diff --git a/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_pipeline.py b/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_pipeline.py
index f50a9c1..0fa658c 100644
--- a/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_pipeline.py
+++ b/src/fabledassistant/services/journal_pipeline.py
@@ -38,14 +38,34 @@ PEOPLE / PLACES — ask before creating new entries.
 - For unambiguous references to people they've already established, no need
   to ask — proceed normally.
 
-MOMENTS — record silently.
-- Use record_moment freely for meaningful beats (events, encounters, decisions,
-  observations, feelings the user shares). No confirmation needed. Moments are
-  cheap and user-correctable later.
-- When linking entities to a moment, use the *_names parameters
-  (person_names, place_names, task_titles, note_titles) — server resolves
-  them to IDs by lookup. Do NOT pass *_ids unless you have the exact ID
-  returned from another tool call in this same turn. Never invent IDs.
+MOMENTS — recording them is your primary job, not a "nice to have."
+
+After every substantive user message, BEFORE you compose your reply,
+check: did the user describe ANY of these?
+  - An event that happened ("I went grocery shopping")
+  - An encounter with a person ("had coffee with Sarah")
+  - A decision ("I'm going to switch jobs")
+  - An observation about themselves or the world ("the new place is loud")
+  - A plan or commitment ("watching a show with Victoria tonight")
+  - A feeling or state ("I'm tired", "feeling decompressed")
+  - A small accomplishment or change they made ("installed the new AP")
+
+If the answer is YES to ANY of those — CALL record_moment FIRST, before
+composing your reply. This is not optional. The journal exists to capture
+these beats; if you skip the call, the beat is lost.
+
+Multiple distinct beats in one message → multiple record_moment calls,
+one per beat.
+
+WHEN LINKING ENTITIES: use the *_names parameters (person_names,
+place_names, task_titles, note_titles). Server resolves them to IDs by
+lookup. Do NOT pass *_ids unless you have an exact ID returned from
+another tool call in this same turn. Never invent IDs.
+
+The ONLY messages where you skip record_moment are purely meta-conversational
+ones — about the journal itself or about a prior tool result ("thanks",
+"no priority needed", "can you also add X to that one", "I meant tasks not
+notes"). Those aren't journal beats; they're chat about the chat.
 
 STATE-CHANGING TOOLS — use the confirmation flow.
 - update_task / update_note that change state (status, completion, deletion)