priorities, DSU prep |
# {{DAY_DATE}}
## DOING IT LIST
- [] 1
- [] 2
- [] 3
- [] 4
- [] 5 TIMESHEETcursor-notes/
├── functions.sh # Shell functions (note, notes, vn, sn, etc.)
├── aliases.md # Developer command quick reference
├── terminal-notes.md # CLI documentation
├── vbms-core-auth-flow.md # Architecture: VBMS auth end-to-end
├── templates/
│ ├── doingit.md # Daily task list template
│ └── daily_dev_notes.md # Daily dev notes template
├── mcgraw/ # Private daily notes (.gitignored)
│ ├── daily/
│ └── docs/
├── 20260302_*.md # Timestamped session notes
├── 20260226_*.md
├── ...
├── LICENSE # GNU GPL v3
└── README.md
export CURSOR_NOTES_DIR="$HOME/Developer/CLI/cursor-notes"Set in ~/.zshrc. All functions reference this path for note storage and lookup.
- mcgraw-vbms-developer-guides — GitHub Wiki with polished versions of architecture docs from this repo
- bip-developer-guides — Team wiki
GNU General Public License v3.0 — see LICENSE.
Michael McGraw