Study Notes Generator
Transform documents from slides/ into feature-rich HTML study notes saved to notes/.
Workflow
- Read the source document from
slides/(see PDF Handling below for large files) - Extract and organize content into learning-focused sections
- Generate HTML using the template structure from
assets/template.html - Save to
notes/with filename{original-name}-notes.html
PDF Handling (CRITICAL)
The Claude API has a hard limit of 100 images/documents per conversation. PDF pages are converted to images when read, so any PDF over ~90 pages will fail.
For PDFs over 50 pages:
- Always extract text first using
pdftotext:/opt/homebrew/bin/pdftotext "slides/filename.pdf" "slides/filename.txt" - Generate notes from the
.txtfile only - Do NOT read the PDF file directly — only read the extracted
.txt
For PDFs under 50 pages:
- Read the PDF directly with the Read tool (using
pagesparameter for 10+ pages)
Parallel Processing (Multiple Documents)
When processing multiple documents at once:
- Validate with one agent first: Spawn 1 background Task agent, wait for it to succeed, then spawn the rest. This avoids wasting tokens on a batch of agents that all fail the same way.
- Use
Tasktool withrun_in_background: truefor independent per-file agents. Do NOT use TeamCreate — team agents require message-driven coordination and will idle without producing output when tasks are independent. - Batch size: Spawn at most 4 agents in parallel to avoid rate limits. If more files remain, wait for the first batch to complete before launching the next.
- Strong negative constraints in agent prompts: When instructing agents, use explicit prohibitions:
- GOOD: "Do NOT read any PDF files. ONLY read the.txt file." - BAD: "Prefer reading the text file over the PDF." Agents ignore weak preferences but obey strong negations.
Content Extraction Guidelines
When analyzing the document, identify and extract:
Key Concepts & Definitions
- Core terminology and their meanings
- Fundamental principles being taught
- Mark with
<div class="concept"><strong>Term</strong>Definition...</div>
Problem-Solution Pairs
- What problem/challenge does each concept address?
- How does the method/technique solve it?
- Mark with:
<div class="problem-solution">
<div class="problem">Problem: What challenge exists?</div>
<div class="solution">Solution: How this concept/method addresses it</div>
</div>Examples & Applications
- Concrete examples from the document
- Real-world applications mentioned
- Mark with
<div class="example">...</div>
Important Notes
- Warnings, common mistakes, or critical points
- Mark with
<div class="important">...</div>
CRITICAL: Mandatory Examples Rule
For ANY content that is NOT a pure definition, you MUST provide at least one concrete example.
What requires examples:
| Content Type | Example Required? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Pure definition (e.g., "X is defined as Y") | Optional | Definition is self-contained |
| Properties/Characteristics | YES | Need to show how property manifests |
| Theorems/Claims | YES | Need to illustrate what theorem means |
| Comparisons (X vs Y) | YES | Need concrete case showing difference |
| Security properties | YES | Need attack scenario or counterexample |
| Algorithms/Procedures | YES | Need step-by-step walkthrough |
| "Why" questions | YES | Need counterexample or motivation case |
Example format:
<div class="concept">
<strong>Collision Resistance (抗碰撞性)</strong>
Nobody can find x and y such that x ≠ y and H(x) = H(y).
</div>
<div class="example">
<strong>Why this matters:</strong> Consider H(x) = last 4 bits of x.
<br>Finding collision is trivial: H("00001010") = H("11111010") = "1010"
<br>This H is NOT collision resistant - bad for security!
</div>Counterexample pattern for "Why not X?" questions:
When explaining why a definition/property is formulated a certain way, ALWAYS provide a counterexample showing what goes wrong with the alternative:
<div class="problem-solution">
<div class="problem">Why require H(x₁)=Y rather than x₁=x in one-wayness?</div>
<div class="solution">
<strong>Counterexample:</strong> Let H(x) = LSB(x) (last n bits).
<ul>
<li>Given Y, can you find the original x? NO (2^n possibilities)</li>
<li>Given Y, can you find ANY x' with H(x')=Y? YES, trivially!</li>
</ul>
If we used x₁=x, this insecure function would be called "one-way"!
</div>
</div>HTML Structure
Generate HTML following this structure:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
<title>{Document Title} - Study Notes</title>
<!-- Copy full <style> block from assets/template.html -->
</head>
<body>
<h1>{Document Title}</h1>
<nav class="toc">
<h2>Table of Contents</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="#section-1">Section 1 Title</a></li>
<!-- ... more sections -->
</ul>
</nav>
<section id="section-1">
<h2>Section 1 Title</h2>
<!-- Content with concepts, problem-solutions, examples -->
</section>
<!-- More sections -->
<!-- End with summary and quiz -->
<div class="summary">
<h3>Key Takeaways</h3>
<ul>
<li>Main point 1</li>
<li>Main point 2</li>
</ul>
</div>
<section>
<h2>Self-Check Quiz</h2>
<!-- Quiz questions -->
</section>
</body>
</html>Collapsible Sections
Use <details> for content that benefits from progressive disclosure:
<details>
<summary>Detailed Explanation of X</summary>
<div>
Extended content here...
</div>
</details>Self-Quiz Questions
End each major topic or the document with quiz questions:
<div class="quiz">
<div class="quiz-question">What is the main purpose of X?</div>
<details>
<summary>Show Answer</summary>
<div>The answer explanation here...</div>
</details>
</div>Generate 3-5 quiz questions per major section covering:
- Definitions (What is...?)
- Application (When would you use...?)
- Comparison (How does X differ from Y?)
- Problem-solving (Given scenario Z, what approach...?)
Quiz answers should also include examples when explaining non-trivial concepts.
Output Checklist
Before saving, verify the notes include:
- Clear title and table of contents
- All major topics from source document
- Key concepts highlighted with definitions
- Concrete examples for ALL non-definition content (MANDATORY)
- Problem-solution pairs explaining the "why"
- Counterexamples for "why not X?" type questions
- Collapsible sections for detailed content
- Summary of key takeaways
- Self-quiz questions with hidden answers (including examples in answers)
Resources
assets/
template.html- Full HTML template with CSS styles. Copy the<style>block into generated notes.