type: reference
tags: [setup, guide, onboarding]
last_updated: "2026-04-09"


Obsidian Master Setup Guide

Everything you need to reproduce this vault system from scratch. Built for anyone running multiple workstreams who needs a command center, not a note-taking app. Works for professionals, creators, students, freelancers, team leads, or anyone managing complexity. This guide is written so that a human or an AI agent (Claude Cowork, Claude Code, etc.) can read it and build the entire system.

Created by Jared Kubin.


How To Use This Guide

This is a single markdown file that contains an entire Obsidian productivity system: folder structure, core operational files, templates, plugin configurations, workflows, and AI agent instructions. Everything someone needs to go from zero to a fully functioning command center. Hand it to a human and they can follow it step by step. Hand it to an AI agent and it builds the whole thing automatically, adapted to your specific context. The file is the installer.

If you've never used Obsidian: Obsidian is a free note-taking app that stores everything as plain text files (.md = markdown files) in a folder on your computer. A "vault" is just a folder that Obsidian opens and treats as your workspace. Unlike Google Docs or Notion, your notes live on YOUR machine, not in the cloud. You own your data. Obsidian adds powerful features on top: linking between notes with [[double brackets]], plugins that query tasks across all your notes, templates that auto-fill dates, and a graph view that shows how everything connects. This guide builds a complete productivity system inside one vault.

  1. Open Claude Cowork (or Claude Code)
  2. Make sure Cowork has access to the folder where you want your vault created
  3. Upload or paste this file into the conversation
  4. Say: "Read this file and build the entire Obsidian vault for me. Follow Section 0."
  5. The agent will ask you 5 quick questions (your name, company name, email, where to put the vault, and whether you have a second company). Then a few optional ones about your role and vault preferences. Takes about 60 seconds.
  6. The agent builds every folder, file, template, and config automatically. No copy-pasting.
  7. You'll get a short list of manual steps at the end (installing 2 plugins, configuring QuickAdd) that take about 5 minutes in Obsidian
  8. If the agent supports scheduled tasks (Cowork does), it can also set up 3 automations: weekly summaries, daily action extraction, and Action Board auto-refresh
  9. Done. Open Obsidian, point it at the vault folder, and you're running.

If you're setting up manually (no AI agent)

  1. Read the Quick Start Checklist at the bottom of this guide
  2. Create the folder structure (Section 3)
  3. Create each file by copying the content between the === STARTFILE === and === ENDFILE === markers
  4. Replace all [Company A], [Your Name], etc. placeholders with your actual values (see Placeholder Reference table)
  5. Install and configure plugins (Section 6)
  6. Follow the workflows (Section 8) to start using the system

What you get after setup

  • Home.md — your landing page, links to everything
  • Action Board.md — one view of all your tasks, ranked P0 through P3, with auto-archive to a Finished table and auto-refreshed Inbox
  • Daily Notes — auto-created each day from a template, with your Action Board tasks pulled in automatically
  • QuickAdd capture — one keyboard shortcut to dump a thought into your inbox from anywhere (3 seconds)
  • Weekly Review — a structured 30-minute checklist that keeps the system alive
  • Memory-Active.md — a "current state of the world" file that gives you (or an AI agent) instant context
  • 7+ templates — starting set for daily notes, meetings, decisions, content pieces, weekly summaries, people, and project trackers (you can add more anytime)
  • 3 scheduled automations (optional) — Cowork auto-generates weekly summaries (Sunday), extracts decisions and actions from daily notes (weekday evenings), and refreshes the Action Board inbox + archives completed items (every morning)

Your First 24 Hours

Once the vault is built and Obsidian is open:

Hour 0 (10 minutes): Open Home.md. Click around. Get familiar with the structure. Open the Action Board and add 5 to 10 real tasks you're currently tracking. Rank them into P0, P1, P2, or P3 tiers based on urgency. If you have a Medium Term section, put longer-horizon items there. Fill in Memory-Active.md with your current priorities and what's in motion right now. This is the foundation everything else runs on.

First random thought: The moment something pops into your head, test the capture flow. Cmd+P (or swipe down on mobile), pick "Capture to Board", type it, hit enter. Confirm it landed in the Action Board inbox. This is the habit you're building.

End of first day: Open today's daily note. Fill in "What happened today" with a few quick bullets. Check off anything you finished on the Action Board. Write one thing in "Carrying into tomorrow."

End of first week: Do the Weekly Review. Follow the checklist in Weekly Review.md. Process your inbox, review your trackers, update Memory-Active, set next week's top 3. This is the 30 minutes that makes the whole system work. If you skip this, the system slowly dies.


Section 0: Agent Execution Plan

If you are a Claude Cowork or Claude Code agent, follow these steps to build this vault from scratch.

Overview

An agent can execute this entire guide by reading this section. The guide is written to be 100% machine-executable. All file content is marked with === STARTFILE / === ENDFILE === markers. Template variables like {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} and {{title}} are Obsidian template syntax and must be written literally to disk—do NOT resolve them to actual dates or values.

Step 0: Explain the System and Get Buy-In

Before asking any setup questions, present this overview to the user. They need to understand what they're getting and agree to proceed. Copy or paraphrase the text below — do NOT skip this step.


Say something like this to the user:

Here's what this system is and how it works.

This builds an Obsidian vault that acts as your personal command center. Obsidian is a free app that stores everything as plain text files on your computer (not in the cloud). You own your data.

What you get:

  • Action Board — a single file where every task lives, ranked by priority (P0 = do now, P1 = next up, P2 = this week if time, P3 = backlog). One place to look when you think "what do I need to do."
  • Daily Notes — a new note auto-created each day from a template. You jot down what happened, what you're thinking, what's carrying into tomorrow. Takes 2 minutes at end of day.
  • Weekly Review — a 30-minute checklist you do once a week to keep the system alive. Process your inbox, review priorities, update your context file. This is the habit that makes everything work.
  • Memory-Active — a "state of the world" file that gives you (or an AI agent) instant context on where everything stands. Updated weekly.
  • Quick Capture — one keyboard shortcut to dump any thought into your Action Board inbox from anywhere. 3 seconds. Sort it later.
  • Templates — for daily notes, meetings, decisions, content pieces, people, and project trackers. Consistent structure every time.

What's automated (if you use Claude Cowork):

  • Every weekday evening, an agent reads your daily note and extracts decisions and action items into a structured file
  • Every morning, an agent archives your completed tasks and scans your notes for new items to add to your Action Board inbox
  • Every Sunday, an agent generates a weekly summary from your daily notes

What YOU do:

  • Write in your daily note each day (2 minutes)
  • Check off tasks on the Action Board as you finish them
  • Use Quick Capture whenever a thought hits (3 seconds)
  • Do the Weekly Review once a week (30 minutes)
  • The first week takes a little effort to build the habit. After that, it runs itself.

What you need:

  • Obsidian (free, download from obsidian.md)
  • 2 free plugins installed inside Obsidian (Tasks + QuickAdd)
  • About 10 minutes of manual setup in Obsidian after I build the vault
  • Claude Cowork for the automations (optional but recommended)

The whole thing adapts to you. During setup I'll ask which folders you actually want, which Action Board sections make sense for your work, and whether you need one project or five. Nothing is locked in. Every file is plain markdown, so you (or I) can rename, restructure, or extend anything later.

Want me to build this for you? I'll ask you a few quick questions (company name, your name, where to put it) and then create everything automatically.


Wait for the user to confirm they want to proceed before moving to Step 1. If they say no or have questions, answer them. If they want modifications (e.g., no second company, no investor tracking, different folder structure), note those and adjust during setup.

Step 1: Ask the User for Configuration

Before creating any files, collect all configuration values from the user. Ask these in two rounds to keep it fast.

Round 1 — Core Identity (ask these first)

Present these as a quick setup form. If you're in Claude Cowork, use the AskUserQuestion tool. If in Claude Code or chat, ask in a single message.

# Question Placeholder Example Required?
1 What's your primary company or project name? [Company A] "Acme Corp" Yes
2 Do you have a second company or project? If so, what's its name? (say "no" to skip) [Company B] "OldCo Inc" or "N/A" Optional
3 Your full name? [Your Name] "Jane Doe" Yes
4 Your email? [Your Email] "[email protected]" Yes
5 Where should the vault be created? Vault Root Path "~/Documents/Vault" Yes (use request_cowork_directory in Cowork)

Round 2 — Vault Personality (ask after Round 1)

# Question Placeholder Example Default if skipped
6 What's the status of [Company A]? (e.g., Building, Early Stage, Active) [Status/Phase] for Company A "Building" "Active"
7 What's the status of [Company B]? (skip if no Company B) [Status/Phase] for Company B "On Hold" skip
8 What name do you want on the vault homepage? [Your Vault Name] "Jane's Command Center" "[Your Name]'s Vault"
9 Your timezone? [Your Timezone] "US/Eastern" "US/Eastern"
10 Your role/title? [Your Role] "Product Lead" "Professional"
11 One sentence: what does this vault cover? [describe scope] "company launch and client work" "[Company A] operations"
12 The default subfolders inside each company are: Product, Team, Finance, Strategy, Technology, Marketing, Content & Education, Partnerships & BD, Culture, Legal & Corp. Want to remove any, rename any, or add new ones? [Custom Folders] "Remove Culture, rename Partnerships & BD to Sales, add Operations" Use all defaults
13 The Action Board has these optional sections: Key People Follow-ups (for tracking people you need to reach), User Tech Stack (for tracking software tools), and Medium Term (30 to 90 day items grouped by company). Want to remove any, or add custom sections like "Waiting On", "Delegated", or "Reading List"? [Board Sections] "Remove Tech Stack, add Waiting On" Keep all defaults

Agent behavior: If the user says "just use defaults" or "skip the details," fill in the defaults column and proceed. Don't block on optional fields. For question 12, apply any folder changes to both the mkdir commands in Step 2 and the folder tree diagram in Section 3. Only Daily, End of Week, and Meetings are required (the system depends on them). All others can be freely removed, renamed, or added. For question 13, add or remove sections from the Action Board template accordingly. Custom sections follow the same pattern: ## Section Name + one-line italic description + - [ ] starter item.

