# AI-Native Obsidian Vault Setup Guide

> Set up an Obsidian vault as a life operating system

Source: https://curiouslychase.com/posts/ai-native-obsidian-vault-setup-guide/

> This is a living document about how I structure my Obsidian vault, how I maintain my Claude configuration and how I work with Claude Code as an AI-augmented collaborator for my notes.
> 
> **This document was co-authored by Claude Code.**

Instructions for setting up an Obsidian vault as a holistic life operating system. Covers work, personal life, and everything in between. This guide can be followed by an AI agent or human.

# Overview

This vault structure supports:
- Daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly reflection cadences
- Life areas (health, relationships, career, finances, learning, creative, home)
- Goals and projects with area linking
- People tracking with birthday/event reminders
- Team tracking for work
- Events and trips with packing lists
- Action item rollups via Dataview
- Automated week setup via Bun script
- Claude Code integration for sense-making

---

# 1. Create Folder Structure

Use numeric prefixes for alphabetical sorting in sidebar:

```
🌟 North Star.md          # Vision, values, bets, risk register
📊 Dashboard.md           # Daily tactical: events, tasks, goals, projects
🔗 Quick Links.md         # Key docs, dashboards, resources
000 OS/
  ├── Claude/
  │   ├── commands/       # Claude Code slash commands
  │   ├── scripts/        # Automation scripts (Bun/TS)
  │   └── skills/         # Claude Code skills
  └── Templates/          # All Obsidian templates
100 Periodics/
  ├── Daily/              # YYYY-MM-DD ddd
  ├── Weekly/             # GGGG-[W]WW
  ├── Monthly/            # YYYY-MM
  └── Quarterly/          # YYYY-Q#
199 Writing/              # Drafts
200 Notes/                # Reference notes
210 AI Log/               # Claude session logs
300 Entities/
  ├── Areas/              # Life/work areas
  ├── Companies/          # Company notes
  ├── Events/             # Trips, conferences
  ├── Goals/              # Goals with outcomes
  ├── Meetings/           # Meeting notes
  ├── People/             # People tracking
  ├── Projects/           # Projects
  ├── Software/           # Tools & apps
  └── Teams/              # Team notes
400 Resources/
  ├── Blog Posts/         # Blog post references
  ├── Books/              # Book notes
  ├── Courses/            # Course notes
  ├── Highlights/         # Readwise/highlight imports
  ├── Media/              # Movies, shows, etc.
  ├── Podcasts/           # Snipd auto-syncs here
  ├── Prompt Library/     # Human-readable copies of Claude prompts
  │   ├── Commands/       # Slash command prompts
  │   └── Skills/         # Skill prompts
  ├── Roundups/           # Curated link collections
  ├── Videos/             # Video references
  └── Web/                # YYYYMMDD Title format
999 Review/               # Triage folder for unclassified notes
  ├── People (tag-based)/
  ├── Places/
  ├── Quotes/
  ├── Root Files/
  ├── Templates and Meta/
  ├── Unclassified Notes/
  └── Unknown fileClass/
```

# Structure Logic
- Emoji files sort first (🌟 → 📊 → 🔗)
- `0xx` - OS/meta (templates, Claude config)
- `1xx` - Time-based periodics
- `2xx` - Notes, writing, AI logs
- `3xx` - Entities (people, teams, goals, projects, events, companies)
- `4xx` - Resources (books, podcasts, web, media, courses)
- `9xx` - Review/triage (notes needing classification)

---

# 2. Create Templates

# Daily Template (`000 OS/Templates/Daily.md`)

```markdown
---
type: daily
date: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
week: "[[{{date:gggg-[W]ww}}]]"
---

<< [[{{yesterday}}|← Previous]] | [[{{date:gggg-[W]ww}}|Week]] | [[{{tomorrow}}|Next →]] >>

# Today's Top 3
1.
2.
3.

# Inbox
<!-- Raw capture from Slack, meetings, drive-bys -->

# Decisions

# Action Items
- [ ]

# People Notes
<!-- #praise or #feedback, link [[Person]] -->

# Blockers I'm Creating

# Strategic Check-in
```

