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Extract-Only Mode

Date: 2026-05-21 Author: Codex

Focus

Implement Phase 5 of the summarize-inspired CLI evolution: add a narrow extract-only media flow that emits transcript text without structured extraction, interview capture, or default note-directory output.

Plan

  • Choose the smallest CLI surface that fits existing fetch/transcribe behavior.
  • Reuse existing transcription, feed resolution, and progress/error patterns.
  • For media URLs and saved feed episodes, emit transcript text only.
  • Add optional file output without creating an episode note directory.
  • Keep local files, stdin, text cleanup, PDF/web article extraction, cache-key changes, and provider attempt policy out of scope.
  • Add focused tests for transcript-only behavior and compatibility.

Notes

This is not a generic summarizer mode. It is a utility escape hatch for Inkwell media-learning workflows: get the transcript/clean source text, then decide what structured knowledge-note flow to run later.

Progress

  • Started implementation on codex/extract-only-mode.
  • Added inkwell fetch --extract for transcript-only media extraction.
  • Routed extract-only progress to stderr and transcript text to stdout by default.
  • Added explicit --output-dir handling for .transcript.md files without creating episode note directories.
  • Preserved saved-feed episode selection for extract-only mode.
  • Rejected structured extraction/interview options when --extract is active.
  • Documented the new flag and verified focused CLI tests, formatting, linting, and the full test suite locally.
  • Related devlog: ./2026-05-21-media-cache-controls.md
  • Related roadmap: ../../../2026-roadmap/03-universal-content-ingestion.md
  • PR: #92
  • Issue: TBD