path: root/docs/specs/google-keep-emacs-integration-spec.org

#+TITLE: Google Keep <-> Emacs integration — Spec
#+AUTHOR: Craig Jennings & Claude
#+DATE: 2026-06-24
#+TODO: TODO | DONE SUPERSEDED CANCELLED

* Metadata
| Status   | Ready (round 1 review folded in)                           |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------------|
| Owner    | Craig                                                      |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------------|
| Reviewer | Codex (spec-review)                                        |
|----------+------------------------------------------------------------|
| Related  | [[file:../../todo.org][todo.org: google-keep in-editor integration]]               |

* Problem / Context

Craig keeps quick notes in Google Keep but works almost entirely in Emacs. Today, reading or acting on a Keep note means leaving Emacs for the phone or the web app — a context switch for content that wants to live next to his org files. He wants Keep notes native to Emacs: browsable, searchable, greppable, and editable, with a path to publish the result as a standalone package.

Two hard constraints shape every choice:

1. *No official API.* Google Keep has no public API. Every live client (gkeepapi and the tools built on it) reverse-engineers the private mobile endpoint. That layer is fragile: it breaks when Google changes auth, and it needs a Google master token, not a password.
2. *The existing MCP is agent-only.* Craig already has a google-keep MCP with full read/write (create/update/find/labels/archive/list-items). But MCP tools are invoked by the *agent* (Claude), not from elisp — there is no elisp MCP client. So the in-editor integration cannot reuse the MCP as its data path; it needs its own.

Researched 2026-06-24: there is no in-editor Emacs Google Keep package on MELPA or GitHub — only KeepToOrg, a one-shot Takeout-HTML-to-org importer (unmaintained). So this is a build, not an adopt.

The closest prior art in this config is =calendar-sync.el=: an existing engine that fetches external data and writes generated org files under =data/=. This spec follows its conventions (generated file under =data/=, atomic temp-then-rename writes, async =make-process= + sentinel, =auth-source= via the house helper) rather than reinventing them.

* Goals and Non-Goals
** Goals
- Keep notes visible and usable inside Emacs without leaving the editor.
- An org-native representation, so notes are searchable/greppable and reuse org machinery.
- A structure that starts as glue in =.emacs.d= and can be extracted to a publishable package (the VAMP / pearl module-to-package pattern).
- Read-write (create/edit notes from Emacs) as the immediate v2 increment — v1 ships read-only first, but the read path is built to carry write, so v2 is additive.
** Non-Goals
- Full bidirectional offline sync, conflict resolution, or real-time updates.
- Faithful round-tripping of every Keep feature (list checkboxes, collaborators, drawings, images).
- Reusing the MCP from elisp (infeasible — agent-only).
** Scope tiers
- v1: read-only. Fetch Keep notes through the gkeepapi bridge and render them as an org page (each note an org header). A manual refresh command. Auth via auth-source. Graceful degradation when the bridge or credentials are missing. The read path establishes a round-trip-ready data model and a stable per-note identity, because v2 builds on them.
- v2 (immediate follow-on, not deferred): read-write — create a note from a region or capture, and edit a note back to Keep. Reuses v1's bridge, auth, data model, and note-identity; adds the inverse direction and a staleness check.
- Out of scope: list/checkbox fidelity, collaborators, drawings/images, and any background or real-time sync.
- Later: list/checkbox rendering, and extracting the core to a standalone package.

* Design

** For the user

A command (=cj/keep-refresh=) pulls the current Keep notes and writes them into one generated org file (=data/keep.org= under =user-emacs-directory=, a constant in =user-constants.el= alongside =gcal-file= — a generated file, not a hand-authored one in =~/org/=). Each note becomes a top-level org heading: the title (or a derived title) as the heading text, the note body as the entry, and Keep metadata as properties — labels as org tags, plus =:KEEP_ID:=, =:PINNED:=, =:COLOR:=, =:ARCHIVED:=, =:UPDATED:= in a drawer. Pinned notes sort first; each header carries an org link back to the source note (=https://keep.google.com/#NOTE/<id>=). The file is plain org, so it is searchable with the agenda, greppable, and linkable. Opening it is just visiting the file; a keybinding and a dashboard entry make it one keystroke. v1 is read-only: editing the org file does not push back to Keep (a header line says so), so there is no accidental-mutation risk while the integration is young. The =:KEEP_ID:= and =:UPDATED:= on each header are what v2 later uses to target an update and detect a stale local copy.

