manage-project-in-vault

name	manage-project-in-vault
description	Manage project documentation and planning in Obsidian vault using MCP

Manage Project in Vault

Track project status, planning, and documentation in the Obsidian knowledge vault.

When to Use

• Starting a new project
• Planning implementation phases
• Tracking project decisions and status
• Documenting project architecture
• Creating project runbooks

Prerequisites

CRITICAL: Always sync vault first

cd ~/Documents/knowledge-vault
just sync

Project Structure

Each project should have documentation in the appropriate domain's Projects/ subdirectory:

Infrastructure/Projects/<project-name>/
├── index.md              # Project overview and status
├── architecture.md       # System design
├── decisions/            # ADRs (Architectural Decision Records)
│   ├── 001-choice.md
│   └── 002-another.md
├── plans/                # Implementation plans
│   ├── phase-1.md
│   └── phase-2.md
└── runbooks/             # Operational procedures
    ├── deploy.md
    └── troubleshoot.md

Process

1. Sync Vault

cd ~/Documents/knowledge-vault
just sync

2. Create Project Index

Use MCP to create project index:

Use mcp__obsidian__write_note:
  path: "<Domain>/Projects/<project-name>/index.md"
  content: |
    ---
    title: "<Project Name>"
    domain: infrastructure|homelab|development
    type: project
    tags: [project, <domain>]
    created: YYYY-MM-DD
    updated: YYYY-MM-DD
    status: active|planning|completed|archived
    related: []
    ---

    # <Project Name>

    ## Overview

    Brief description of what this project does.

    ## Status

    **Current Phase:** Planning | Development | Testing | Deployed | Archived

    **Last Updated:** YYYY-MM-DD

    ## Goals

    - [ ] Goal 1
    - [ ] Goal 2
    - [ ] Goal 3

    ## Architecture

    See [[architecture]] for detailed system design.

    ## Implementation Plans

    - [[plans/phase-1|Phase 1: Foundation]]
    - [[plans/phase-2|Phase 2: Features]]

    ## Decisions

    - [[decisions/001-technology-choice|Technology Choice]]

    ## Runbooks

    - [[runbooks/deploy|Deployment Procedure]]
    - [[runbooks/troubleshoot|Troubleshooting Guide]]

    ## Related Projects

    - [[../other-project/index|Other Project]]

3. Create Architecture Documentation

cd ~/Documents/knowledge-vault
just draft <project>-architecture architecture

Then use MCP to write architecture:

Use mcp__obsidian__write_note:
  path: "Drafts/<project>-architecture/<project>-architecture.md"
  content: |
    ---
    title: "<Project> Architecture"
    domain: <domain>
    type: architecture
    tags: [<project>, architecture]
    created: YYYY-MM-DD
    updated: YYYY-MM-DD
    status: draft
    related: ["[[<Domain>/Projects/<project>/index|Project Index]]"]
    ---

    # <Project> Architecture

    ## System Overview

    High-level description.

    ## Architecture Diagram

    ```mermaid
    graph TB
        subgraph "Frontend"
            A[UI]
        end
        subgraph "Backend"
            B[API]
            C[Database]
        end
        A --> B
        B --> C
    ```

    ## Components

    ### Component A

    Responsibilities and implementation.

    ## Data Flow

    How data moves through the system.

    ## Design Decisions

    Link to ADRs in [[decisions/]] directory.

Then promote to final location:

just promote <project>-architecture <Domain> Projects/<project>

4. Track Decisions (ADRs)

For each major decision:

just draft <project>-decision-<number> decision

Write decision via MCP:

Use mcp__obsidian__write_note:
  path: "Drafts/<project>-decision-<number>/<project>-decision-<number>.md"
  content: |
    ---
    title: "ADR <number>: <Decision Title>"
    domain: <domain>
    type: decision
    tags: [<project>, adr, decision-<number>]
    created: YYYY-MM-DD
    updated: YYYY-MM-DD
    status: draft
    related: ["[[<Domain>/Projects/<project>/index|Project Index]]"]
    ---

    # ADR <number>: <Decision Title>

    ## Context

    What decision needs to be made and why.

    ## Options Considered

    ### Option 1: <Name>

    **Pros:**
    - Pro 1
    - Pro 2

    **Cons:**
    - Con 1

    ### Option 2: <Name>

    **Pros:**
    - Pro 1

    **Cons:**
    - Con 1

    ## Decision

    We chose **Option X** because...