# Weekly Template (`000 OS/Templates/Weekly.md`)

```markdown
---
type: weekly
week: {{date:gggg-[W]ww}}
date_start: {{monday:YYYY-MM-DD}}
date_end: {{sunday:YYYY-MM-DD}}
---

# {{date:gggg-[W]ww}}

<< [[{{last-week}}|← Previous Week]] | [[{{next-week}}|Next Week →]] >>

# Weekly Top 3
1.
2.
3.

# Team Check-ins

# [Team 1 Name]
<!-- Notes on team trajectory -->

# [Team 2 Name]
<!-- Notes on team trajectory -->

# Weekly Rollup
<!-- Claude Code generates this from daily notes -->

# Reflection

---

# Daily Notes
- [[{{monday}}|Monday]]
- [[{{tuesday}}|Tuesday]]
- [[{{wednesday}}|Wednesday]]
- [[{{thursday}}|Thursday]]
- [[{{friday}}|Friday]]
```

# Monthly Template (`000 OS/Templates/Monthly.md`)

```markdown
---
type: monthly
month: {{date:YYYY-MM}}
---

# Monthly Objectives
1.
2.
3.

# [Team 1]
<!-- Progress, trajectory, key decisions -->

# [Team 2]
<!-- Progress, trajectory, key decisions -->

# People
<!-- Performance patterns, growth, concerns -->

# Cross-team
<!-- Dependencies, other team dynamics -->

# Decisions Made

# What Worked

# What Didn't

# Next Month Focus
```

# Quarterly Template (`000 OS/Templates/Quarterly.md`)

```markdown
---
type: quarterly
quarter: {{date:YYYY}}-Q
---

# Quarterly Objectives
1.
2.
3.

# [Team 1]
<!-- Where did we start? Where are we now? Where are we headed? -->

# [Team 2]
<!-- Where did we start? Where are we now? Where are we headed? -->

# Team Health
<!-- Hiring, attrition, growth, morale -->

# Strategic Alignment
<!-- Are we working on the right things? Evidence? -->

# Key Decisions

# Lessons Learned

# Next Quarter Focus
```

# Person Template (`000 OS/Templates/Person.md`)

```markdown
---
type: person
name:
team:
role:
---

# About

# Action Items
\`\`\`dataview
TASK FROM [[]]
WHERE !completed
\`\`\`

# Notes

# Feedback Log
<!-- #feedback entries -->

# Praise Log
<!-- #praise entries -->
```

# Team Template (`000 OS/Templates/Team.md`)

```markdown
---
type: team
name:
---

# Purpose

# Members
<!-- Links to person notes -->

# Current State

# Key Projects

# Dependencies

# Notes
```

---

# 3. Create Core Files

Three emoji-prefixed files at vault root, sorted alphabetically:

## 🌟 North Star.md (Strategic)

```markdown
---
type: north-star
---
# Life Vision

# Core Values
1.
2.
3.

# Role Purposes

# Current Bets

# Areas Dashboard

| Area | Status | Focus |
|------|--------|-------|
| [[Health]] | | |
| [[Relationships]] | | |
| [[Career]] | | |

# Risk Register

| Risk | Area | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation |
|------|------|------------|--------|------------|

# Recurring Prompts
<!-- Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly reflection questions -->
```

## 📊 Dashboard.md (Tactical)

```markdown
---
type: dashboard
---
[[🌟 North Star]] | [[🔗 Quick Links]]

# Teams
- [[Team 1]]
- [[Team 2]]

# Upcoming Events (Next 3 Months)
<!-- DataviewJS query for events -->

# Open Action Items
\`\`\`dataview
TASK
WHERE !completed AND type = "daily"
SORT file.name DESC
LIMIT 20
\`\`\`

# Active Goals
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "300 Entities/Goals"
WHERE status = "active"
\`\`\`

# Active Projects
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "300 Entities/Projects"
WHERE status = "active"
\`\`\`
```

## 🔗 Quick Links.md

```markdown
---
type: quick-links
---
# Work
<!-- Dashboards, docs, key Slack channels -->

# Personal
<!-- Accounts, tools, resources -->
```

---

# 4. Create Week Setup Script

Requires [Bun](https://bun.sh) runtime.