Master Substitution Reference

After collecting answers, you have all the values. Here is every placeholder that appears in the guide, where it's used, and what replaces it:

Placeholder Replaced With Where It Appears
[Company A] User's primary company name Folder names, file names, wiki links, Tasks queries, .obsidian configs, all file content
[Company B] User's secondary company name (or remove entire section/folder if N/A) Folder names, file names, wiki links, some file content
[Your Name] User's full name USER.md, templates
[Your Email] User's email USER.md
[Your Timezone] User's timezone USER.md
[Your Role] User's role USER.md
[Your Vault Name] Display name for homepage Home.md title only
[describe scope] One-sentence vault description USER.md only
[Status/Phase] Status per company ("Building", "Active", etc.) Home.md company headings, Company Tracker instances
[Company Name] DO NOT REPLACE in Templates/Company Tracker.md — only replace when creating tracker instances (Step 4b) with the actual company name Company Tracker template only
[Phase] DO NOT REPLACE in Templates/Company Tracker.md — only replace when creating tracker instances (Step 4b) with the company's [Status/Phase] value Company Tracker template only
{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} NEVER REPLACE — Obsidian resolves this at runtime All templates
{{date:YYYY-MM-DD dddd}} NEVER REPLACE — Obsidian resolves this at runtime Daily Note template, Weekly Summary template
{{title}} NEVER REPLACE — Obsidian resolves this at runtime Meeting Note, Decision Entry, Content Piece, Person templates
[Year] LEAVE AS-IS — User fills in manually Decisions Log only
Vault Root (in mkdir commands) The path from Q5 (e.g., ~/Documents/Vault). Replace in every mkdir command in Step 2. Step 2 folder creation only
[Custom Folders] Not a text substitution. User's answer controls which mkdir commands to run and which rows to generate in Home.md area table Step 2 folder creation, Section 3 diagram, Home.md
[Board Sections] Not a text substitution. User's answer controls which sections to include/exclude in Action Board.md and which sections the refresh task scans Action Board.md, action-board-refresh prompt

CRITICAL SUBSTITUTION RULES:

  1. Replace placeholders EVERYWHERE they appear: inside [[wiki links]], inside Tasks path includes queries, inside .obsidian/*.json config files, inside descriptive text
  2. If Company B is "N/A", delete all [Company B] folders, sections, links, and tracker references entirely — don't leave empty placeholders
  3. The {{double curly}} variables are Obsidian template syntax. Write them literally to disk. If you resolve them to actual values, the templates break.

Step 2: Create Folder Structure

Create these directories at the vault root (substitute [Company A] and [Company B] with actual names):

mkdir -p "Vault Root/Inbox"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/Templates"
# --- Required subfolders (system depends on these) ---
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Daily"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/End of Week"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Meetings"
# --- Default department subfolders (customize per user's answer to Q12) ---
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Product"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Team"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Finance"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Strategy"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Technology"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Marketing"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Content & Education"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Partnerships & BD"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Culture"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company A]/Legal & Corp"
# --- Second company (skip if N/A) ---
mkdir -p "Vault Root/[Company B]"
mkdir -p "Vault Root/.obsidian"

Notes:

  • The user can omit Company B entirely if they only have one company. Remove those folders and skip Company B references in all files.
  • Daily, End of Week, and Meetings are required — the daily note template, weekly summary, and meeting note template depend on them. All other subfolders are organizational defaults. If the user customized their folder list in Q12, only create the folders they confirmed.
  • Adding or removing subfolders later is safe. Just create a new folder in Obsidian (right-click → New Folder) or delete an empty one. No config files or queries reference department subfolders directly, so changes won't break anything.

Step 3: Create Core Files (Vault Root)

Create these files in order at the vault root, using the exact content in the === STARTFILE / === ENDFILE === sections below. Each section in the guide shows which file to create and where:

  1. Home.md (Section 4.1)
  2. USER.md (Section 4.2)
  3. Memory-Active.md (Section 4.3)
  4. Action Board.md (Section 4.4)
  5. Weekly Review.md (Section 4.5)
  6. Decisions Log.md (Section 4.6)

As you create each file, apply all substitutions from the Master Substitution Reference in Step 1. Remember: substitution applies everywhere — inside [[wiki links]], inside Tasks path includes queries, inside .obsidian JSON configs, and inside descriptive text.

Adaptive installation rule: The STARTFILE/ENDFILE content blocks below are templates, not rigid blueprints. After each ENDFILE marker, look for "Agent instruction for..." notes. These tell you where to add, remove, or modify sections based on the user's answers from Q1 through Q13. The agent instructions are OUTSIDE the file content blocks, so never write them to disk. If a file references a section or company the user doesn't have, remove it. If the user requested custom sections or folders, weave them in. The goal is a vault that fits the user on day one, not a generic scaffold they have to trim.

Step 4: Create Template Files

Create all template files in the Templates/ folder, using the exact content in === STARTFILE / === ENDFILE === sections. Order:

  1. Daily Note.md (Section 5.1)
  2. Weekly Summary.md (Section 5.2)
  3. Meeting Note.md (Section 5.3)
  4. Decision Log Entry.md (Section 5.4)
  5. Content Piece.md (Section 5.5)
  6. Person.md (Section 5.6)
  7. QuickAdd Setup.md (Section 5.7) — reference doc, not a functional template
  8. Company Tracker.md (Section 5.8)

When creating templates, apply the same substitutions from Step 1's Master Substitution Reference ([Company A], [Company B], [Your Name], etc.).

IMPORTANT: Template variables like {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}, {{date:YYYY-MM-DD dddd}}, and {{title}} must be written exactly as shown. These are Obsidian template syntax that will be resolved by Obsidian when the templates are used, not by the agent during file creation.

Step 4b: Create Company Tracker Instances

Using the Company Tracker template (Section 5.8), create an actual tracker file for each company:

  1. [Company A]/[Company A] Tracker.md — Copy content from Templates/Company Tracker.md, then make these substitutions:
    • Replace [Company Name] with the user's [Company A] value (e.g., "Acme Corp")
    • Replace [Phase] with the user's [Status/Phase] value for that company (e.g., "Active", "Building", "On Hold") — this is the same value collected in Step 1
  2. [Company B]/[Company B] Tracker.md — Same process using [Company B] name and its [Status/Phase] value, if Company B exists

Important: [Company Name] and [Phase] are NOT the same as [Company A] and [Company B]. They only appear in the Company Tracker template. When instantiating the template into a real file, substitute them with the actual company name and its current phase. Leave them as-is inside the Templates/Company Tracker.md file itself (so the template stays reusable).

These are working files (not templates). The user will add real tasks and decisions to them.

Step 5: Create .obsidian Config Files

Create these configuration files in the .obsidian/ folder. These tell Obsidian how to behave.

File 1: .obsidian/app.json

=== STARTFILE: .obsidian/app.json ===
{
"newFileLocation": "folder",
"newFileFolderPath": "Inbox",
"alwaysUpdateLinks": true,
"foldHeading": true,
"foldIndent": true,
"readableLineLength": true
}
=== ENDFILE ===

File 2: .obsidian/daily-notes.json

Substitute [Company A] with the user's primary company name in the folder path.

=== STARTFILE: .obsidian/daily-notes.json ===
{
"format": "YYYY-MM-DD dddd",
"folder": "[Company A]/Daily",
"template": "Templates/Daily Note"
}
=== ENDFILE ===

File 3: .obsidian/templates.json

=== STARTFILE: .obsidian/templates.json ===
{
"folder": "Templates"
}
=== ENDFILE ===

Step 6: Tell the User What's Next (Manual Steps)

After creating all files and folders, tell the user:

The following steps require manual action in Obsidian. They cannot be automated:

MANUAL — User must do these (step by step, nothing skipped):