** For the implementer

Three layers, cleanly separable so the core can later be a package:

1. *Data bridge (Python).* A small script using gkeepapi: authenticate with a stored master token, fetch notes, emit JSON on stdout per the schema below. =id= is the gkeepapi server id (immutable across title/content edits — the safe v2 targeting key, never derived from content), and =updated= is the freshness anchor v2's staleness guard reads. This is the one place the unofficial API lives, isolated so a break is contained and swappable; the same bridge gains a write subcommand in v2. On failure it exits non-zero and prints a single reason token on stderr (=no-gkeepapi=, =no-token=, =auth-failed=, =network=) so the elisp sentinel can surface which piece broke.
2. *Org renderer (elisp core).* Runs the bridge with =make-process= + a sentinel (async, so a slow or hung auth never blocks the interactive thread — the calendar-sync pattern), parses its JSON, and writes the org page via a temp file + atomic rename (never a partial =keep.org= under the user's eyes). Records =:KEEP_ID:=/=:UPDATED:= per note, labels as tags, pinned-first, archived notes tagged =:archived:=. =cj/keep-refresh= is the entry point. The master token is read with =cj/auth-source-secret-value= (system-lib.el, the house helper calendar-sync/slack/transcription use) against a documented =:host= entry. The JSON-to-org transform is the round-trip contract v2 inverts. This core takes its file path, auth host, and keymap injected from the glue layer — it never reaches into =user-constants= or binds keys itself, so it lifts out cleanly as a package.
3. *Glue (=modules/google-keep-config.el=).* Supplies the core its =data/keep.org= path, the =:host=, a Keep keybinding prefix, the dashboard entry, and the =(require 'google-keep-config)= in =init.el=. A load-time =cj/executable-find-or-warn= for =python3= warns early when the interpreter is absent (the gkeepapi-missing and token-missing cases surface at refresh time via the bridge's stderr reason token).

** Bridge JSON schema (the load-bearing seam)

Both the v1 transform and the v2 inverse are written against this, so it is pinned here. On success the bridge prints a JSON array of note objects:

#+begin_src js
[ { "id":       "<gkeepapi server id, string>",
    "title":    "<string, may be empty>",
    "text":     "<string; newlines are real \n inside the JSON string>",
    "labels":   ["<label>", ...],        // [] when none
    "pinned":   true|false,
    "archived": true|false,
    "color":    "<keep color name, e.g. \"WHITE\">",
    "updated":  "<ISO8601 UTC, e.g. 2026-06-25T04:12:00Z>" } ]
#+end_src

- =updated= is ISO8601 UTC — sortable, parseable by =parse-iso8601-time-string=, and readable in the drawer. v2's staleness compare depends on this exact, comparable form.
- An empty Keep returns =[]= (a valid empty page, not an error).
- =labels= is always an array (empty, never null). =text= newlines are real =\n= inside the JSON string (standard JSON string encoding).
- Failure is not expressed in JSON: the bridge exits non-zero with one stderr reason token (above). The sentinel maps the token to a =display-warning=.

* Alternatives Considered

** A — Takeout import (one-shot HTML -> org)
- Good, because no auth, fully offline, dead simple, and zero ongoing breakage risk.
- Bad, because it is not live — Craig must manually export a Takeout archive, so notes are stale the moment they are imported, and it cannot write, so it is useless for the v2 write path.
- Neutral, because it is the right tool for an archival snapshot, the wrong one for daily use. Deferred — not built in v1; a possible later no-auth archive importer if ever wanted.

** B (chosen for the data path) — gkeepapi via a Python subprocess bridge
- Good, because it is the only path that gives live notes and (in v2) write-back from inside Emacs, with the full note model.
- Bad, because gkeepapi reverse-engineers a private API: it breaks on Google auth changes, needs Python plus a stored master token, and the bridge is glue Craig owns and maintains.
- Neutral, because the fragility is isolated to one script; when it breaks, the renderer degrades to a warning.

** C — Reuse the google-keep MCP from elisp
- Good, because the MCP already has full read/write and is maintained outside the config.
- Bad, because MCP tools are invoked by the agent, not elisp — there is no elisp MCP client, so this is infeasible for an in-editor feature.
- Neutral, because the MCP stays the right tool for agent-driven Keep access; it just can't power an in-editor integration.

** D — A local HTTP server wrapping gkeepapi
- Good, because elisp would talk clean HTTP instead of spawning a subprocess each refresh.
- Bad, because a long-running personal server is more infrastructure than a single-user note view warrants.
- Neutral, because it is a heavier variant of B; revisit only if subprocess latency ever bites.

