Step 14: Set up filter layer per source
This is the core of the 3-phase model: phase 2, the filter moment, is set up differently for each source. Below is a per-source overview of the dump layer, the filter moment, and how you indicate what may enter the vault.
Papers (Zotero)
| Phase | What |
|---|---|
| Dump layer | Zotero _inbox collection — central collection bucket for all sources |
| Filter moment | Read abstract in Zotero, or have Claude Code summarize via Qwen3.5:9b (locally) |
| Go | Move item to the relevant collection in your library |
| No-go | Delete item from _inbox — no note is created |
Tag-based filter logic
Claude Code adjusts its evaluation based on the Zotero tag of the item:
| Tag | Treatment |
|---|---|
✅ | Previously approved — skip Go/No-go, go directly to processing |
📖 | Marked as interesting — only ask the Go/No-go question, no summary |
/unread, no tag, or another tag | Generate summary + relevance indication, ask Go or No-go |
Items with unknown tags (e.g. your own project tags or type indicators) are therefore treated as /unread: Claude Code generates a summary and asks for a Go/No-go decision.
No-go is always final: a rejected item is deleted from _inbox and receives no note in the vault. Claude Code always asks for confirmation before deletion.
Claude Code can help you with the evaluation — ask for a summary of items in _inbox:
Give me an overview of the items in my Zotero _inbox collection with a 2–3 sentence
summary per item and a relevance assessment for my research on [topic].
Claude Code retrieves the metadata and abstract via Zotero MCP and gives a recommendation per item. You then decide which items deserve the next step.
YouTube videos
| Phase | What |
|---|---|
| Dump layer | Zotero _inbox via iOS share sheet from the YouTube app |
| Filter moment | Watch the first 5–10 minutes, or have Claude Code summarize based on metadata |
| Go | transcript [URL] in Claude Code |
| No-go | Delete item from _inbox |
Podcasts
| Phase | What |
|---|---|
| Dump layer | Zotero _inbox via iOS share sheet from Overcast (overcast.fm URL) |
| Filter moment | Listen to the first 5–10 minutes |
| Go | podcast [URL] in Claude Code (download + transcription + processing) |
| No-go | Delete item from _inbox |
For podcasts the filter moment is intentionally manual — audio is harder to evaluate quickly than an abstract. You can ask Claude Code to fetch the show notes of an episode for additional help with the decision:
Fetch the show notes from [URL] and give a 3-sentence summary.
RSS feeds
| Phase | What |
|---|---|
| Dump layer (academic and non-academic) | NetNewsWire — unread items |
| Filter moment | Scan headline and intro |
| Go (academic) | Open article → save to Zotero via browser extension or iOS app → ends up in _inbox |
| Go (non-academic) | Save via Zotero Connector, or pass inbox [URL] to Claude Code |
| No-go | Mark item as read or delete from NetNewsWire |