  1. Install Obsidian (if not already installed)
    • Go to https://obsidian.md and download for your operating system (Mac, Windows, or Linux)
    • Run the installer. Open Obsidian when done.
  2. Open the vault in Obsidian
    • On the Obsidian startup screen, click "Open folder as vault" (NOT "Create new vault")
    • Navigate to the vault root directory that the agent just created for you
    • Click Open (or Select Folder on some systems)
    • You should see Home.md and your folder structure in the left sidebar
  3. Enable core plugins
    • Click the gear icon (bottom left) to open Settings
    • In the left menu, click Core plugins
    • Find and toggle ON each of these: Daily Notes, Templates, Backlinks, Graph View, Command Palette, Page Preview
    • Close Settings
  4. Turn off Restricted Mode (required before installing community plugins)
    • Open Settings (gear icon, bottom left)
    • In the left menu, click Community plugins
    • You will see a warning: "Restricted mode is on." Click Turn on community plugins
    • Obsidian will show a safety dialog. Click Turn on community plugins again to confirm.
    • You should now see a Browse button
  5. Install community plugins (2 plugins)
    • Click Browse in the Community plugins settings
    • Plugin 1: Tasks
    • Type Tasks in the search box
    • Find the one by Clare Macrae (it's the most popular one)
    • Click Install, then click Enable
    • Plugin 2: QuickAdd
    • Click Browse again, type QuickAdd in the search box
    • Find the one by Christian B. B. Houmann
    • Click Install, then click Enable
    • Close the Browse window
  6. Verify Daily Notes plugin settings (Section 6.1)
    • Open Settings → scroll down to Daily Notes under Core Plugins (left menu)
    • The agent already created the config file, so these should be pre-filled. Verify they match:
    • Date format: YYYY-MM-DD dddd
    • New file location: [Company A]/Daily/ (your actual company name, e.g., Acme Corp/Daily/)
    • Template file location: Templates/Daily Note
    • If any are blank or wrong, set them manually. Then close Settings.
  7. Configure QuickAdd plugin (Section 6.4 has full details, here's the quick version)
    • Open Settings → scroll down to QuickAdd under Community Plugins (left menu)
    • In the Name field at the top, type: Capture to Board
    • Make sure the dropdown next to it says Capture (not Template or Macro)
    • Click Add Choice
    • Click the gear icon next to "Capture to Board"
    • Set these values exactly:
    • Capture to active file: OFF
    • File Name: Action Board
    • Create file if it doesn't exist: ON
    • Insert after: ## Inbox
    • Task: OFF
    • Capture format: - [ ] {{VALUE}}\n
    • Go back and click the lightning bolt icon next to "Capture to Board" — this adds it to the command palette
    • Now test it: press Cmd+P (Mac) or Ctrl+P (Windows/Linux), type "Capture", select it, type a test task, hit Enter. Check the Action Board Inbox to confirm it appeared.
  8. Set up sync (Section 10 has full details)
    • Choose a sync solution: Obsidian Sync ($4/mo, easiest), iCloud Drive (free, Apple only), or Git (free, technical)
    • For mobile: install Obsidian on your phone, enable the same 2 community plugins (Tasks + QuickAdd) on mobile, and recreate the "Capture to Board" macro on the phone (QuickAdd configs often don't sync automatically — see Section 10 for details)

Step 7: Verify Installation

After completing all steps, the agent should verify:

  1. File count: Run find [vault_root] -name "*.md" | wc -l — expect at least 15 markdown files (6 core + 8 templates + 1 tracker instance). Add 1 more per additional company/project.
  2. Folder count: Run find [vault_root] -type d | wc -l — expect at least 8 directories (root + Inbox + Templates + .obsidian + company folder + Daily + End of Week + Meetings). More if the user kept default department subfolders or has Company B.
  3. Spot check: Read Home.md and confirm all [[links]] reference files that actually exist
  4. Config check: Read .obsidian/daily-notes.json and confirm the folder path uses the real company name (not the placeholder)
  5. Tasks query check: Read Action Board.md and confirm path includes filters use real company/folder names
  6. No unresolved placeholders: Run grep -r "\[Company A\]\|\[Company B\]\|\[Your " [vault_root] --include="*.md" — should return zero results (all placeholders should be substituted). Note: [Company Name] and [Phase] in the Company Tracker TEMPLATE are expected since those get filled when the template is used.

Report any issues to the user before marking installation complete.

Step 8: Set Up Scheduled Tasks (if Cowork supports it)

Who can do this: Only Claude Cowork agents (or Claude Code with scheduled task support). If you're a plain Claude chat agent without create_scheduled_task, skip this step and tell the user these automations are available if they use Cowork.

Before creating any tasks, ask the user:

"I can set up 3 automations that keep your vault alive without manual effort: (1) a weekly summary every Sunday, (2) nightly extraction of decisions and actions from your daily notes, and (3) a morning refresh that archives completed tasks and populates your Action Board inbox. Want me to set these up?"

If yes, create each task using create_scheduled_task with the exact values below. Remember to substitute [Company A] and [Vault Root] with the actual names from Step 1.

If you are a Claude Cowork agent, set up these automations:

Weekly Summary (Sunday 9:00 AM):

taskId: weekly-summary
cronExpression: 0 9 * * 0
description: Generate weekly summary from daily notes and update Memory-Active
prompt: |
  Read the USER.md and Memory-Active.md files in the Obsidian vault.
  Read all daily notes from the past 7 days in [Company A]/Daily/.
  Using the Weekly Summary template in Templates/Weekly Summary.md, create a new
  weekly summary file in [Company A]/End of Week/ named with today's date.
  Synthesize what happened, key decisions, blockers, and set next week's priorities.
  Then update Memory-Active.md with current state based on the week's activity.
  Follow all naming conventions (YYYY-MM-DD format) and writing style rules from USER.md.

Daily Extraction (Weekdays 9:00 PM):

taskId: daily-extraction
cronExpression: 0 21 * * 1-5
description: Extract decisions and action items from today's daily note into the vault trackers
prompt: |
  You are the evening extraction agent for an Obsidian vault.

  TARGET: Find today's daily note in [Company A]/Daily/ (format: YYYY-MM-DD DayOfWeek.md).
  If today's note doesn't exist, say so and stop.

  OUTPUT FILE: Create [Company A]/Daily/daily-extraction-YYYY-MM-DD.md (using today's date).

  EXTRACTION STEPS:
  1. Read today's daily note completely.
  2. Extract DECISIONS: Look for content under "Decisions made today" and any clear
     decision statements elsewhere in the note (e.g., "decided to…", "going with…",
     "confirmed…"). Log each as: Company context + one-line decision summary.
     (Note: these are logged in the extraction file only. The user or weekly review
     process copies significant decisions into the root-level Decisions Log.md.)
  3. Extract ACTIONS: Look for content under "Carrying into tomorrow", any unchecked
     `- [ ]` items, and any implied action items from the note body (e.g., "need to…",
     "should follow up on…", "next step is…"). Log each as a concise task.
  4. Extract NEW PEOPLE: Anyone mentioned by name who doesn't already have a Person
     file in the vault. Flag for review.
  5. Add any NOTES that provide useful context but aren't decisions or actions.

  FORMAT the output file as:
  # Daily Extraction YYYY-MM-DD
  ## Decisions logged: N → Decisions Log
  - [Company]: [Decision summary]
  ## Actions added: N → Action Board Inbox
  - [Action item]
  ## New people mentioned
  - [Name] ([context]). No Person file created. Flag for review.
  ## Notes
  - [Any contextual observations]

  RULES:
  - Do NOT modify the original daily note.
  - Do NOT add items to the Action Board (the morning refresh handles that).
  - Skip feelings, questions, status observations. Task-only for actions.
  - Use the writing style from USER.md: direct, no fluff.

Action Board Refresh (Monday through Saturday, 7:00 AM):

taskId: action-board-refresh
cronExpression: 0 7 * * 1-6
description: Morning auto-archive completed items to Finished table, then refresh Inbox from daily notes and weekly summaries
prompt: |
  You are the morning maintainer of the Action Board. Two jobs: (A) archive completed
  items, (B) refresh the Inbox. Surgical edits only.

  TARGET FILE (never create a new one):
  [Vault Root]/Action Board.md

  === JOB A: AUTO ARCHIVE ===

  Step A1. Scan every `- [x]` line in Inbox, This Week (all 4 tiers), Medium Term
  (all subsections), and Key People Follow-ups. Do NOT scan the Finished table, Notes,
  Tech Stack, or Queries.

  Step A2. For each checked line, extract:
    - item_text: strip emojis, strip any trailing  YYYY-MM-DD stamp, strip any
      (from source, YYYY-MM-DD) parenthetical, strip wikilinks [[...]] to plain text
    - tier: P0 / P1 / P2 / P3 / Inbox / Medium:[Company] / Key People
    - created_date: from the (from source, YYYY-MM-DD) suffix, or "unknown"
    - completed_date: from existing  YYYY-MM-DD stamp, or today's date
    - source: from the (from source, ...) suffix, or "manual"

  Step A3. Append each as a new row to the Finished table.
  Step A4. Remove the original `- [x]` line. Leave surrounding items intact.

  === JOB B: INBOX REFRESH ===

  SOURCES (read these files):
  1. [Company A]/Daily/*.md modified in the last 2 days
  2. [Company A]/Daily/daily-extraction-*.md modified in last 2 days
  3. [Company A]/End of Week/*Week Summary.md (most recent, if modified in last 8 days)

  Step B1. Extract candidates from sources:
    - Daily notes: `- [ ]` lines, bullets under headings matching "actions", "tasks",
      "to do", "follow up", "carrying into tomorrow"
    - daily-extraction files: bullets under "Actions added" or "Carrying-into-tomorrow"
    - Weekly summary: bullets from "Top 3 Priorities", "Carried Forward",
      "People to Reach Out To", "Meetings & Commitments to Prep For"
    Skip feelings, questions, status observations, and context-only statements.
    Task-only: the line must imply something someone needs to DO. Skip any candidate
    that is 3 words or fewer (too vague to be actionable).

  Step B2. Dedupe each candidate against existing_set. To build existing_set, collect:
    - Every `- [ ]` task line on the board (Inbox, This Week tiers, Medium Term,
      Key People Follow-ups)
    - Every item from the `Item` column (first column) of the Finished table
      (parse the markdown table rows, skip the header and separator rows)
    Normalize all entries: lowercase, strip emojis (🔺⏫🔼🔽⏬✅), strip wikilinks
    `[[...]]` to plain text, strip trailing `(from source, date)` parentheticals,
    collapse whitespace. A candidate is a duplicate if its normalized form matches
    any entry in existing_set. Drop duplicates.