* Decisions [5/5]

** DONE Presentation shape: org page of headers
- Decision: We will render notes as one *org page*, each note a top-level header (title + body + metadata properties, labels as tags). Confirmed by Craig 2026-06-25.
- Consequences: easier — reuses org search/agenda/grep/links, nothing bespoke to render, and read-only is safe. Harder — a large Keep collection makes a long file (mitigated by pinned-first sort and org folding).

** DONE Direction: read-only v1, read-write v2 (immediate)
- Decision: We will ship v1 read-only (fetch + render + refresh), then move directly into v2 read-write (create/edit back to Keep). v2 is the immediate next increment, not a deferred someday. The read path must establish a round-trip-ready data model and a stable per-note identity up front, so v2 is additive rather than a rewrite. Confirmed by Craig 2026-06-25.
- Consequences: easier — v1 ships the visible value fast on a path write reuses wholesale, and a parse bug can't corrupt real Keep data while the model is being proven. Harder — the read path carries design weight it wouldn't if write were truly far off (note-identity and the freshness field have to be right in v1), and the write work — note targeting, staleness/overwrite handling — still has to be built right after.

** DONE Data path: gkeepapi subprocess bridge (Takeout deferred)
- Decision: We will use a small Python gkeepapi bridge that emits JSON as the sole data path; it powers read in v1 and gains a write subcommand in v2. A failure degrades to a clear warning. The Takeout-import path is deferred (read-only and stale, so it can't serve v2). The MCP is not in the data path. Confirmed by Craig 2026-06-25.
- Consequences: easier — one live path that serves both read and write, fragility isolated to one swappable script. Harder — a Python + gkeepapi dependency and a maintained bridge; the unofficial API can break and needs a master token, with no second read path as a safety net (the warning is the degradation).

** DONE Auth: master token in authinfo.gpg via auth-source
- Decision: We will store the master token in =authinfo.gpg= and read it via =auth-source= (with =cj/auth-source-secret-value=, the house helper), and document the one-time master-token retrieval. Confirmed by Craig 2026-06-25.
- Consequences: easier — consistent with existing credential handling, no plaintext secret, the daemon's auth-source cache applies. Harder — the one-time token retrieval is a manual setup step, and a revoked/expired token surfaces as an auth failure the renderer must report cleanly.

** DONE Structure: google-keep-config.el glue + extractable core
- Decision: We will build the integration as =modules/google-keep-config.el= (the =.emacs.d= glue: paths, keys, dashboard, auth wiring) plus a self-contained core (the bridge runner + org renderer) written so the core can later move to a standalone =keep.el=-style package, mirroring the VAMP / pearl migration. The core takes paths/keys/host injected from the glue — it never reaches into =user-constants= or binds keys itself. Confirmed by Craig 2026-06-25.
- Consequences: easier — usable immediately in =.emacs.d=, with a clean seam for later extraction. Harder — the discipline of keeping the core free of =.emacs.d=-specific assumptions from the start.

* Review findings [8/8]
** DONE Generated-file path + atomic write (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: the draft put the file at =~/org/keep.org= (hand-authored org area) with no atomic write, diverging from calendar-sync (generated org under =data/=, temp-then-rename). Risk: a partial write leaves a truncated file the user is viewing, and a generated file in =~/org/= invites edits that get overwritten.
- Resolution: path is =data/keep.org= as a =user-constants.el= constant; the renderer writes via temp file + atomic rename.

** DONE Async subprocess via make-process + sentinel (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: the draft said "run as a subprocess" without committing to async; gkeepapi can hang on auth churn, and a synchronous =call-process= would freeze Emacs.
- Resolution: specified =make-process= + sentinel (the calendar-sync pattern); the warning-on-failure degradation lives in the sentinel.

** DONE Name the auth-source house helper (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: the draft read the token via "auth-source" generically; the house helper is =cj/auth-source-secret-value= (system-lib.el).
- Resolution: spec now calls it out with a documented =:host= entry.

** DONE Name the missing-tool helper (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: the draft promised a display-warning for a missing tool but didn't cite =cj/executable-find-or-warn=, and didn't separate the gkeepapi-missing vs token-missing failure modes.
- Resolution: glue uses =cj/executable-find-or-warn= for =python3=; the bridge emits distinct stderr reason tokens the sentinel surfaces.

** DONE Pin the bridge JSON schema (round 1, BLOCKING — cleared)
- Finding: Phase 1 listed JSON fields but left the =updated= format, label/newline serialization, empty-result, and error envelope unstated — the round-trip contract both v1 and v2's staleness guard depend on.
- Resolution: added the "Bridge JSON schema" subsection — ISO8601-UTC =updated=, always-array =labels=, standard JSON newline encoding, =[]= for empty, and exit-nonzero + stderr-token for failure.

