Prefer the one-call **`capture`** — it routes (via the entity index), derives the canonical path, stamps complete frontmatter (kind-default `status`, the kind seeded into `tags`), indexes, auto-links mentioned entities, and writes the Agent-Log line. Pick the `--kind` from the content (`person, company, concept, reference, meeting, project, area, semantic, episodic, working, skill, decision`); add `--tags` when obvious; use `--inbox` only when the home is genuinely unknown. Write multi-line bodies to a file with the Write tool (cross-platform, no heredoc) — updates to an existing entity preserve the whole body, so don't pre-trim it.
**If capture exits `76` (duplicate gate):** the title strongly resembles an existing entity — do NOT retry blindly. Show the operator the printed candidates and either update the existing note (`capture ... --merge-into <slug>`) or, only after they confirm it's genuinely distinct, re-run with `--force`.
Write in third person about the vault owner; never put `[[wikilinks]]` in frontmatter. `capture` handles `agent_written`, `source_notes`, indexing, and linking for you; if you write by hand, `resolve "<title>"` first to avoid duplicates and `bump``updated:` only on substantive changes.