  Step B3. Append new items to Inbox:
    `- [ ] {item text} (from {source filename without extension}, {YYYY-MM-DD})`

  === FINAL STEPS ===
  - Update frontmatter last_updated to today
  - Never touch Notes, Tech Stack, Queries, or reorder ranked tiers
  - Write a short report: items archived, sources scanned, new inbox items added

  GUARDRAILS:
  - Never delete unchecked items
  - Never uncheck items
  - Never create a new Action Board file
  - If a source file can't be read, skip and log the error

Note: Substitute [Company A] and [Vault Root] with actual names in all prompts. Ask the user if they want these automations before creating them.

Note on Company B: All three scheduled tasks scan [Company A]/Daily/ only. Daily notes are stored in the primary company's folder by default. If the user has two active companies and wants daily notes for both, they would need to either: (a) keep all daily notes in one folder (recommended), or (b) duplicate the daily-extraction and action-board-refresh tasks for [Company B]/Daily/. Most users only need one daily notes stream.

Adapting task prompts: The scheduled task prompts above are starting points. The agent should substitute all folder paths with the user's actual names. If the user later renames folders, adds projects, or changes their workflow, they can ask their agent to update the task prompts accordingly using update_scheduled_task. The prompts are plain text instructions, not compiled code. Change them anytime.


Placeholder Reference

When you see these placeholders in the guide, understand who replaces them:

Placeholder Meaning Replaced By Example
[Company A] Primary/active company or project name Agent (asks user) "Acme Corp"
[Company B] Secondary company or project name Agent (asks user) "OldCo Inc"
[Your Name] User's full name Agent (asks user) "Jane Doe"
[Your Email] User's email address Agent (asks user) "[email protected]"
[Your Timezone] User's timezone Agent (asks user) "US/Eastern"
[Your Role] User's role or title Agent (asks user) "Product Lead"
[Your Vault Name] Display name for vault homepage Agent (asks user) "Jane's Command Center"
[describe scope] What the vault covers (in USER.md) Agent (asks user) "work projects and personal goals"
[Company Name] Used in Company Tracker template only Left as-is in template; replaced when instantiating "Acme Corp"
[Phase] Used in Company Tracker template only Left as-is in template; replaced when instantiating "Early Stage"
[Status/Phase] Company/project status in Home.md headings Agent (asks user for each company) "Active", "On Hold"
{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} Obsidian template variable for date (no spaces) DO NOT REPLACE — write literally When used, Obsidian resolves to "2026-03-28"
{{date:YYYY-MM-DD dddd}} Obsidian template variable for date + day name DO NOT REPLACE — write literally When used, Obsidian resolves to "2026-03-28 Saturday"
{{title}} Obsidian template variable for note title DO NOT REPLACE — write literally When used, Obsidian resolves to the filename

Table of Contents

  • How To Use This Guide (above)
  • Section 0: Agent Execution Plan (above)
  • Placeholder Reference (above)
  1. Philosophy and Design Principles
  2. Required Software and Plugins
  3. Vault Folder Structure
  4. Core Files (the command center)
  5. Templates (every template, fully documented)
  6. Plugin Configuration (Tasks, QuickAdd, Daily Notes)
  7. Naming Conventions
  8. Workflows and Rhythms (daily, weekly)
  9. Agent Instructions (Claude Cowork / Claude Code)
  10. Mobile Setup and Cross-Device Sync
  11. Customization Guide (how to adapt this for your context)
  • Quick Start Checklist

1. Philosophy and Design Principles

This system is built on a few non-negotiable principles.

One vault, one brain. Everything lives in one Obsidian vault. No separate apps for tasks, no external project managers for personal items, no Apple Notes on the side. If it matters, it's in the vault.

Capture fast, organize later. The biggest failure mode is losing a thought because you couldn't figure out where to put it. This system has one universal inbox (the Action Board). Everything goes there first. You triage later when you have time and context.

Files over features. Everything is plain markdown. No proprietary formats, no lock-in. If Obsidian disappeared tomorrow, you'd still have a folder of .md files that any text editor can read. Plugins add convenience, not dependency.

Bidirectional linking is the knowledge graph. Use [[double bracket links]] aggressively. Link people, decisions, meetings, daily notes, project trackers. The graph view and backlinks panel make connections visible that you'd never find in a folder hierarchy.

Weekly review is the engine. The system only works if you review it regularly. The weekly review process (documented below) is what keeps everything current, surfaces stale items, and forces prioritization. Without it, any system rots.

Tasks live in context, surface in one place. You can write a task inside a meeting note, a daily note, or a project tracker. The Tasks plugin queries pull them all into the Action Board automatically. Write tasks wherever it's natural, trust the queries to aggregate them.


2. Required Software and Plugins

Software

Tool Purpose Required?
Obsidian The vault application (desktop + mobile) Yes
Obsidian Mobile (iOS or Android) Quick capture on the go Recommended
Sync solution (see Section 10: Mobile Setup and Cross-Device Sync) Cross-device sync Yes

Community Plugins

Install these via Settings Community Plugins Browse. Enable each after installing.

Plugin Purpose Configuration
Tasks Query checkboxes across the entire vault. Powers the Action Board queries and daily note task views. See Section 8
QuickAdd Instant capture from the command palette. One keystroke to add a task to your Action Board inbox. See Section 8

Core Plugins (built into Obsidian)

Enable these in Settings -> Core Plugins.

Plugin Purpose Configuration
Daily Notes Auto-creates dated daily notes from template See Section 8
Templates Enables template insertion into new notes Template folder: Templates/
Backlinks Shows what links to the current note Enable in core plugins
Graph View Visual map of your knowledge graph Enable in core plugins
Command Palette Keyboard shortcut access to all commands Enable (Cmd+P / Ctrl+P)
Page Preview Hover preview of linked notes Enable in core plugins

3. Vault Folder Structure

Create this folder structure at the root of your vault. The example uses [Company A] (primary project) and [Company B] (secondary project) as placeholders. Replace with your own company/project names.

Vault Root/
├── Home.md                           Landing page, start here
├── USER.md                           Identity + agent instructions
├── Memory-Active.md                  Current state, priorities, parking lot
├── Action Board.md                   Task dashboard (the one view)
├── Weekly Review.md                  Weekly review checklist
├── Decisions Log.md                  Every meaningful decision, documented

├── Inbox/                            Default location for new notes

├── Templates/                        All templates live here
   ├── Daily Note.md
   ├── Weekly Summary.md
   ├── Meeting Note.md
   ├── Decision Log Entry.md
   ├── Content Piece.md
   ├── Person.md
   └── Company Tracker.md

├── [Company A]/                      Your active company/project
   ├── [Company A] Tracker.md        Master tracker with checkboxes
   ├── Daily/                        Daily notes go here (required)
   ├── End of Week/                  Weekly summaries go here (required)
   ├── Meetings/                     Meeting notes go here (required)
   ├── Product/                      (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Team/                         (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Finance/                      (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Strategy/                     (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Technology/                   (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Marketing/                    (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Content & Education/          (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Partnerships & BD/            (default  customize in Q12)
   ├── Culture/                      (default  customize in Q12)
   └── Legal & Corp/                (default  customize in Q12)

├── [Company B]/                      Second company/project (if applicable)
   └── [Company B] Tracker.md        Or whatever tracker makes sense

└── .obsidian/                        Obsidian config (auto-generated)
    ├── app.json
    ├── daily-notes.json
    ├── templates.json
    └── plugins/

Customization: You may not need all subfolders. Start with the ones relevant to you. The folders under your company are functional areas. Add or remove based on your actual workstreams. The key constraint: every note should have an obvious home.


4. Core Files (the command center)

These files live at vault root and form the operational backbone.

What is "frontmatter"? Many files below start with a block wrapped in triple dashes (---). This is called frontmatter — it's metadata about the file (type, tags, dates) written in a format called YAML. Obsidian reads it but hides it in normal view. You only see it in edit/source mode. Plugins like Tasks and Dataview can query frontmatter fields. When creating files, always include the frontmatter exactly as shown. If you don't know what YAML is, just copy it verbatim and change only the values the guide tells you to change.


4.1 Home.md

The landing page. Everything is reachable from here. This is what you see when you open the vault.

=== STARTFILE: Home.md ===

[Your Vault Name]

Command center. Start here.


This Week's Priorities

1.
2.
3.

[[Action Board]] — full task view with checkboxes


[Company A] — [Status/Phase]

Brief description of what this company/project is.

Area Link
Tracker [[Company A/Company A Tracker]]
Meetings [[Company A/Meetings]]

[Company B] — [Status/Phase]

Brief description.

[[Company B/Company B Tracker|Tracker]]


Rhythm

Cadence Note
Action Board [[Action Board]]
Daily [[Company A/Daily]]
End of Week [[Company A/End of Week]]
Weekly Review [[Weekly Review]]
Decisions [[Decisions Log]]

Inbox

[[Inbox]] (process weekly)
=== ENDFILE ===

Note on folder links: Home.md links to [[Company A/Meetings]], etc. These link to folders, not files. In Obsidian, clicking a folder link opens the folder in the sidebar. They will appear as "unresolved" (grayed out) until you create notes inside those folders, which is normal. As you start adding meeting notes, product specs, and team docs, the links will come alive. You don't need to create placeholder files.

Agent instruction for the area table: Generate one row per subfolder the user confirmed in Q12, plus the Tracker row. The template above shows the minimum (Tracker + Meetings). Add a row for each department folder that was created (e.g., Product, Finance, Strategy, etc.). Skip Daily and End of Week since those are accessed through the Rhythm table below. If the user only has 3 subfolders, the table has 4 rows. If they have 10, it has 11 rows.


