# Save a link to your reading queue This guide saves one supported public URL as a background reference job. Capture returns at once and does not fetch the URL. The job files the PDF, reference note, and reading task later. Success of the capture is the queued job; the reading list updates when the clip finishes. ## Before you start Install the CLI and point it at your vault. The host that runs the clip needs the usual [import dependencies](). Mac Capture submits the same draft through `bob capture`. ## 1\. Preview and queue a supported URL ``` bob capture --dry-run 'https://example.com/article' ``` Output ``` [dry-run] ok would queue example.com/article → mac_inbox new to your library · reading task lands in mac_inbox.md · file it later ``` Confirm the headline says `would queue` and names a parent. Then submit: ``` bob capture 'https://example.com/article' ``` Output ``` ✓ queued example.com/article → mac_inbox new to your library · reading task lands in mac_inbox.md · file it later ``` `queued … → reading queue` names the job. It is not yet a row in `bob ref list`. Quote the URL when the shell would treat `#` as a comment. Add `@workshop` (or `-r workshop`) to file the reading task under that route. `-R` / `--no-ref` keeps the URL as an ordinary task. On a Mac, paste the same URL into the capture panel, confirm the preview says it would queue, and submit. ## 2\. Inspect the job, then the reading queue ``` bob ref jobs ``` Pending, clipping, and stuck jobs always show. A finished clip from the last 7 days shows without `--all`. When the worker files the note you should see `filed` (or `clipped` if the PDF is waiting in `xlib/`). ``` bob ref list ``` `bob ref list` is the reading queue: queued and started reference notes under `ref/`. A job that only clipped to `xlib/` appears here after `bob ref scan -i`. `already in library` at capture time means the link was already known and no new job was queued. Hosts without a dot, IP literals, and configured exclude hosts stay tasks. See [URL routing](). To import immediately instead of queueing, run `bob ref create 'https://example.com/article' -P mac_inbox`. ## If it goes wrong If `bob ref jobs` still shows `pending` after an hour, the detached kick did not run. Run `bob ref jobs run` and read `worker.log`. A failed clip writes the URL as a task plus a ⚠️ retry bullet; a failed fallback parks the job as `stuck`. Recover that with [Recover a stuck reference job](). Extra words, tags, or child lines on the draft keep the URL as a task. ## Related - [Capture syntax]() - [Ref jobs]() - [Reference library]() - [Recover a stuck reference job]() - [Capture a task from anywhere on your Mac]()