    ## Consequences

    - Impact 1
    - Impact 2

Promote to:

just promote <project>-decision-<number> <Domain> Projects/<project>/decisions

5. Create Implementation Plans

just draft <project>-phase-1 plan

Write plan via MCP:

Use mcp__obsidian__write_note:
  path: "Drafts/<project>-phase-1/<project>-phase-1.md"
  content: |
    ---
    title: "<Project> - Phase 1: Foundation"
    domain: <domain>
    type: plan
    tags: [<project>, plan, phase-1]
    created: YYYY-MM-DD
    updated: YYYY-MM-DD
    status: draft
    related: ["[[<Domain>/Projects/<project>/index|Project Index]]"]
    ---

    # <Project> - Phase 1: Foundation

    ## Goal

    Establish core infrastructure and baseline functionality.

    ## Tasks

    ### Task 1: Setup Infrastructure

    - [ ] Configure NixOS modules
    - [ ] Deploy to homelab
    - [ ] Verify connectivity

    ### Task 2: Core Services

    - [ ] Implement authentication
    - [ ] Set up database
    - [ ] Configure monitoring

    ## Testing

    - Integration tests pass
    - Can deploy to staging
    - Monitoring shows healthy metrics

    ## Dependencies

    - [[decisions/001-tech-stack|Tech Stack Decision]]
    - [[architecture|Architecture Design]]

6. Create Runbooks

just draft <project>-deploy runbook

Write runbook via MCP with procedure flowchart.

7. Update Project Status

Regularly update the project index via MCP:

Use mcp__obsidian__patch_note:
  path: "<Domain>/Projects/<project>/index.md"
  oldString: "**Current Phase:** Planning"
  newString: "**Current Phase:** Development"

Use mcp__obsidian__patch_note:
  path: "<Domain>/Projects/<project>/index.md"
  oldString: "- [ ] Goal 1"
  newString: "- [x] Goal 1"

Examples

Example: Start New Homelab Project

1. Sync vault:
   cd ~/Documents/knowledge-vault && just sync

2. Create project index via MCP:
   mcp__obsidian__write_note:
     path: "Homelab/Projects/jarvis/index.md"
     content: <project index with goals, status>

3. Create architecture draft:
   just draft jarvis-architecture architecture

4. Write architecture via MCP to Drafts/

5. Promote architecture:
   just promote jarvis-architecture Homelab Projects/jarvis

6. Document decisions:
   just draft jarvis-decision-001 decision
   Write via MCP
   Promote to Homelab/Projects/jarvis/decisions/

7. Create implementation plan:
   just draft jarvis-phase-1 plan
   Write via MCP
   Promote to Homelab/Projects/jarvis/plans/

8. As project progresses, update index via mcp__obsidian__patch_note

Example: Query Project Status

Use mcp__obsidian__read_note:
  path: "Homelab/Projects/jarvis/index.md"

Use mcp__obsidian__search_notes:
  query: "jarvis"
  searchContent: true
  limit: 10

Project Lifecycle

Planning:

• Create project index with status: "planning"
• Draft architecture
• Document key decisions (ADRs)
• Create implementation plan

Development:

• Update status to "active"
• Create runbooks as features complete
• Update index with progress (check off goals)
• Add new decisions as needed

Deployed:

• Mark goals complete
• Ensure all runbooks exist (deploy, troubleshoot, maintain)
• Update status to "deployed"

Archived:

• Move to Archive/ or mark status: "archived"
• Add final retrospective section to index
• Link to successor projects if any

Tips

• Always sync first - just sync before any work
• Use MCP for all edits - Don't manually edit files
• Link everything - Use [[wikilinks]] to connect docs
• Number decisions - ADR 001, 002, etc. for easy reference
• Keep index updated - Project index is single source of truth for status
• Archive when done - Mark projects as archived, don't delete

Integration

Works with:

• mcp__obsidian__* tools for vault operations
• just commands for vault management
• document-to-vault skill for creating individual docs
• Git workflow for version control

Troubleshooting

Can't find project:

Use mcp__obsidian__search_notes:
  query: "<project-name>"

Need to restructure project: Use mcp__obsidian__move_note to relocate files, update wikilinks manually

Vault out of sync:

cd ~/Documents/knowledge-vault
just sync