4.2 USER.md

Identity file and agent instructions. This is what Claude (or any AI agent) reads at the start of every session to understand who you are, how you work, and how to behave inside your vault.

=== STARTFILE: USER.md ===

Identity

Name: [Your Name]
Email: [Your Email]
Timezone: [Your Timezone]
Role: [Your Role]


Companies

[Company A] (Active)

[One paragraph description of what this company does, stage, entity type.]

[Company B] ([Status/Phase])

[One paragraph description. What's happening with it.]


Context for Agents

Start of Session

  • Read this file and [[Memory-Active]] before responding to any request
  • Default company context is [Company A] unless otherwise specified
  • This vault is the operational hub for [describe scope]

Writing & Style

  • Direct, no fluff, no typical AI/LLM phrasing
  • Never use "streamline", "leverage", "robust", "comprehensive", or other corporate filler
  • Match the tone of the daily notes: tight, conversational, real

Meeting Notes

  • When raw meeting notes or a transcript are provided, restructure them using the [[Templates/Meeting Note|Meeting Note]] template
  • Auto link attendees as [[@Person]] references
  • Save to the correct subfolder (usually Meetings/ or context-specific folder)
  • If a meeting note already exists in raw form, update the existing file in place

Decisions

  • Always log decisions to the root [[Decisions Log]] with date, company, reasoning, and a link back to the source note
  • If a decision also appears in a daily note, meeting note, or a tracker, cross-link it. One source of truth in the Decisions Log, references everywhere else.

Actions & Tasks

  • When extracting action items, include owner and deadline if mentioned
  • Add them to the relevant tracker (e.g., [[Company A/Company A Tracker|Company A Tracker]] or [[Company B/Company B Tracker|Company B Tracker]])

Naming Conventions

  • All dates use YYYY-MM-DD format everywhere. No exceptions.
  • Daily notes: YYYY-MM-DD DayOfWeek.md
  • Meeting notes: YYYY-MM-DD PersonOrTopic.md
  • Weekly summaries: YYYY-MM-DD Week Summary.md

Uncertainty

  • If unsure which folder something belongs in, put it in [[Inbox]] and flag it
  • If unsure which company a note relates to, ask before filing

High Priority Items

  • [Define what's time-sensitive in your context, e.g., client deadlines, product launches, key conversations, etc.]
  • Any follow-up items related to these should be surfaced prominently

Vault Structure Notes

  • Subfolders per company: [list the folders that were actually created, e.g., "Meetings, Product, Finance, Strategy"]
  • Action Board custom sections: [list any sections added or removed from defaults]
  • Templates available: Daily Note, Weekly Summary, Meeting Note, Decision Log Entry, Content Piece, Person, QuickAdd Setup, Company Tracker [add any custom templates here]
  • Scheduled tasks: weekly-summary (Sun 9am), daily-extraction (weekday 9pm), action-board-refresh (Mon-Sat 7am) [note any changes]
    === ENDFILE ===

Agent instruction for Vault Structure Notes: Fill in this section during setup with the actual folders created, sections included, and templates available. This way future agents instantly understand the vault layout without re-reading the setup guide. Update it whenever the user restructures.


4.3 Memory-Active.md

The "current state of the world" file. Updated weekly during the review. This is what gives an agent (or your future self on Monday morning) instant context on where everything stands.

=== STARTFILE: Memory-Active.md ===

type: context
last_updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"
tags: [memory, active]


Active Context

Claude: read this file alongside [[USER]] at the start of every session. This is what's happening right now.


Top 3 Priorities

Finalized during weekly review:

  1. [Priority 1]
  2. [Priority 2]
  3. [Priority 3]

What's in Motion

[2-4 paragraphs. Prose, not bullets. What's actively happening across your workstreams. Status of key initiatives. What's progressing, what's stalled. Written in a conversational tone so anyone reading it gets the full picture in 60 seconds.]

Things to Watch

  • [Item 1… why it matters]
  • [Item 2… what could go wrong]
  • [Item 3… deadline or dependency]

Parking Lot

  • [Idea or item that's not active but worth remembering]
  • [Future concept to revisit]
  • [Question that hasn't been answered yet]

Update this file every Sunday during weekly review. Takes 5 minutes if you keep it current.
=== ENDFILE ===


4.4 Action Board.md

The single task dashboard. This is where you look when you think "what do I need to do." Tasks are ranked across four priority tiers (P0 through P3) instead of grouped by company. The Inbox is auto-populated each morning by the action-board-refresh scheduled task, and completed items are auto-archived into the Finished table with metadata. The Tasks plugin queries at the bottom pull in stray tasks from across the vault so nothing falls through cracks.

Agent: This file is modular. The sections below are the full default. Adapt based on user context:

  • If user has no Company B → remove the ### [Company B] sub-header under Medium Term
  • If user says they don't need people tracking → remove the entire ## Key People Follow-ups section
  • If user says they don't track a tech stack → remove the entire ## User Tech Stack section
  • If user requests additional sections (e.g., "Waiting On", "Delegated", "Reading List") → add them between Key People Follow-ups and Queries, following the same ## Section Name + description + - [ ] pattern
  • The Queries section should also adapt: generate one ### Open Items from [X] Tracker block per company/project the user has. If they have 3 projects, generate 3 query blocks.
  • If sections are removed via Q13, also update the action-board-refresh scheduled task prompt in Step 8. Remove references to any sections the user doesn't have (e.g., if no Medium Term, remove "Medium Term" from the scan list in Job A and the dedupe set in Job B).

=== STARTFILE: Action Board.md ===

type: dashboard
tags: [tasks, active]
last_updated: "YYYY-MM-DD"
ranked: true


Action Board

Open this when you think "what do I need to do." One view. Check it off. Move on.

Ranking: 🔺 = P0 (do now, this week, non-negotiable) · ⏫ = P1 (next up, this week or early next) · 🔼 = P2 (this week if time, else next) · 🔽 = P3 (backlog, watching). Reorder lines freely within each tier. Change tier by swapping the emoji. Inbox is auto-populated by the action-board-refresh scheduled task… triage into a tier.


Inbox

Drop anything here. Triage during [[Weekly Review]] or whenever you have 5 minutes. Auto-refreshed daily from daily notes + weekly summaries.


This Week — Ranked

🔺 P0 … Do Now

  • [Task with context and link if relevant] 🔺

⏫ P1 … Next Up

  • [Task] ⏫

🔼 P2 … This Week If Time

  • [Task] 🔼

🔽 P3 … Backlog (Watching)

  • [Task] 🔽

Medium Term — Next 30 to 90 Days

[Company A]

  • [Task]

[Company B]

  • [Task]

Personal / Other


Key People Follow-ups

Time-sensitive conversations and relationship tracking. Handle same day when possible. Rename this section to fit your context (e.g., "Key People Follow-ups", "Client Follow-ups", "Stakeholder Check-ins").

  • [Person… status and what to do]

User Tech Stack

Track what software your team uses. Checkboxes for what's active vs planned. Not task-tracked by automations.

  • [Tool Name] … [purpose] · [cost]

Queries (requires Tasks plugin)

All Open Tasks — This File

1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
sort by heading

Carrying Forward from Daily Notes

1
2
3
not done
path includes [Company A]/Daily
sort by filename reverse

Open Items from [Company A] Tracker

not done
path includes [Company A] Tracker

Open Items from [Company B] Tracker

not done
path includes [Company B] Tracker

Notes

Freeform notes, context, half-formed thoughts, decisions in flight. Not tasks. Add anything here. The morning refresh leaves this section alone.


Finished

Auto-populated by the morning refresh. Any item you check off anywhere on this board gets moved here with its created and completed dates. Archived to the weekly summary on Sundays.

Item Tier Created Completed Source

Review during [[Weekly Review]]. Update [[Memory-Active]] with anything that shifts priorities.
=== ENDFILE ===

Note on queries: The path includes values in the queries should already contain your actual company/folder names (the agent substituted them during setup). The Tasks plugin matches against the file path, so path includes Acme Corp/Daily would match all files in that company's Daily folder. If you rename folders later, update the queries to match.

Note on the tier system: P0 through P3 ranks tasks by urgency across all workstreams (not grouped by company). Medium Term still groups by company since those are longer-horizon items. Move items between tiers by changing the emoji prefix. The action-board-refresh scheduled task archives checked items into the Finished table automatically.

Note on the Finished table: This is the completion archive. When the action-board-refresh scheduled task runs each morning, it scans for any - [x] checked items across Inbox, This Week (all tiers), Medium Term, and Key People Follow-ups. It extracts each item into a row with the tier it came from, the date it was created (parsed from source tracking), and the date it was completed. The original checked line is removed. This gives you a persistent history of everything you've done without cluttering the active sections.

Note on Inbox source tracking: When the action-board-refresh task adds items to the Inbox, it appends a source tag in the format (from source-filename, YYYY-MM-DD). This serves two purposes: it tells you where the item came from, and it lets the refresh task deduplicate on the next run so the same item never appears twice.


4.5 Weekly Review.md

The review process itself. A checklist you run every Friday or Sunday. This is the most important habit in the system. Without it, everything else slowly falls apart.

=== STARTFILE: Weekly Review.md ===

Weekly Review

Every Friday (or Sunday). 30 minutes. Non-negotiable.