** DONE v2 staleness guard re-fetches before write (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: v2 must not trust the possibly-stale =:UPDATED:= in the generated file; a phone edit between refresh and edit-back would be clobbered.
- Resolution: Phase 4 states the write path re-fetches the target note's current =updated= from Keep and compares before overwriting, prompting on mismatch.

** DONE Note KEEP_ID is the immutable server id (round 1, non-blocking)
- Finding: "stable" id asserted but not anchored.
- Resolution: spec states =:KEEP_ID:= is the gkeepapi server id, immutable across edits, never derived from content.

** DONE Small enhancements: source link + archived handling (round 1, non-blocking, optional)
- Finding: a back-link to the Keep web note and archived-note handling were free given the data already carried.
- Resolution: each header links to =keep.google.com/#NOTE/<id>=; archived notes are tagged =:archived:= (the JSON carries =archived=).

* Implementation phases

** Phase 1 — Data bridge
A Python script (gkeepapi) that authenticates with the stored master token and prints the JSON array per the Bridge JSON schema on stdout (=id= = immutable server id, =updated= = ISO8601 UTC). On failure: exit non-zero with one stderr reason token. Standalone and testable from the shell with a fixture; no Emacs yet. Tree stays working (new files only).

** Phase 2 — Org renderer + refresh
The elisp core + =modules/google-keep-config.el=: run the bridge with =make-process= + a sentinel, parse the JSON, and write =data/keep.org= via temp file + atomic rename (heading + body + property drawer per note, recording =:KEEP_ID:= and =:UPDATED:=, labels as tags, archived tagged =:archived:=, pinned-first, a source back-link per header). =cj/keep-refresh= regenerates it; auth via =cj/auth-source-secret-value=. A header line marks the file a read-only view. The sentinel maps a bridge failure (stderr token) to a =display-warning= naming the missing piece — never errors at load.

** Phase 3 — Access UX + un-orphan
Keybindings (a Keep prefix), a dashboard entry, a load-time =cj/executable-find-or-warn= for =python3=, and the =(require 'google-keep-config)= in =init.el=. Optional: a dedicated read-only major mode for the buffer.

** Phase 4 (v2) — read-write
The immediate next increment after v1 lands. A write subcommand on the bridge (gkeepapi create/update), and an elisp path that targets a note by =:KEEP_ID:= and, before overwriting, re-fetches that note's current =updated= from Keep and compares it against the drawer's =:UPDATED:= (a staleness guard — abort/prompt on mismatch so a phone edit since the last refresh isn't clobbered). Entry points to create a note from a region/capture and edit one back. Specced in detail once v1's read model is proven on real notes; listed here so Phases 1-3 don't paint into a read-only corner.

(Later, not specced here, logged to todo.org: list/checkbox rendering; extract the core to a package.)

* Acceptance criteria
- [ ] =cj/keep-refresh= fetches the current Keep notes and writes =data/keep.org= via temp + atomic rename, one header per note with title/body/labels/metadata and a source back-link.
- [ ] Pinned notes sort to the top; labels render as org tags; archived notes are tagged =:archived:=; Keep id/color/pinned/archived/updated land in a property drawer.
- [ ] Each note header carries an immutable =:KEEP_ID:= (gkeepapi server id) and an ISO8601 =:UPDATED:= (the v2 targeting + staleness anchors).
- [ ] The bridge runs async (=make-process= + sentinel); a slow/hung auth does not block Emacs.
- [ ] The master token is read via =cj/auth-source-secret-value= from =authinfo.gpg=; no secret is hardcoded.
- [ ] A missing python3 / gkeepapi / token (distinct bridge stderr tokens) produces a clear =display-warning=, not a load error or a crash; an empty Keep yields an empty page, not an error.
- [ ] =make validate-modules= + launch smoke clean with =google-keep-config= required.

