vault-setup

name	vault-setup
description	Set up a new Obsidian vault for any of the 4 knowledge management approaches. Creates the folder structure, CLAUDE.md, index, log, and initial configuration. Use when the user says 'set up a vault', 'create a new vault', or 'help me get started'.
allowed-tools	Read Write Edit Glob Grep Bash

Vault Setup

Guide the user through setting up a new Obsidian vault for their chosen approach.

Workflow

Step 1: Determine the approach

Ask the user what they want to build (or recommend based on their description):

Signal	Recommended Approach
"I want to organize articles/transcripts/PDFs"	Approach 4: Karpathy's LLM Wiki
"I want to search my favorite blogs/podcasts"	Approach 2: Personal Search Engine
"I want to process books I've read"	Approach 1: Second Brain Building
"I want to reduce token costs in my coding project"	Approach 3: AI Coding Vault
"I just want the simplest thing that works"	Approach 4: Karpathy's LLM Wiki

If unsure, start with Approach 4 — it's the lowest friction and fastest to value.

Step 2: Create the vault structure

Approach 4: Karpathy's LLM Wiki

vault/
├── CLAUDE.md                  # Project config
├── raw/                       # Source material (user dumps here)
└── wiki/                      # LLM-organized output
    ├── index.md               # Master index
    ├── log.md                 # Operation history
    └── hot.md                 # (Optional) Recent context cache

Approach 1: Second Brain Building

vault/
├── CLAUDE.md
├── raw/                       # Source material
├── literature-notes/          # Full source summaries
├── atomic-notes/              # One-idea-per-file notes
├── stubs/                     # Placeholder notes for future content
├── mocs/                      # Maps of Content (topic indexes)
├── index.md
└── log.md

Approach 2: Personal Search Engine

vault/
├── CLAUDE.md
├── sources/                   # One folder per creator
│   ├── creator-name-1/
│   └── creator-name-2/
├── index.md
└── log.md

Approach 3: AI Coding Vault

vault/
├── Home.md                    # Entry point
├── systems/                   # MOC per system/module
├── concepts/                  # Atomic concept notes
├── decisions/                 # ADR-XXX decision records
│   └── Decision Index.md
├── status/                    # Current status
└── references/                # Raw research docs

Step 3: Create the CLAUDE.md

Generate a CLAUDE.md that explains:

• What this vault is for
• How the folder structure works
• How to search and query the wiki
• How to update and add content
• What NOT to do (approach-specific rules)

For Karpathy's LLM Wiki, include:

# Wiki Project

## Purpose
[User's description of what this vault is for]

## Structure
- `raw/` — Drop source material here (articles, transcripts, PDFs, notes)
- `wiki/` — LLM-organized knowledge base (DO NOT edit manually)
- `wiki/index.md` — Master index. Read this first to find anything.
- `wiki/log.md` — Operation history
- `wiki/hot.md` — Recent context cache (if enabled)

## How to Use
1. Drop a source into `raw/`
2. Tell me to ingest it: "ingest [filename]"
3. I'll ask clarifying questions, then organize it into wiki pages
4. Query anytime: "what do I know about [topic]?"
5. Lint periodically: "check wiki health"

## Rules
- Never modify files in `raw/` after ingestion
- Always read `wiki/index.md` before searching
- Update `wiki/log.md` after every operation

Step 4: Create initial files

1. Create index.md with empty category structure
2. Create log.md with header
3. (Optional) Create hot.md if the vault will serve as context for other agents
4. Create knowledge/index.yaml (or equivalent) for source tracking

Step 5: Recommend next steps

• Install Obsidian (optional but recommended for visualization)
• Install Obsidian Web Clipper (for Approach 4 — clips articles directly to raw/)
• Configure Web Clipper default folder to raw/ (not "clippings")
• Drop first source and run ingest

Step 6: Log

Append to memory/log.md:

## [YYYY-MM-DD] setup | Vault Name
- Approach: [1/2/3/4]
- Purpose: [one-line description]
- Structure: [created/modified]