Obsidian Vault Template — External Memory for AI Agents

A starter template for an Obsidian vault designed to act as an external long-term memory for an AI agent. Plain-text markdown files that both the agent (via file tools) and the human (via Obsidian) can read and write — no database, no lock-in.

Why This Structure

AI agents have limited built-in context. This template moves durable knowledge out of the agent's context and into files the agent can read on demand:

Kind of information	Where it lives
Facts about the user (name, preferences, environment)	`Memory/00-profil.md`
Instructions on how the agent should behave	`Memory/01-instructions.md`
Project list and current state	`Memory/02-projects.md`
Guides, how-tos, reusable knowledge	`Knowledge/`
Session summaries, decisions, daily logs	`Journal/`
Drafts, research, temporary ideas	`Notes/`

AGENT.md at the vault root is the entry point: an AI agent reads it at session start, learns the layout, and knows to read Memory/ first.

Structure

obsidian-vault-template/
├── AGENT.md                 # Entry point for the AI agent
├── Memory/                  # Persistent facts (profile, instructions, projects)
│   ├── 00-profil.md
│   ├── 01-instructions.md
│   └── 02-projects.md
├── Knowledge/               # Guides & reusable documentation
│   └── README.md
├── Journal/                 # Daily logs & session summaries
│   └── README.md
├── Notes/                   # Drafts & general notes
│   └── README.md
├── README.md
├── LICENSE                  # MIT
└── .gitignore

Getting Started

Copy the template — clone this repo or download the files into a new folder.
Open in Obsidian — Open folder as vault, then browse the notes.
Fill the placeholders — replace every <PLACEHOLDER> in Memory/ with real values (name, email, preferences, projects).
Sync across devices (optional) — the vault is just a folder; use OneDrive / Google Drive / iCloud, Syncthing, Obsidian Sync, or Git.
Connect to your AI agent — point your agent's memory path (e.g. an OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH environment variable) at the vault folder. The agent reads AGENT.md at the start of every session.

Customizing

Add or rename folders — just update the structure table in AGENT.md.
Add more Memory/ files for new fact categories (e.g. 03-people.md).
Add Obsidian plugins and settings — note that .obsidian/ is gitignored, so each device keeps its own local configuration.

Security

Vault files are plain text on disk — anyone with filesystem or cloud access can read them.
Never store passwords, API keys, tokens, or other secrets here. Use a dedicated secret manager instead.
If syncing via cloud, keep copies in clouds you trust, or use end-to-end encrypted sync (e.g. Obsidian Sync).

obsidian-vault-template