The Checklist

1. Process Inbox

  • Go through every note in [[Inbox]]
  • Move each to the right folder, add links, or delete

2. Process Action Board Inbox

  • Triage items in [[Action Board]] inbox section
  • Rank tasks into P0/P1/P2/P3 tiers (or Medium Term if you use it)
  • Delete anything irrelevant

3. [Company A] Status

  • Review [[Company A/Company A Tracker|Company A Tracker]]
  • What moved forward?
  • What decisions need to be made?
  • Who do I need to talk to?

4. [Company B] Status

  • Review [[Company B/Company B Tracker|Company B Tracker]]
  • What got done this week?
  • What's blocked?
  • Any deadlines approaching?

5. Decisions

  • Review [[Decisions Log]] — anything to add from this week?

6. Review Active Context

  • Open [[Memory-Active]]
  • Review the Top 3 Priorities… are these right or do they need adjusting?
  • Check "Things to Watch"… anything missing?
  • Scan the Parking Lot… anything ready to promote? Anything to kill?

7. Next Week

  • Finalize top 3 priorities on [[Home]]
  • Any meetings to prep for?
  • Anything keeping me up at night? Write it down.

Review Log

Week Of Completed Notes
=== ENDFILE ===

Agent instruction for Weekly Review: Generate one company/project status section per project the user has. If they only have one project, remove step 4 entirely. If they have three, add a step 5 with the same pattern. Renumber steps sequentially.


4.6 Decisions Log.md

Every meaningful decision gets documented here. This is the single source of truth. Other notes (daily notes, meeting notes, trackers) can reference decisions, but the log is where the reasoning lives.

=== STARTFILE: Decisions Log.md ===

Decisions Log

Every meaningful decision, documented. You'll want this record six months from now.


How to Use

When you make a decision worth remembering, add a row below. For big decisions, create a dedicated note using the [[Templates/Decision Log Entry|Decision Log Entry]] template and link it here.

[Year]

Date Company Decision Reasoning Link
=== ENDFILE ===

5. Templates

All templates live in the Templates/ folder. Obsidian's Daily Notes plugin and Templates core plugin reference this folder. Below is every template with its full content. Use the === STARTFILE / === ENDFILE === markers to understand exactly what to write to disk.


5.1 Daily Note Template

File: Templates/Daily Note.md
Used by: Daily Notes core plugin (auto-creates when you click the calendar icon)
Naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD DayOfWeek (e.g., 2026-03-28 Saturday)
Storage location: [Company A]/Daily/

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Daily Note.md ===

type: daily
date: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
tags: []


{{date:YYYY-MM-DD dddd}}

Quick Capture

-


Today's Tasks (from [[Action Board]])

This Week (P0 through P3)

1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
heading includes P0
1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
heading includes P1
1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
heading includes P2
1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
heading includes P3

Inbox to Triage

1
2
3
not done
path includes Action Board
heading includes Inbox

What happened today

-

Tech Ideas today

-

Decisions made today

-

Blockers or friction

Carrying into tomorrow

-
=== ENDFILE ===

How it works: The Quick Capture section is a dumping ground for thoughts during the day. The Tasks queries auto-pull your Action Board items so you see your task list without navigating away. "Carrying into tomorrow" items get picked up by the Action Board query for daily note tasks.


5.2 Weekly Summary Template

File: Templates/Weekly Summary.md
Naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD Week Summary (use the Monday or Sunday date)
Storage location: [Company A]/End of Week/

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Weekly Summary.md ===

type: weekly-summary
week: "{{date:YYYY-[W]ww}}"
date: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
tags: []


Week of {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}


What Actually Happened This Week

Synthesized from daily notes. The real story, not the plan.

Key Decisions

Decision Context Revisit?

Blockers & Unresolved


[Company A] Status

What moved forward. Momentum check.

[Company B] Status

Status on active items. What moved, what's stuck.


Next Week

Top 3 Priorities

1.
2.
3.

Meetings & Commitments to Prep For

People to Reach Out To

Questions I Need Answered

What Does a Great Week Look Like?

One sentence. Paint the picture.


Carried Forward

Items from daily notes that didn't get resolved this week.


Previous week: (fill in after your second week) • Next week: (auto-links once next summary exists)
=== ENDFILE ===

Agent instruction for Weekly Summary: Generate one company/project status section per project. If user has one project, remove the [Company B] section. If they have three, add a third. Match the order used in the Weekly Review checklist.


5.3 Meeting Note Template

File: Templates/Meeting Note.md
Naming convention: YYYY-MM-DD PersonOrTopic
Storage location: Context-dependent (usually [Company]/Meetings/ or whichever subfolder fits the topic)

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Meeting Note.md ===

type: meeting
date: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
status: active
company: [Company A]
attendees: []
tags: []


Meeting: {{title}}

Date: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
Attendees:
Context:


Agenda

Notes

Decisions Made

Decision Owner Deadline

Action Items

Follow Up

Next meeting:
=== ENDFILE ===

Agent behavior: When raw meeting notes or a transcript are provided, the agent restructures them into this format, auto-links attendees as [[@Person]] references, and files in the correct subfolder.


5.4 Decision Log Entry Template

File: Templates/Decision Log Entry.md
Used for: Big decisions that need more than one row in the Decisions Log
Storage location: Near the relevant project or at vault root

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Decision Log Entry.md ===

type: decision
date: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
company: [Company A]
status: final
tags: []


Decision: {{title}}

Date: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
Company: [Company A] / [Company B]
Status: Final / Revisiting / Pending Input


Context

What prompted this decision?

Options Considered

  1. Option A
  2. Option B

Decision

What we chose and why.

Expected Outcome

Review Date

When should we revisit this?
=== ENDFILE ===


5.5 Content Piece Template

File: Templates/Content Piece.md
Used for: Articles, videos, podcasts, social posts, newsletters
Storage location: Whichever subfolder fits (e.g., [Company]/Marketing/, [Company]/Content/, or wherever the user stores content-related notes)

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Content Piece.md ===

type: content
date: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
content_type:
status: idea
platform:
tags: []


{{title}}

Date: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
Type: Article / Video / Podcast / Social / Newsletter / Thread
Status: Idea / Drafting / Review / Published
Platform:
Audience: Who is this for?


Core Idea

One sentence. If you can't say it in one sentence, it's not clear enough yet.

Why now?

What makes this timely or relevant?

Script / Outline

Hook

Key Points

1.
2.
3.

Close / CTA

Supporting Material

Links, data, quotes, references

Distribution

  • Primary platform
  • Cross post to
  • Share with

Notes

=== ENDFILE ===


5.6 Person Template

File: Templates/Person.md
Used for: Tracking people you interact with (team, clients, partners, collaborators, advisors)
Storage location: Wherever makes sense, or create a People/ folder
Linking convention: Reference people as [[@PersonName]] in other notes

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Person.md ===

type: person
role:
company:
relationship:
tags: []


{{title}}

Role:
Company:
Email:
Phone:


Context

How do I know them? What's the relationship?

Notes

Action Items


  • === ENDFILE ===

5.7 QuickAdd Setup Reference

File: Templates/QuickAdd Setup.md
Used for: Reference document so the user (or a future agent) can see how QuickAdd should be configured. Not a functional template, just documentation.

=== STARTFILE: Templates/QuickAdd Setup.md ===

type: reference
tags: [setup]


QuickAdd Setup

Reference for configuring the QuickAdd plugin. This is documentation, not a functional template.


Capture: "Capture to Board"

Sends tasks directly to the Action Board inbox. Primary capture mechanism.

Setting Value
Choice type Capture (not Template)
Capture to active file OFF
File path / format Action Board
Create file if it doesn't exist ON
Write position After line...
Insert after ## Inbox
Inline insertion OFF
Insert at end of section OFF
Task (under Content) OFF
Capture format `- [ ] {{VALUE}}
`

After configuring, click the lightning bolt icon to add to command palette.

Critical: The \n at the end of the capture format forces a newline after each capture. Without it, mobile captures can merge into the next line instead of creating a separate task. Always include the \n.

Mobile Setup

QuickAdd macro configs do not always sync from desktop to mobile via Obsidian Sync. If "Capture to Board" doesn't appear on mobile, you need to recreate it directly on the phone:

  1. Settings → Community Plugins → QuickAdd → tap the gear icon
  2. Type Capture to Board in the Name field
  3. Select Capture (not Template)
  4. Tap Add Choice
  5. Tap the gear icon next to "Capture to Board"
  6. Configure with the same settings as desktop (see table above)
  7. Back out and tap the lightning bolt icon next to "Capture to Board"
  8. Settings → Mobile → set "Capture to Board" as the pull-down gesture action

The Flow

Random thought → open Obsidian → Cmd+P (or swipe down on mobile) → "Capture to Board" → type → done. Three seconds.

Everything lands in the Inbox section of [[Action Board]]. You sort it later.
=== ENDFILE ===


5.8 Company Tracker Template

File: Templates/Company Tracker.md
Used for: Master tracker for a company or project with priority actions, open questions, and decisions
Storage location: [Company]/ folder as [Company] Tracker.md

=== STARTFILE: Templates/Company Tracker.md ===

type: tracker
status: active
last_reviewed: "{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}"
tags: []


[Company Name] — Tracker

Status: [Phase]


Priority Actions

Open Questions

-

Decisions Made

Date Decision Reasoning

Last reviewed: {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}
=== ENDFILE ===

How to use: This tracker is a master checklist for a company or project. Use it as a place to capture what's actively happening, what's blocked, and what decisions have been made. Link from here to deeper notes in your subfolder structure (whatever folders you created). Check items off as they're completed, and review weekly. The agent creates one instance of this template per company/project.