`000 OS/Claude/scripts/setup-week.ts`:

```typescript
#!/usr/bin/env bun

import { existsSync, mkdirSync, writeFileSync } from "fs";
import { join } from "path";

const VAULT_ROOT = join(import.meta.dir, "../..");

function getMonday(date: Date): Date {
  const d = new Date(date);
  const day = d.getDay();
  const diff = d.getDate() - day + (day === 0 ? -6 : 1);
  d.setDate(diff);
  d.setHours(0, 0, 0, 0);
  return d;
}

function formatDate(date: Date): string {
  return date.toISOString().split("T")[0];
}

function getISOWeek(date: Date): string {
  const d = new Date(date);
  d.setHours(0, 0, 0, 0);
  d.setDate(d.getDate() + 3 - ((d.getDay() + 6) % 7));
  const week1 = new Date(d.getFullYear(), 0, 4);
  const weekNum = Math.round(
    ((d.getTime() - week1.getTime()) / 86400000 - 3 + ((week1.getDay() + 6) % 7)) / 7 + 1
  );
  return `${d.getFullYear()}-W${weekNum.toString().padStart(2, "0")}`;
}

function addDays(date: Date, days: number): Date {
  const result = new Date(date);
  result.setDate(result.getDate() + days);
  return result;
}

function getDayName(date: Date): string {
  return date.toLocaleDateString("en-US", { weekday: "long" });
}

function ensureDir(dir: string): void {
  if (!existsSync(dir)) {
    mkdirSync(dir, { recursive: true });
  }
}

function createWeeklyNote(monday: Date): string {
  const week = getISOWeek(monday);
  const weekStart = formatDate(monday);
  const weekEnd = formatDate(addDays(monday, 6));
  const prevWeek = getISOWeek(addDays(monday, -7));
  const nextWeek = getISOWeek(addDays(monday, 7));

  const dailyLinks: string[] = [];
  for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
    const day = addDays(monday, i);
    dailyLinks.push(`- [[${formatDate(day)}|${getDayName(day)} ${formatDate(day)}]]`);
  }

  return `---
type: weekly
week: ${week}
date_start: ${weekStart}
date_end: ${weekEnd}
---

# ${week}

<< [[${prevWeek}|← Previous Week]] | [[${nextWeek}|Next Week →]] >>

# Weekly Top 3
1.
2.
3.

# Team Check-ins

# [Team 1]

# [Team 2]

# Weekly Rollup

# Reflection

---

# Daily Notes
${dailyLinks.join("\n")}
`;
}

function createDailyNote(date: Date, monday: Date): string {
  const dateStr = formatDate(date);
  const dayName = getDayName(date);
  const week = getISOWeek(monday);
  const prevDayStr = formatDate(addDays(date, -1));
  const nextDayStr = formatDate(addDays(date, 1));

  return `---
type: daily
date: ${dateStr}
week: "[[${week}]]"
---

# ${dayName}, ${dateStr}

<< [[${prevDayStr}|← Previous]] | [[${week}|Week]] | [[${nextDayStr}|Next →]] >>

# Today's Top 3
1.
2.
3.

# Inbox

# Decisions

# Action Items
- [ ]

# People Notes

# Blockers I'm Creating

# Strategic Check-in
`;
}

// Main
const targetDate = process.argv[2] ? new Date(process.argv[2]) : new Date();
const monday = getMonday(targetDate);
const week = getISOWeek(monday);

console.log(`Setting up week: ${week}`);

ensureDir(join(VAULT_ROOT, "100 Periodics/Weekly"));
ensureDir(join(VAULT_ROOT, "100 Periodics/Daily"));

const weeklyPath = join(VAULT_ROOT, "100 Periodics/Weekly", `${week}.md`);
if (!existsSync(weeklyPath)) {
  writeFileSync(weeklyPath, createWeeklyNote(monday));
  console.log(`Created: 100 Periodics/Weekly/${week}.md`);
}

for (let i = 0; i < 5; i++) {
  const day = addDays(monday, i);
  const dayDate = formatDate(day);
  const dailyPath = join(VAULT_ROOT, "100 Periodics/Daily", `${dayDate}.md`);
  if (!existsSync(dailyPath)) {
    writeFileSync(dailyPath, createDailyNote(day, monday));
    console.log(`Created: 100 Periodics/Daily/${dayDate}.md`);
  }
}

console.log("✓ Week setup complete!");
```

