# Second Brain Starter

A minimal vault structure for Obsidian (https://obsidian.md) + Claude Code integration.
Adapt the folder names and rules to fit how you actually think.

---

## Vault structure

```
vault/
+-- 00_Dashboard/
|   +-- Home.md
|   +-- Dev Sessions.md
+-- 01_Projects/
|   +-- _template/
|       +-- README.md
|       +-- Tasks.md
|       +-- Decisions.md
+-- 02_Areas/
+-- 03_Ideas/
|   +-- App/
|   +-- Business/
|   +-- Creative/
|   +-- Wild/
+-- 04_Knowledge/
+-- 05_Journal/
```

---

## Home.md starter

```markdown
# Home

## Active Projects
- [[01_Projects/project-name/README|Project Name]] -- what's the current focus

## This Week
- [ ] Task one
- [ ] Task two

## Recently captured
- [[03_Ideas/App/idea-name|Idea]] -- one line summary
```

---

## Project README template

`01_Projects/project-name/README.md`

```markdown
# Project Name

**Status:** in-progress | on-hold | done
**Started:** YYYY-MM-DD
**Goal:** One sentence -- what does done look like?

## Context
Why does this exist? What problem does it solve?

## Stack
- Language / framework
- Key dependencies

## Notes
- Decision made and why
- Constraint to remember
```

---

## Tasks.md template

`01_Projects/project-name/Tasks.md`

```markdown
# Tasks -- Project Name

## Now
- [ ] Immediate next action

## Next
- [ ] Queued but not started

## Done
- [x] Completed thing -- YYYY-MM-DD
```

---

## Decisions.md template

`01_Projects/project-name/Decisions.md`

```markdown
# Decisions -- Project Name

## YYYY-MM-DD -- Decision title
**Chose:** Option A
**Rejected:** Option B
**Why:** Reason that made the difference
**Revisit if:** Condition that would change the call
```

---

## Claude Code integration

Add to your project `CLAUDE.md`:

```markdown
## Memory
- Vault: ~/path/to/vault
- Query: search vault for relevant context at session start
- Log decisions to Decisions.md as you make them
- Update Tasks.md when tasks change state
```

Claude will read the vault on session start and write back to it on significant decisions or session end (if you have a stop hook configured).

---

## Rules that make it stick

1. **Projects have end dates. Areas don't.** If something has no end date and no deliverable, it's an Area.
2. **Ideas older than 4 weeks without action go to Archive.** Don't let the Ideas folder become a graveyard.
3. **Weekly review is not optional.** 20 minutes to promote, archive, and update. Without it the system decays within a month.
4. **Capture fast, refine later.** A rough note in the right folder beats a perfect note that never gets written.

---

*From digitalmakertechnology.studio*