* Readiness dimensions
- Data model & ownership: Keep is the source of truth; =data/keep.org= is a generated read-only view (v1). Each note maps to one org header keyed by the immutable =:KEEP_ID:=; the bridge JSON (pinned schema) is the contract between Python and elisp, and the JSON-to-org transform is the round-trip contract v2 inverts.
- Errors, empty states & failure: auth failure, a broken gkeepapi, missing Python/token, or zero notes each degrade to a warning (named by the bridge's stderr token) or an empty page, never a crash. The unofficial API breaking is expected, not exceptional.
- Security & privacy: the master token lives in =authinfo.gpg= (gpg-encrypted), read via =cj/auth-source-secret-value=; note content lands in a local generated org file under =data/=. No secret in the repo. The token grants broad Google access — documented as a risk.
- Observability: the warning path names which piece is missing (python3 / gkeepapi / token / auth) from the bridge's stderr token. The generated page's header shows the last refresh time.
- Performance & scale: one async subprocess per manual refresh over N notes (tens to low hundreds); trivial. No background polling in v1.
- Reuse & lost opportunities: follows calendar-sync conventions (generated org under =data/=, atomic temp+rename, =make-process= + sentinel) and reuses =cj/auth-source-secret-value=, =cj/executable-find-or-warn=, org rendering, and the dashboard. gkeepapi supplies the API client, so no endpoint code is written here.
- Architecture fit & weak points: three layers (Python bridge / elisp core / glue) with the fragile API isolated in layer 1 and the core kept free of =.emacs.d= specifics for extraction. Weak point: gkeepapi maintenance and Google auth churn — mitigated by isolation, graceful degradation, and a swappable bridge.
- Config surface: the =data/keep.org= path constant, the auth-source =:host= entry, and a keybinding prefix. No tuning knobs in v1.
- Documentation plan: a setup note (one-time master-token retrieval, =pip install gkeepapi=, the authinfo entry) and the module commentary. No user-migration doc (personal config).
- Dev tooling: the bridge is shell-testable with a JSON fixture; the core gets ERT over the JSON-to-org transform (against the pinned schema); =make validate-modules= + launch smoke for the module.
- Rollout, compatibility & rollback: additive — a new module + a require. Rollback = drop the require and delete =data/keep.org=. No existing behavior changes.
- External APIs & deps: gkeepapi (PyPI) and the unofficial Google Keep mobile endpoint it wraps — the single load-bearing external dependency and the central risk. Python 3 on PATH. A Google master token.

* Risks, Rabbit Holes, and Drawbacks
- The central risk is gkeepapi breaking when Google changes auth or the private endpoint. It has a history of auth churn. With Takeout deferred there is no second read path, so the mitigations are: isolate gkeepapi in the bridge, degrade to a clear warning (named by stderr token), keep the bridge swappable, and never block Emacs load on it.
- Credential risk: the master token grants broad account access. Keep it in =authinfo.gpg=, never the repo; document revocation.
- v2 staleness: because write follows immediately, the edit-back path must re-fetch the note's current =updated= from Keep before writing, not trust the generated file's =:UPDATED:= (which is only as fresh as the last refresh). Carrying =:UPDATED:= correctly in v1 is what makes that guard possible.
- Scope creep: the pull toward full bidirectional sync, list fidelity, and real-time. v1 is a read-only org view and v2 is targeted read-write; richness and sync stay later, gated behind those landing.

* Review and iteration history
** 2026-06-24 Wed @ 22:40:00 -0400 — Claude — author
- What: initial draft.
- Why: Craig asked to spec the google-keep in-editor integration before building. It spans a fragile external API, an auth-source credential, a Python/elisp bridge, and a module-to-package trajectory, with real trade-offs on shape, direction, and data path — worth pinning before code.
- Artifacts: docs/specs/google-keep-emacs-integration-spec.org; the todo.org google-keep task.
** 2026-06-25 Thu @ 00:40:00 -0400 — Claude — author
- What: resolved all five decisions with Craig (one by one) and folded them in. Shape = org page (popup dropped, a separate later discussion). Direction = read-only v1 then read-write v2 immediately, so the read path now carries a round-trip-ready model + stable note-identity. Data path = gkeepapi sole bridge, Takeout deferred. Auth = authinfo.gpg via auth-source. Structure = extractable core + glue. Added Phase 4 (v2) and the v2-staleness risk.
- Why: decisions resolved, so the spec could go to spec-review.
- Artifacts: this spec.
** 2026-06-25 Thu @ 00:55:00 -0400 — spec-review (round 1) + author response
- What: independent review against the readiness gate and Phase 4 dimensions, reading calendar-sync.el as the analog. Eight findings (one blocking: the bridge JSON schema; seven non-blocking: data/ path + atomic write, async make-process, the two house helpers, v2 re-fetch, KEEP_ID server id, source-link + archived). Craig accepted all; folded in here. Added the Bridge JSON schema subsection, the calendar-sync-convention reuse, and the Review findings section.
- Why: clears the blocker and the readiness gaps; rubric moves to Ready.
- Artifacts: this spec (Review findings [8/8], Bridge JSON schema).