Run with: `bun run 000\ OS/Claude/scripts/setup-week.ts [optional-date]`

---

# 5. Create Mise en Place Skill

`000 OS/Claude/commands/mise-en-place.md`:

```markdown
# Weekly Mise en Place

This skill helps you set up your week and get oriented.

# Instructions

1. First, run the setup script to create the weekly and daily notes:

\`\`\`bash
bun run 000\ OS/Claude/scripts/setup-week.ts
\`\`\`

2. After creating the notes, help the user with their weekly mise en place:

# Review Last Week
- Open last week's weekly note and summarize:
  - What got done?
  - What decisions were made?
  - What carried over?

# Set This Week's Intentions
- Help fill in the Weekly Top 3
- Review and update Current Bets in North Star if needed
- Check Risk Register in North Star for anything that needs attention

# Team Prep
- Any 1:1s this week? Note key topics to cover
- Any team meetings? What needs to be addressed?
- Cross-team dependencies to follow up on?

# Calendar Scan
- Ask user about key meetings this week
- Note any prep needed for important meetings

3. End by opening the weekly note in the editor.
```

Invoke with: `/mise-en-place`

---

# 6. Initialize Team Notes

Create notes in `300 Entities/Teams/` for each team you manage or interface with.

---

# Customization Points

- **Daily note sections**: Adjust based on what you track daily
- **Team check-in sections**: Match your actual teams in weekly template
- **Recurring prompts**: Customize reflection questions in North Star
- **Work week**: Script creates Mon-Fri; modify loop for different schedules

---

# 7. Tag Taxonomy

Tags add queryable metadata inline. Use nested tags for categorization.

## Self-Insight Tags
For dashboard queries that surface patterns about yourself:

```
#insight/pattern      - recurring behaviors/tendencies you notice
#insight/trigger      - what causes emotional reactions
#insight/strength     - discovered strengths
#insight/growth-edge  - areas for development
#insight/energy       - what drains or fuels you
#insight/win          - accomplishments worth noting
#insight/lesson       - things learned from experience
```

## People Tags
For tracking interactions, especially in People Notes sections:

```
#people/feedback-given   - feedback you gave to someone
#people/feedback-got     - feedback you received
#people/praise-given     - recognition you gave
#people/praise-got       - recognition you received
#people/conflict         - friction or disagreements
#people/connection       - meaningful interactions
#people/idea             - ideas someone sparked
```

## AI Insight Tags
For tracking learnings from AI tools and interactions:

```
#ai/prompt      - prompt engineering discoveries
#ai/agent       - agentic patterns, multi-step workflows
#ai/workflow    - human+AI collaboration patterns
#ai/tool        - specific tool/model findings
#ai/limitation  - boundaries, failure modes
#ai/technique   - effective techniques
#ai/concept     - theoretical insights
#ai/surprise    - exceeded expectations, unexpected capability
```

## Usage Examples

In daily notes under People Notes:
```markdown
# People Notes
- [[Alice]] #people/praise-given - great job leading the retro
- [[Bob]] #people/feedback-given - talked about meeting prep
- #insight/trigger - noticed I get defensive when plans change suddenly
```

## Dashboard Queries

Recent insights (last 30 days):
```dataview
LIST
FROM #insight
WHERE file.cday >= date(today) - dur(30 days)
SORT file.cday DESC
```

All feedback given:
```dataview
LIST
FROM #people/feedback-given
SORT file.name DESC
```

---

# 8. Maps of Content (MOC)

MOCs are hub notes that aggregate related content by topic. They surface connections across your vault using dataview queries.