6. Plugin Configuration

AUTOMATED vs MANUAL Summary

The section below documents both AUTOMATED and MANUAL configuration steps. Here's what each means:

AUTOMATED (agent can do):

  • Creating all files, folders, and .obsidian config files
  • These are already provided in Section 0 and earlier sections

MANUAL (user must do):

  • Installing Obsidian application
  • Enabling community plugins in the UI
  • Installing Tasks and QuickAdd plugins from the community plugins browser
  • Configuring Daily Notes plugin settings
  • Configuring QuickAdd capture macros through the UI

6.1 Daily Notes (Core Plugin) — MANUAL

User must do this:

Settings Core Plugins Daily Notes

Setting Value
Date format YYYY-MM-DD dddd
New file location [Company A]/Daily/ (substitute user's company name)
Template file location Templates/Daily Note

The dddd token is Obsidian's way of saying "full day name" (Monday, Tuesday, etc.). So clicking the calendar icon creates a note like 2026-03-28 Saturday.md in the Daily folder, pre-filled with your template.


6.2 Templates (Core Plugin) — AUTOMATED + MANUAL

Automated part: The agent already created the .obsidian/templates.json config file.

User must do this (to activate):
Settings Core Plugins Templates

  • Enable the plugin if not already enabled
  • Verify the template folder location is set to Templates/

6.3 Tasks Plugin — MANUAL INSTALL + AUTOMATED CONFIG

User must install on every device (desktop AND mobile):
Settings Community Plugins Browse search "Tasks" Install

Critical: The Tasks plugin must be installed and enabled on each device separately. If Tasks is not enabled, query blocks (the ``tasks code blocks in Daily Notes and Action Board) render as raw text instead of executing. You'll see the literal query code (not done,path includes Action Board`) instead of your actual tasks.

Viewing mode: Tasks queries only render results in Reading mode or Live Preview. In Source mode, you'll see the raw code block. Toggle with Cmd+E (Mac) or tap the book icon (mobile).

Configuration (minimal): Tasks works with near-zero configuration. Just enable it and use the query syntax documented below.

The Tasks plugin works with minimal configuration. The key features you use:

Checkbox syntax: Standard markdown checkboxes - [ ] are recognized as tasks. When you check one off, Tasks can auto-append a completion date: - [x] Task name ✅ 2026-03-28

Query blocks: Inside any note, you can write a fenced code block with the language tasks and filter/sort/group tasks from across the vault. Examples used in this system:

All open tasks from a specific file:
    not done
    path includes Action Board
    sort by heading

Tasks due this week:
    not done
    due before next week
    sort by due

Tasks from daily notes:
    not done
    path includes [Company A]/Daily
    sort by filename reverse

Filter reference:

  • not done — only incomplete tasks
  • done — only completed tasks
  • path includes [text] — tasks from files whose path contains this text
  • heading includes [text] — tasks under a heading containing this text
  • due before [date] — tasks with due dates before a date
  • sort by [field] — sort by due, priority, heading, filename, etc.
  • group by [field] — group results by filename, heading, folder, etc.
  • limit [number] — cap the number of results

Due dates: Add due dates inline with tasks using the format: - [ ] Task name 📅 YYYY-MM-DD

Priority: Add priority markers: - [ ] Task name ⏫ (high), - [ ] Task name 🔼 (medium), - [ ] Task name 🔽 (low)


6.4 QuickAdd Plugin — MANUAL INSTALL + MANUAL CONFIG

User must install:
Settings Community Plugins Browse search "QuickAdd" Install

Setup steps (user must do in UI):

  1. Open Settings -> QuickAdd
  2. Type Capture to Board in the Name field
  3. Make sure the dropdown says Capture (not Template)
  4. Click Add Choice
  5. Click the gear icon next to it
  6. Configure:
Setting Value
Capture to active file OFF
File path / format Action Board
Create file if it doesn't exist ON
Write position After line...
Insert after ## Inbox
Inline insertion OFF
Insert at end of section OFF
Task (under Content) OFF
Capture format `- [ ] {{VALUE}}
`
  1. Back out and click the lightning bolt icon to add it to the command palette

What it does: When you trigger "Capture to Board" from the command palette, it prompts you for text, then inserts - [ ] [your text] into the Inbox section of Action Board.md. Three seconds from thought to captured task.

Important notes:

  • The capture format - [ ] {{VALUE}}\n handles the checkbox and forces a newline. The \n is critical on mobile … without it, captures can merge into the next task instead of creating a new line.
  • Keep the Task toggle OFF. If both Task and a - [ ] capture format are on, you get double checkboxes (- [ ] - [ ]).
  • If the Insert after heading isn't found, QuickAdd fails silently (no error, text just doesn't appear). Make sure the heading text matches exactly.

7. Naming Conventions

Consistency matters. These conventions make everything predictable and searchable. Every file, every date, every link follows the same rules. If you deviate, queries break and agents get confused.

Date format explained: YYYY-MM-DD means four-digit year, two-digit month, two-digit day, separated by hyphens. January 5th 2026 = 2026-01-05. March 28th 2026 = 2026-03-28. Always use leading zeros (01 not 1, 05 not 5). This format sorts chronologically as plain text.

Type Format Example Created By
Daily notes YYYY-MM-DD DayOfWeek.md 2026-03-28 Saturday.md Obsidian Daily Notes plugin (auto)
Daily extraction files daily-extraction-YYYY-MM-DD.md daily-extraction-2026-03-28.md daily-extraction scheduled task (auto)
Meeting notes YYYY-MM-DD PersonOrTopic.md 2026-03-28 Tom IP Transfer.md You (manual, from template)
Weekly summaries YYYY-MM-DD Week Summary.md 2026-03-22 Week Summary.md weekly-summary scheduled task or you
All dates in content YYYY-MM-DD 2026-03-28 Always, everywhere
People references [[@PersonName]] [[@Tom Smith]] You, in any note
Internal links [[File Name]] or [[Folder/File Name]] [[Action Board]] You, in any note
Inbox source tracking (from source-filename, YYYY-MM-DD) (from daily-extraction-2026-03-28, 2026-03-28) action-board-refresh task (auto)

No exceptions on dates. Every date everywhere in the vault uses YYYY-MM-DD. This makes chronological sorting, searching, and agent parsing trivial.


8. Workflows and Rhythms

8.1 The Capture Flow (anytime, anywhere)

1
2
3
4
5
6
Random thought hits
Open Obsidian (mobile or desktop)
Cmd+P (or swipe down on mobile)
"Capture to Board"
Type it
Done. Back to life.

Everything lands in Action Board Inbox. You don't categorize, you don't think about where it goes. Three seconds maximum.

8.2 Morning Routine (2 minutes)

  1. Open Action Board
  2. Scan the P0 and P1 tiers
  3. Pick 3 to 5 items that are moving today
  4. Open today's daily note (click calendar icon). Your Action Board tasks auto-populate via the Tasks queries.
  5. Start working

8.3 Throughout the Day

  • Check off tasks on the Action Board or in the daily note (Tasks plugin keeps them synced)
  • Quick capture any new thoughts via the command palette
  • If you're in a meeting, use the Meeting Note template and jot action items as - [ ] checkboxes. They'll surface on the Action Board through the queries.
  • Use the daily note's "What happened today" section for real-time logging

8.4 End of Day (2 minutes)

  1. Open today's daily note
  2. Fill in what happened today (if you haven't been doing it live)
  3. Check the "Carrying into tomorrow" section
  4. Note any decisions made today
  5. Glance at Action Board. Check off anything you finished. The morning refresh will auto-archive checked items into the Finished table.

8.5 Weekly Review (30 minutes, Friday or Sunday)

Follow the checklist in [[Weekly Review]]:

  1. Process Inbox (both the Inbox folder and Action Board inbox)
  2. Review each company/project tracker (what moved, what's stuck, what's blocked)
  3. Update Decisions Log (any decisions made this week that aren't logged yet)
  4. Review Memory-Active (adjust priorities, update "What's in Motion", clean up Parking Lot)
  5. Set next week's Top 3 Priorities on Home.md
  6. Create weekly summary using the Weekly Summary template

Log completion in the Review Log table so you have accountability.

8.6 Monthly (optional, 15 minutes)

  • Review the Finished table… trim old entries if it's getting long, or archive to a separate file
  • Review Medium Term items… anything stale? Remove or reprioritize.
  • Check if folder structure still makes sense. Add new folders only when a clear category emerges.

9. Agent Instructions (Claude Cowork / Claude Code)

This section tells AI agents how to operate inside the vault. Copy the relevant parts into your USER.md or provide them as context to your agent.

What the agent should do at session start

  1. Read USER.md for identity, companies, style rules, and naming conventions
  2. Read Memory-Active.md for current priorities, what's in motion, and parking lot items
  3. Use this context to inform every response

What the agent can do

  • Create and file meeting notes from raw transcripts using the Meeting Note template
  • Extract action items from conversations and add them to the relevant tracker
  • Log decisions to the Decisions Log with date, company, reasoning, and source link
  • Create daily notes, weekly summaries, and content pieces using the appropriate templates
  • Update Memory-Active during weekly review by synthesizing daily notes from the past week
  • Triage Action Board inbox items based on context and priority
  • Answer questions about current state by referencing Memory-Active and recent daily notes

Creating new templates and files on the fly

The 8 templates in Section 5 are a starting kit. The user will eventually need templates this guide doesn't include. When the user asks for a new template or repeating structure, the agent should:

  1. Create a new .md file in Templates/ following the same pattern: frontmatter with type and tags, a title using {{title}}, a date using {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}, and sections relevant to the use case
  2. Add a brief description comment at the top so future agents understand the template's purpose
  3. Tell the user where it was saved and how to use it (e.g., "insert template via Cmd+P → Templates: Insert Template")

Examples of templates users commonly request:

  • Sprint Planning — for users who work in sprints or cycles
  • 1:1 Meeting — lighter than the full Meeting Note, focused on check-in and action items
  • Client Onboarding — for freelancers or consultants tracking new client setup
  • Research Note — for students or researchers collecting sources and findings
  • Habit Tracker — daily/weekly habit checkboxes
  • Project Brief — for kicking off new initiatives with scope, goals, and timeline

The vault is designed to grow. New templates, new folders, new sections on the Action Board… all of it is just markdown files. Nothing breaks when you add more.

