name: backfill-journal-body-context description: Walks every daily journal entry in a date range (default this year) and appends a "Body track" section BELOW the original verbatim content. Pulls health-mcp data for each date (HRV, RHR, sleep, cycle phase, lab status, recovery/sleep/strain scores) and weaves a Floor-paired interpretation. Idempotent (skips entries that already have the section). Use when user says /backfill-journal-body-context, asks to enrich journals with body data, says "backfill my journals with health" or wants existing journal entries paired with their Apple Health / Oura / Fitbit data retroactively.
backfill-journal-body-context
Reads existing daily journals, pulls health-mcp data for each entry's date, and appends a "Body track" section BELOW the original verbatim content. The original entry text is NEVER modified — the rule from feedback_journal_verbatim_words.md is non-negotiable.
When to use
- User says
/backfill-journal-body-context - User wants their existing journals enriched with body data (HRV, sleep, recovery, cycle phase) retroactively
- User wants to see what
/weeklyand/monthlywould surface if they had been pulling body data all along - After running
/health-setupfor the first time and importing a backfill window of biometric data
Do NOT use for:
- Brand-new journal entries (daily-journal already pulls body context via health-context skill)
- Editing journal content beyond appending the body section
- Anything that touches the original verbatim journal body
How it works
- Determine the date range. Default:
--year <current-year>(Jan 1 to today). - Find journal entries in that range using
[VAULT_PATH]/Meta/journal-index.json(rebuild if stale). - For each entry:
- Read the file
- Check if it already has a
## Body track (health-mcp, backfilled YYYY-MM-DD)section — if yes, skip (idempotent) - Call
health_journal_context(date, voice_profile="warm")for the data + rendered prose - Call
health_cycle_context(date)if cycle data exists (for women's cycle awareness) - Call
health_recovery_score(date)+health_sleep_score(date)for the scores - Call
health_lab_panel(date, lookback_days=180)for any out-of-range markers active that period - Pair the body data with the entry's floor tag (from frontmatter
floor_level+floor) - Render the body-track section using the template below
- Append BELOW the original content with a clear divider
- Print summary: N entries processed, M backfilled, K skipped.
Body track template
Append below the original journal content, after a blank line + horizontal rule:
---
## Body track (health-mcp, backfilled {{today_iso}})
*Auto-generated context. Original journal entry above is preserved verbatim.*
**Floor that day:** {{floor_name}} ({{floor_level}})
**Cycle phase** (if cycle data exists): {{phase}}, cycle day {{cycle_day}}{{ — irregularity flag if any}}
**The body that day:**
- HRV: {{hrv_ms}} ms ({{hrv_delta_pct}}% vs 30-day baseline)
- RHR: {{rhr_bpm}} bpm
- Sleep: {{sleep_asleep_min}} min ({{sleep_efficiency}}% efficiency, REM {{rem_min}}min, deep {{deep_min}}min)
- Steps: {{steps_total}}
- Workouts: {{workout_count}} ({{workout_min}}min)
- Mindful: {{mindful_min}}min
**Scores:**
- Recovery: {{recovery_score}}/100 ({{confidence}} confidence)
- Sleep: {{sleep_score}}/100
**Floor-paired interpretation** (1-3 sentences, see synthesis rule below): {{interpretation}}
**Lab markers** (if any out-of-range result from the prior 180 days, paired with today): {{lab_flags}}
Synthesis rule (the helpful-not-just-cool part)
The interpretation line must follow the same shape as the /weekly section 0d synthesis. Each line:
- Names the pattern (cycle phase explaining HRV, under-fueling masking recovery, anniversary coupling, etc.)
- Hypothesizes what it might mean
- Suggests a specific next-action when applicable
Examples (template SHAPES, not for verbatim use):
Floor was Fear and HRV ran 22% below baseline on a luteal day. The body and the mind both registered the threat. Without the journal entry the recovery score would have called this "rest more"; pairing with Fear shows the actual signal was "the worry is doing work the rest can't fix."