## Location
Store MOCs in `200 Notes/` with format: `Topic (MOC).md`

Examples:
- `AI (MOC).md`
- `Leadership (MOC).md`
- `Health (MOC).md`

## Frontmatter

```yaml
type: moc
topic: AI
tags: []
```

## MOC Template

```markdown
---
type: moc
topic: [Topic Name]
tags: []
---

# Overview
<!-- Brief description of this topic and why it matters -->

# Key Concepts
<!-- Core ideas, frameworks, mental models -->

# Notes Mentioning This Topic
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "200 Notes" OR "100 Periodics"
WHERE contains(file.outlinks, this.file.link) OR contains(file.name, this.topic)
SORT file.mtime DESC
LIMIT 20
\`\`\`

# Tagged Content
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM #[topic-tag]
SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

# Related Resources
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "400 Resources"
WHERE contains(file.outlinks, this.file.link) OR contains(tags, this.topic)
SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

# Open Questions
<!-- What are you still exploring? -->
```

## AI MOC Example

For your AI MOC, use these queries to roll up AI-related content:

```markdown
# Tagged Insights
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM #ai
SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

# By Category

## Prompt Engineering
\`\`\`dataview
LIST FROM #ai/prompt SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

## Surprises & Capabilities
\`\`\`dataview
LIST FROM #ai/surprise SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

## Limitations
\`\`\`dataview
LIST FROM #ai/limitation SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

## Tools & Models
\`\`\`dataview
LIST FROM #ai/tool SORT file.mtime DESC
\`\`\`

# Notes Linking to AI Topics
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "200 Notes" OR "100 Periodics"
WHERE contains(file.outlinks, [[AI (MOC)]])
   OR contains(file.outlinks, [[Claude]])
   OR contains(file.outlinks, [[ChatGPT]])
   OR contains(file.outlinks, [[Suno]])
SORT file.mtime DESC
LIMIT 30
\`\`\`

# Software Notes (AI Tools)
\`\`\`dataview
LIST
FROM "300 Entities/Software"
WHERE contains(tags, "ai") OR contains(tags, "llm")
SORT file.name ASC
\`\`\`
```

---

# Required Obsidian Plugins

## Core Plugins (Enabled)

### Dataview
Complex data queries and dynamic lists.
- Powers action item rollups, goal/project lists, upcoming events
- Queries filter by frontmatter fields (`type`, `status`, `area`)
- DataviewJS for advanced calendar/birthday logic in Dashboard

### Periodic Notes
Creates daily/weekly/monthly notes from templates.
- **Daily**: Format `YYYY-MM-DD ddd` → `100 Periodics/Daily/`
- **Weekly**: Format `GGGG-[W]WW` → `100 Periodics/Weekly/`
- Templates at `000 OS/Templates/`
- Integrates with Calendar plugin sidebar

### Calendar
Calendar view in sidebar for navigating daily notes.
- Click date to open/create daily note
- Dots indicate existing notes
- Works with Periodic Notes plugin

### QuickAdd
Quick capture and templated note creation.
- **Rapid Log**: Captures timestamped entries to daily note's `# Inbox` section
  - Format: `- HH:mm [your text]`
  - Assign to hotkey for quick capture

### Metadata Menu
Frontmatter field management and validation.
- Autosuggest for field values
- Consistent metadata across note types
- Works with Dataview queries

### Kanban
Markdown-backed kanban boards.
- Use for project tracking, workflows
- Cards are internal links to notes

### Advanced URI
Extended Obsidian URI schemes.
- Deep links to specific notes/headings
- Automation integration

### Regex Find/Replace
Pattern-based find/replace.
- Bulk text transformations
- Useful for restructuring notes

### Pinned Notes
Pin frequently-used notes to ribbon.
- Quick access to North Star, Dashboard, Quick Links

---

# Related Prompts

Claude Code prompts that work with this vault structure:

## Commands
- Mise En Place Command - Weekly setup and orientation
- Create Event Command - Create events with packing lists
- Top 3 Command - Set daily priorities
- Reflect Command - Guided reflection
- Tag Notes Command - Apply tag taxonomy
- AI Log Command - Log AI sessions
- Expand Writing Command - Expand drafts
- Save Web Command - Save web resources

## Skills
- Extract Meetings Skill - Extract meetings from calendar screenshots
- Analyze Daily Skill - Analyze daily note effectiveness