Prompt file imported from awzhenyi/system_design (.cursor/commands/activeRecall.md). Copyright stays with the author.

Active Recall Command

This command turns a technical link into a structured Markdown revision page for active recall.

Instructions for AI Agent

When this command is executed:

1. Identify the Source Link

   • Use the URL explicitly provided by the user.
   • If no URL is provided, ask the user to provide the technical article, documentation page, video transcript, or source link.
   • If multiple URLs are provided, process each one separately unless the user asks for a combined page.
   • Prefer authoritative source content over search snippets.

2. Read the Source Content

   • Fetch and read the linked content before writing notes.
   • If the link cannot be fetched directly:
     • Try to locate an accessible version using the page title, domain, or visible metadata.
     • If the content is still unavailable, ask the user to paste the content or provide another accessible link.
   • Preserve the technical meaning of the source.
   • Do not invent details that are not present in the source unless clearly marked as background context.

3. Determine the Relevant Destination Folder

   • Create the Markdown page in the most relevant subfolder of the repository.
   • Use the existing documentation structure under the workspace, especially:
     • website/web/highleveldesign/ for system design concepts, distributed systems, architecture, infrastructure, scalability, databases, caching, queues, APIs, and design examples.
     • website/web/lowleveldesign/ for object-oriented design, design patterns, class modeling, and low-level design examples.
     • website/web/trivia/ for concise computer science fundamentals, networking, operating systems, security, and database trivia.
   • Match existing topic folders and naming conventions when possible.
   • If the best destination is ambiguous, choose the closest existing folder and mention the choice in the final response.
   • Use a clear title-case filename, such as Consistent Hashing.md or Redis Streams.md.

4. Create an Active Recall Page

   • The page should help the user quickly revise and reconstruct the full topic from memory.
   • Focus on recall cues, key ideas, tradeoffs, mechanisms, and interview-relevant reasoning.
   • Keep only the recall cue visible.
   • Put the answer and detailed explanation inside expandable Markdown details blocks.
   • Use the recall question or cue as the <summary> text so the answer is hidden until expanded.
   • Do not place the answer in a normal bullet before the <details> block.
   • Prefer standalone <details> blocks over nested details inside list items because some Markdown renderers expose nested content.
   • Use plain Markdown that works in Docusaurus.

5. Use This Markdown Structure

   • Add frontmatter when appropriate for nearby Docusaurus pages.

   • Use this general structure:

     ---
     sidebar_position: [number if appropriate]
     ---
     
     # [Topic Title]
     
     ## Source
     
     - [Source title](https://example.com)
     
     ## Active Recall
     
     <details>
     <summary><strong>Question or cue?</strong></summary>
     
     Detailed explanation, examples, tradeoffs, or reasoning.
     
     </details>
     
     <details>
     <summary><strong>Another key point to recall</strong></summary>
     
     Expanded explanation.
     
     </details>
     
     ## Quick Revision Checklist
     
     - [ ] Recall the main problem this concept solves.
     - [ ] Explain the core mechanism without looking.
     - [ ] Compare the main tradeoffs.
     - [ ] Describe one practical example or interview scenario.

6. Write High-Quality Recall Points

   • Use recall-friendly prompts instead of passive summaries.
   • Prefer questions, incomplete statements, or strong cue phrases:
     • What problem does X solve?
     • How does X work internally?
     • When would you choose X over Y?
     • What are the main bottlenecks or failure modes?
     • What tradeoff is being made?
   • Keep each <summary> short enough to scan during revision.
   • Put the full explanation, example, and nuance inside the matching <details> block.
   • Include diagrams only when the source or topic clearly benefits from them, using Mermaid if supported by the surrounding docs.
   • Include formulas, pseudocode, or code snippets only when they are central to recall.

7. Organize by Learning Flow

   • Start with the problem, motivation, or mental model.
   • Then cover the core mechanism.
   • Then cover design tradeoffs, scaling behavior, consistency, reliability, failure modes, or performance.
   • End with interview framing, examples, or common pitfalls when useful.
   • Use sections such as:
     • ## Active Recall
     • ## Core Mechanism
     • ## Tradeoffs
     • ## Failure Modes
     • ## Interview Notes
     • ## Quick Revision Checklist

8. Respect Existing Repository Style

   • Keep Markdown well structured with appropriate headers, concise bullets, and nested details only where useful.
   • Follow nearby files for title style, frontmatter, and folder placement.
   • Do not modify unrelated files.
   • Do not overwrite an existing page unless the user explicitly asks to update that page.

9. Report Completion

   • Tell the user where the new Markdown page was created.
   • Briefly summarize the topic and how the notes are organized.
   • Mention if any part of the source could not be accessed or had to be inferred from available content.

Quality Checklist

• The source link was read before writing the notes.
• The page is in the most relevant existing documentation folder.
• The visible <summary> lines work as active recall prompts.
• Detailed explanations are hidden inside <details> blocks.
• The page has a clear title and logical sections.
• Tradeoffs, edge cases, and interview-relevant points are included when applicable.
• The final Markdown is concise enough for revision but detailed enough when expanded.

Error Handling

• No link provided: Ask the user to provide the link.
• Link inaccessible: Ask the user to paste the content or provide another source.
• Destination unclear: Choose the closest existing folder and explain the choice.
• Existing file conflict: Ask before overwriting, or create a clearly disambiguated filename.