What the agent should never do

  • Use corporate filler language ("streamline", "leverage", "robust", "comprehensive")
  • Create duplicate files when one already exists (update in place instead)
  • File a note without being confident about the correct folder (put in Inbox and flag it)
  • Make decisions without logging them to the Decisions Log
  • Ignore naming conventions (all dates YYYY-MM-DD, no exceptions)

Scheduled tasks (Claude Cowork / Claude Code)

If your agent supports scheduled tasks, three automations power this system. Full task definitions with prompts are in Section 0, Step 8.

1. Weekly Summary (Sunday 9:00 AM)

  • Reads all daily notes from the past week
  • Synthesizes into a Weekly Summary using the template
  • Updates Memory-Active with current state
  • Files the summary in [Company A]/End of Week/

2. Daily Extraction (Weekdays 9:00 PM)

  • Reads today's daily note
  • Extracts decisions, action items, and new people mentioned
  • Creates a daily-extraction-YYYY-MM-DD.md file in [Company A]/Daily/
  • Does NOT modify the original daily note or the Action Board

3. Action Board Refresh (Monday through Saturday, 7:00 AM)

  • Archives any checked - [x] items into the Finished table with metadata
  • Scans daily notes, extraction files, and the latest weekly summary for new tasks
  • Deduplicates against everything already on the board (including Finished items)
  • Appends new (deduplicated) items to the Inbox with source tracking
  • Updates the last_updated frontmatter date

These three tasks form a closed loop: you write in daily notes → the extraction agent pulls out structure → the morning refresh moves new items onto the board → you check them off → the next morning refresh archives them to Finished.


10. Mobile Setup and Cross-Device Sync

Sync Options

Method Cost Best For
Obsidian Sync ~$4/mo Easiest. Works on every platform. Handles merge conflicts.
iCloud Drive Free iPhone + Mac only. Occasionally laggy.
Git (obsidian-git plugin) Free Technical users. Full version history. Can be janky on mobile.

Recommendation: If you're Apple ecosystem only, iCloud works. If you have any cross-platform needs (Android, Windows, Linux), use Obsidian Sync. The $4/month saves hours of debugging sync issues.

Mobile Quick Capture Setup

Important: QuickAdd macro configs often do not sync from desktop to mobile, even with Obsidian Sync Pro. If "Capture to Board" doesn't appear in the mobile command palette, you need to create it directly on the phone.

  1. Install Obsidian on your phone (iOS or Android)
  2. Enable the same community plugins (Tasks, QuickAdd) on mobile
  3. Open Settings → Community Plugins → QuickAdd → tap the gear icon
  4. Type Capture to Board in the Name field, select Capture, tap Add Choice
  5. Tap the gear icon next to "Capture to Board" and configure:
Setting Value
Capture to active file OFF
File path / format Action Board
Create file if it doesn't exist ON
Write position After line...
Insert after ## Inbox
Inline insertion OFF
Insert at end of section OFF
Task (under Content) OFF
Capture format `- [ ] {{VALUE}}
`
  1. Back out and tap the lightning bolt icon next to "Capture to Board"
  2. Settings → Mobile → set "Capture to Board" as the pull-down gesture action

Known gotchas on mobile:

  • The \n at the end of the capture format is required. Without it, mobile captures merge into the next task line instead of creating a new line.
  • If you ever change QuickAdd to use "Insert at end of section" instead of "Insert after ## Inbox", beware that --- horizontal rules between sections can confuse QuickAdd about where a section ends. The default config avoids this by targeting the heading directly.
  • Keep a blank line between ## Inbox and the first task. This gives QuickAdd a clean insertion point.

Now the flow on mobile is: open Obsidian → swipe down → type → done.

iOS Shortcuts Integration (optional, advanced)

You can create an Apple Shortcut that appends text directly to a markdown file in your vault folder via iCloud. This lets you capture without opening Obsidian at all. The shortcut:

  1. Takes text input (or dictation)
  2. Appends it as - [ ] [text] to the Action Board file in your iCloud vault folder
  3. Obsidian picks it up on next sync

This is useful for voice capture (dictate a task at 2am without looking at your screen).


11. Customization Guide

How to adapt this for your context

You only have one workstream or project:

  • Remove the [Company B] folder and all references
  • The P0/P1/P2/P3 tiers still work, just trim the Medium Term sub-headers
  • Skip the "Key People Follow-ups" section on Action Board if you don't need it

You're running a team:

  • Add a People/ folder with Person template notes for each team member
  • Add an "Assigned To" column in meeting note action items
  • Consider adding - [ ] Task @PersonName convention so you can query by assignee

You're a freelancer or consultant:

  • Replace company folders with client folders
  • Add a Clients/ root folder
  • The Action Board sections become client names instead of company names

You're a student or researcher:

  • Replace company folders with project/course folders
  • The Content Piece template becomes a Paper/Research template
  • The Decisions Log becomes a Research Log

Customizing subfolders:
The 10 department subfolders (Product, Team, Finance, Strategy, Technology, Marketing, Content & Education, Partnerships & BD, Culture, Legal & Corp) are defaults. Only three subfolders are required by the system: Daily, End of Week, and Meetings. Everything else is purely organizational. To customize: right-click any folder in Obsidian to rename or delete it, and create new ones the same way. No config files or automated queries reference department subfolders, so changes never break anything. Pick categories that match how you actually think about your work. A freelance designer might use: Clients, Portfolio, Invoices, Inspiration. A researcher might use: Literature, Experiments, Datasets, Writing.

Core principle: The skeleton stays the same (Home, USER, Memory-Active, Action Board, Weekly Review, Decisions Log, Templates, Daily Notes). The folder structure and template details adapt to your context. The workflows and rhythms are universal.

Everything is a markdown file (the power move)

This is the key insight: every file in this vault is plain text. Which means any agent (Claude, GPT, Cursor, a bash script) can read it, write to it, query it, and extend it. Your vault becomes a living API for your work.

Want to add a new workflow? Create a markdown file that describes it, and tell your agent to follow it. Want a new dashboard? It's a markdown file with Tasks queries. Want to track something the guide doesn't cover? Create a template, drop it in the Templates folder, and start using it.

The guide gives you the scaffolding. Your actual system is whatever you build on top of it. Don't treat these files as sacred. Rename sections, add new ones, merge files, split files. The only things that matter structurally are: (1) the daily note goes in the Daily folder, (2) weekly summaries go in the End of Week folder, (3) the Action Board exists at root level, and (4) dates use YYYY-MM-DD everywhere. Everything else bends to fit you.

What to add only when you feel friction

Don't add complexity upfront. Use the base system for 2 weeks. Then add features only when you notice a specific gap:

  • Dataview plugin: If you want dynamic tables and metadata queries beyond what Tasks provides
  • Calendar plugin: If you want a visual calendar view of your daily notes
  • Kanban plugin: If you think visually and want board-style task views
  • Periodic Notes plugin: If you want weekly/monthly/quarterly note templates auto-generated
  • Templater plugin: If the built-in Templates plugin isn't flexible enough (Templater supports JavaScript, dynamic dates, and prompts)
  • New custom templates: Ask your agent to create one. Describe what you need, the agent writes the template file and saves it to Templates/. Instant new workflow.
  • New Action Board sections: Just add a new ## Section Name heading to the Action Board file. The morning refresh ignores sections it doesn't recognize, so custom sections are safe to add anytime.
  • New scheduled tasks: If you use Cowork, you can create new automations that read and write vault files on any schedule. The three built-in tasks are starting points, not the ceiling.

Quick Start Checklist

For someone setting this up from scratch:

  • Install Obsidian (desktop + mobile)
  • Create a new vault
  • Create the folder structure from Section 3
  • Create all core files from Section 4 (Home, USER, Memory-Active, Action Board, Weekly Review, Decisions Log)
  • Create the Templates folder and all templates from Section 5
  • Create .obsidian config files (app.json, daily-notes.json, templates.json)
  • Enable core plugins: Daily Notes, Templates, Backlinks, Graph View
  • Install community plugins: Tasks, QuickAdd
  • Configure Daily Notes plugin (Section 6.1)
  • Configure Templates plugin (Section 6.2)
  • Configure QuickAdd "Capture to Board" (Section 6.4)
  • Set up sync (Section 10)
  • Set up mobile with QuickAdd pull-down action
  • Populate Action Board with your current tasks
  • Fill in USER.md with your identity and agent instructions
  • Fill in Memory-Active with your current priorities and state
  • Do your first daily note
  • Schedule your first weekly review

This guide was built from a real working vault and tested in production across multiple parallel workstreams. It works. The markdown is the program. Your agent reads it, builds it, and maintains it. Trust the process, do the weekly reviews, and let the system grow with you.

Edit

Pub: 09 Apr 2026 14:41 UTC

Views: 314