Floor was Joy after a strong gym week. HRV at baseline, sleep efficiency 94%. This is the high-water mark — note what conditions produced it.
Floor was Apathy and Vitamin D 25-OH came back at 26 ng/mL (below range) the month before. The mood floor may have had a metabolic floor under it. Worth a re-test after 3 months of supplementation.
Banned shapes (from /weekly section 0d, same rules apply):
- Listing body numbers without an interpretation
- Generic "rest more / eat better / hydrate" advice
- Treating recovery score as ground truth when cycle phase or under-fuel explains the dip
- Pretending in-range labs cause symptoms
Model routing
The interpretation line is grunt-work prose. Use the cheapest model that produces a helpful sentence. Order of preference:
- Python template (zero cost) — for high-confidence cases (HRV in normal range during follicular, no out-of-range labs, no anniversary signal). The script
scripts/backfill-journal-body-context.pycovers this. - MiniMax (~$0.06/M tokens, very cheap) — for cases where the data shows a real pattern that deserves a synthesized sentence. Invoke via
"⚙️ Meta/scripts/minimax.sh"if the vault has it, otherwise skip the LLM step and use a fallback template. - Haiku (cheap, fast, reliable) — for cases where MiniMax is unavailable.
- Sonnet — only if explicit
--high-qualityflag passed and the user accepts the cost.
The default is Python template + MiniMax fallback. Do NOT default to Sonnet for hundreds of journal entries.
Invocation
The actual work runs in scripts/backfill-journal-body-context.py. The skill assembles arguments and hands off to the script.
When invoked:
Parse arguments:
--year YYYY(default: current year)--start YYYY-MM-DDand--end YYYY-MM-DD(override year)--vault-root PATH(default: $VAULT_ROOT or autodetect from cwd)--llm-model {python,minimax,haiku,sonnet}(default:pythonwithminimaxfallback)--dry-run(print what would change without writing)--force(overwrite an existing body-track section)
Sanity checks:
- health-mcp must be registered. If not, abort with setup instructions.
- Run
health_status()to confirm there's biometric data in the DuckDB. If the count is zero, abort and suggest/health-setupfirst. - The vault must have a
Meta/journal-index.jsonand a journal folder. Rebuild the index if stale.
Run the script:
/usr/bin/python3 "[REPO_ROOT]/scripts/backfill-journal-body-context.py" --year 2026 --vault-root "$VAULT_ROOT"Surface the summary: N entries processed, M backfilled, K skipped, plus the date range covered.
Output
The skill does NOT write to the vault itself — the Python script does the file mutations. The skill only:
- Validates inputs
- Calls health-mcp tools to verify data exists
- Invokes the Python script
- Reports the result
Idempotency
The Python script checks each journal file for an existing ## Body track (health-mcp, backfilled line. If present, skip unless --force. Re-running the skill on the same range is safe.
Ongoing daily run
After the initial backfill, the same script runs daily for yesterday's entry via a scheduled task (use the /schedule skill). Suggested cadence: 7am local, after Apple Watch has uploaded the previous night's sleep data.
Scheduled-task body:
/usr/bin/python3 "[REPO_ROOT]/scripts/backfill-journal-body-context.py" --start "$(date -v-1d +%F)" --end "$(date -v-1d +%F)" --vault-root "$VAULT_ROOT"
That's "backfill yesterday, every morning, forever." Set it up after the initial backfill completes successfully.
Voice rules
- The auto-generated body-track section is in
warmregister (narrative sentences, not clinical exact-number dumps) - For Spanish journals, render the section in Spanish (the script detects via the journal's frontmatter
language:field if present) - Floor names use the appropriate language alias (
[[Joy]]in English /[[Alegría]]in Spanish) - Never modify the original entry's content. Only append.
Privacy
The script reads journal files + the local DuckDB. It writes only to journal files (appending body-track sections). No data leaves the machine. The interpretation step (if LLM-backed) sends ONLY the structured body data + floor tag to the chosen model — never the journal body content.