Obsidian Second Brain Starter Kit

A plug-and-play Obsidian vault designed to get you from zero to a working second brain in under 10 minutes. No fiddling, no configuration paralysis — just open and start writing.

Built by Centaur Systems — a solo AI-augmented operation where one human governs and AI executes. This starter kit is extracted from the production vault architecture that powers our own work. We stripped out the complexity and kept what actually matters for someone getting started.

Part of the Know What Matters ecosystem.

Philosophy (Read This First)

Most second brain systems fail because they're too complicated. This one works because it follows three rules:

1. Inbox-first. Everything starts in 00-inbox/. Don't organize while you capture. Capture fast, sort later.
2. Linking beats filing. The folder something lives in matters less than what it links to. Use [[double brackets]] liberally. Your future self will thank you.
3. Weekly review is the habit. The system only works if you spend 15 minutes once a week reviewing what came in, what moved forward, and what's stuck. The included Weekly Review template makes this automatic.

Folder Structure

00-inbox/       → Capture everything here first
01-notes/       → Processed, linked knowledge
02-projects/    → Active work with clear end dates
03-resources/   → Reference material, templates, checklists
04-archive/     → Completed work — out of sight, never deleted

Why only 5 folders? Because the goal is to think, not to organize. More folders = more friction = more time filing instead of writing.

Getting Started

1. Download or clone this repo
2. Open Obsidian → "Open folder as vault" → select this folder
3. Install the two community plugins listed below
4. Start capturing in 00-inbox/

Required Plugins

• Templater — powers the note templates (Daily, Meeting, Weekly Review)
• Dataview — powers the Weekly Review Dashboard

To install: Settings → Community Plugins → Browse → search each name → Install → Enable.

After installing Templater:

• Go to Settings → Templater → Template folder location → set to .obsidian/templates

Templates

Daily Note

Ctrl/Cmd + N → apply the Daily Note template.

Captures three things: what's top of mind, what happened, and what's next. That's it. Don't overthink it.

Meeting Note

For any meeting worth remembering. Captures: date, attendees, decisions, and action items.

Weekly Review Dashboard

The signature feature. A templated note with embedded Dataview queries that automatically surfaces:

• Notes created this week
• Open action items across all notes
• Active projects and their status

This is the moment most people realize Obsidian isn't just another notes app.

Connecting Claude AI to Your Vault

This is the feature that makes this starter kit different from everything else on GitHub.

If you have a Claude Pro or Max subscription, you can connect Claude directly to this vault. Most people assume AI can only read their notes. Claude can read and write — it's a full vault assistant that can create notes, append to existing ones, search across everything, and organize your inbox.

This is a simplified version of the Centaur Systems workflow: you think, Claude executes inside your vault.

What Claude Can Do

Read: Search your notes, find action items, summarize meetings, list what's in any folder, search by tags.

Write: Create new notes with the right template and folder placement, append content to existing notes, create new folders.

Setup (5 minutes)

1. Open claude.ai in your browser
2. Go to Settings → Integrations → look for Obsidian Vault
3. Follow the prompts to connect your vault
4. Start asking Claude to work with your notes

Example Prompts

Try these once connected:

• "Create a meeting note for my 2pm with Sarah about the Q3 budget" — Claude writes it directly into your vault
• "What action items are still open across my notes?" — Claude searches every note for unchecked tasks
• "Summarize my meeting notes from this week" — Claude reads and synthesizes
• "Add a note to my inbox: look into refinancing options before June" — quick capture without opening Obsidian
• "What's sitting in my inbox that's older than a week?" — inbox triage

System Prompt for Claude Projects (Optional)

The file claude-system-prompt.md in this repo contains a ready-to-paste system prompt. If you use Claude Projects, paste this into your project instructions and Claude will understand your vault structure, naming conventions, and templates without being told each time.

Naming Conventions

• Daily notes: YYYY-MM-DD (e.g., 2026-04-14)
• Meeting notes: YYYY-MM-DD Meeting - Topic (e.g., 2026-04-14 Meeting - Q3 Planning)
• Project notes: descriptive name in 02-projects/ (e.g., Website Redesign)
• Everything else: whatever makes sense to you — don't overthink it

When to Move Things Out of Inbox

During your weekly review. Ask yourself:

• Is this a note I'll reference again? → 01-notes/
• Is this tied to an active project? → 02-projects/
• Is this reference material (checklist, template, guide)? → 03-resources/
• Is this done and I don't need to see it? → 04-archive/
• Am I not sure yet? → Leave it in inbox. It's fine.

Advanced: What's Next?

This starter kit is intentionally minimal. Once the habits are solid (give it 2-4 weeks), you might explore:

• Tags for cross-cutting themes (#idea, #decision, #question)
• Maps of Content (MOCs) for topics with 10+ related notes
• Canvas for visual thinking
• More Dataview queries customized to your workflow
• Deeper AI integration — the Centaur Systems production vault uses Obsidian as a full "AI brain" with memory layers, cross-session continuity, and automated observation logging. This starter kit is step one on that path.

About Centaur Systems

Centaur Systems is the operating model behind this project: one human governing, AI executing. We build tools that make individuals as capable as teams. The name comes from "centaur chess" — where a human + AI consistently beats either alone.

This starter kit is free because the best way to understand the model is to experience it. If you want to go deeper, visit knowwhatmatters.ca.

License

MIT — use it, fork it, share it.

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A Centaur Systems project. Built with AI, governed by a human. If this helped you, tell a friend.