A free, plug-and-play Obsidian vault that gets you from blank screen to a working personal knowledge system in under 10 minutes. Includes Claude AI integration that most starter kits don't.
Built by Centaur Systems. Part of the Know What Matters ecosystem.
Obsidian is a free, offline-first note-taking app that stores everything as plain text files (Markdown) on your own computer. No cloud lock-in, no subscription required, no proprietary format. Your notes are just files in a folder — you own them completely.
What makes Obsidian different from apps like Notion or Evernote is linking. You can connect any note to any other note using simple double-bracket links like [[meeting notes]] or [[project ideas]]. Over time, these connections form a web of knowledge — your second brain.
Obsidian has a massive plugin ecosystem with over 2,000 community plugins that extend its capabilities. The two that matter for this starter kit are Templater (for reusable note templates) and Dataview (for turning your notes into a live dashboard).
The idea of a "second brain" has been around for years — a personal system where you capture, organize, and retrieve everything you learn and think. But in 2025 and 2026, Obsidian specifically has become the tool of choice for people building AI-augmented workflows. Here is why.
Plain text is AI-native. Because Obsidian stores everything as Markdown files, AI tools can read and write your notes directly. No API wrappers, no format conversion, no proprietary database to decode. Claude, GPT, Gemini — they all understand Markdown natively.
Local-first means you control the data. Your notes never leave your computer unless you choose to sync them. This matters when you connect AI tools to your personal knowledge — you decide what the AI can see and what stays private.
The plugin ecosystem bridges the gap. Plugins like the Obsidian Vault MCP connector let Claude.ai read, search, and write notes directly in your vault. This turns a static notes app into a live AI-powered knowledge assistant.
Linking creates context AI can use. When your notes are linked together, AI can follow those connections to understand context. A meeting note linked to a project linked to a decision log gives the AI a much richer picture than isolated documents in a cloud drive.
The result: Obsidian is not just a notes app anymore. It is the operating system for how individuals think with AI.
This is not a 50-folder enterprise system. It is the minimum viable structure that actually works — five folders, three templates, one dashboard, and a ready-to-use Claude AI integration. Extracted from the production vault architecture behind Centaur Systems, stripped down to what matters for someone getting started.
Inbox, Notes, Projects, Resources, Archive. Everything starts in Inbox. Sort during your weekly review. The goal is to think, not to organize.
Captures three things each day: what is top of mind, what happened, what is next. Takes 2 minutes. Builds the habit that makes everything else work.
Date, attendees, decisions, action items. Every meeting worth remembering gets the same structure so nothing falls through the cracks.
A template powered by Dataview that automatically surfaces your week — notes created, open action items, active projects. This is the moment most people realize Obsidian is not just another notes app.
A ready-to-paste system prompt and setup guide that connects Claude directly to your vault. Claude can read, search, create, and append to your notes. Most starter kits on GitHub do not have this.
Includes .gitignore, MIT license, and a README. Clone it, open in Obsidian, and start writing. Or fork it and make it your own.
Dataview is the plugin that turns your notes from a filing cabinet into a live dashboard. It queries your vault like a database and shows results inside your notes.
Open Obsidian. Go to Settings (gear icon, bottom-left). Click Community Plugins. Click Browse. Search for "Dataview". Click Install, then Enable.
In Settings → Dataview, toggle on "Enable JavaScript Queries" if you want advanced queries later. Not required for the starter kit.
Same process: Settings → Community Plugins → Browse → search "Templater" → Install → Enable. Then go to Settings → Templater → set Template folder location to .obsidian/templates.
Create a new note. Open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P), type "Templater", select "Insert Template", choose "Weekly Review". The Dataview queries will run automatically and show your vault activity.
These update every time you open the note. No manual tracking. No spreadsheet. Your vault becomes self-reporting.
This is the feature that makes this starter kit different from everything else on GitHub. Most people assume AI can only read their notes. Claude can read and write — it is a full vault assistant that creates notes, appends to existing ones, searches across everything, and helps you organize your inbox. This is a simplified version of the Centaur Systems workflow: you think, Claude executes inside your vault.
Search notes by keyword or content, find all open action items, summarize meeting notes from any date range, list everything in any folder, search by tags.
Create new notes with the right template structure, place notes in the correct folder automatically, append content to existing notes, create new folders, quick-capture to inbox without opening Obsidian.
Go to claude.ai in your browser. You need a Claude Pro or Max subscription for integrations.
Go to Settings → Integrations → look for Obsidian Vault. Follow the prompts to connect your vault folder.
The starter kit includes claude-system-prompt.md. If you use Claude Projects, create a new project and paste this into the project instructions. Claude will understand your folder structure, naming conventions, and templates without being told each time.
Try prompts like "Create a meeting note for my 2pm with Sarah", "What action items are still open?", or "Add a note to my inbox: look into refinancing options before June".
You have heard about Obsidian but the blank vault is intimidating. This gives you a working structure on day one.
You want a personal knowledge system but do not want to spend weeks designing one. Five folders. Three templates. Done.
You use Claude or other AI tools and want to connect them to your notes. The Claude integration is ready out of the box.
You are building software with AI and need a system to capture what you learn, track decisions, and review your week. This is the same structure the Centaur Systems team uses internally.
Open source. Free forever. Built by Centaur Systems for people who want to think clearly with AI.