Obsidian Second Brain

Obsidian Second Brain — Setup & Audit

Overview

Complete setup guide for an Obsidian vault as a Second Brain with PARA methodology, Claude Code integration (MCP + hooks + skills), automated Git backup, and developer-focused workflows. Works from zero or audits/completes an existing setup.

When to Use

• Setting up a new Obsidian vault from scratch
• Auditing an existing vault for missing config/plugins/structure
• Adding Claude Code integration to an Obsidian vault
• Setting up automated backup with Git
• Configuring developer-focused PKM workflows (TILs, project context, investment tracking, hobby tracking)

Quick Reference

| Layer | Components | |-------|-----------| | Structure | PARA folders, CLAUDE.md, _contexto.md per project, Dashboard | | Plugins | Dataview, Calendar, Templater, QuickAdd, Git, Tasks, Omnisearch, Linter, Tag Wrangler, Periodic Notes | | Templates | Diario, Nota, Semana, Mensal, Ativo, Pessoa, TIL | | Claude Integration | MCP server, 5 skills (/capture, /today, /emerge, /connect, /review), PostToolUse hook, cron sync | | Backup | Git repo, obsidian-git plugin, cron job, auto-commit hook | | Tags | Hierarchical (#projeto/x, #area/y) + Flat (#til, #decisao, #conexao) |

Implementation

Phase 1: Vault Structure (PARA)

Create the folder tree:

VaultRoot/
├── 00 - Inbox/                    # Quick capture, unprocessed notes
├── 00 - Dashboard.md              # Homepage with Dataview queries
├── 01 - Projetos/                 # Active projects with _contexto.md
│   └── ProjectName/
│       └── _contexto.md           # Project context file ("Gema")
├── 02 - Areas/                    # Permanent life domains
│   ├── Dev/TILs/                  # Today I Learned notes
│   ├── Investimentos/
│   │   ├── Ativos/                # Individual stock/asset notes
│   │   ├── Dividendos/            # Monthly dividend tracking
│   │   └── Analises/              # Investment analyses
│   ├── Hobbies/
│   │   ├── Anime/
│   │   ├── Manga/
│   │   ├── Games/
│   │   └── Board Games/
│   └── Pessoas/                   # Personal CRM
├── 03 - Recursos/                 # Reference material, links, clippings
├── 04 - Arquivo/                  # Completed/paused projects
├── 05 - Templates/                # Reusable note templates
├── 06 - Diario/                   # Daily notes (NEVER write here via Claude)
│   └── Semanas/                   # Weekly review notes
├── 07 - Claude/                   # Claude-generated analyses (write here)
└── CLAUDE.md                      # Root context for Claude Code

Phase 2: CLAUDE.md (Root Context)

Create CLAUDE.md at vault root with:

1. Identity: Owner name, role, objective, language
2. Vault structure: Folder tree with descriptions
3. Operation rules:

• READ: Full vault access
• WRITE ALLOWED: Only 07 - Claude/ and 00 - Inbox/
• WRITE FORBIDDEN: Never overwrite 06 - Diario/ or personal notes
• EDIT existing: Only with explicit permission

1. Project mapping: Table of project name → code repo path → stack
2. Tag system: Hierarchical + flat tags with examples
3. Skills reference: Table of available slash commands

Phase 3: Templates (7 templates)

All templates use {{date}} (YYYY-MM-DD) and {{title}} Templater variables.

| Template | Frontmatter Tags | Key Sections | |----------|-----------------|--------------| | Diario | tipo/reflexao | Como estou, O que fiz, O que aprendi, Ideias, Amanha | | Nota | [] + projeto + status | Contexto, Conteudo, Conexoes, Proximos Passos | | Semana | tipo/revisao-semanal | Dataview inbox, Projetos ativos, Tasks pendentes, Highlights, Proxima semana top 3 | | Mensal | tipo/revisao-mensal | Projetos, Investimentos, Aprendizado, Hobbies, 3 palavras, Intencao | | Ativo | area/investimentos/acoes + ticker/setor/preco_medio | Tese, Dividendos (table), Pontos de Atencao, Revisao | | Pessoa | pessoa + nome/birthday/relacao/contato | Como Nos Conhecemos, Interesses, Ultimas Conversas, Presentes, Lembrar | | TIL | til + area/dev + tech | O Que Aprendi, Contexto, Exemplo (code block), Links |

Phase 4: Plugins (10 community plugins)

Install plugins to .obsidian/plugins/ and register in community-plugins.json.

Tier 1 (Essential):

| Plugin | ID | Key Config | |--------|----|-----------| | Dataview | dataview | enableDataviewJs: true, enableInlineDataview: true, defaultDateFormat: "yyyy-MM-dd" | | Templater | templater-obsidian | templates_folder: "05 - Templates", trigger_on_file_creation: true, folder templates mapped (see below) | | Calendar | calendar | shouldConfirmBeforeCreate: true | | QuickAdd | quickadd | Capture "Captura Inbox" configured | | Tasks | obsidian-tasks-plugin | Default config |

Tier 2 (Power User):

| Plugin | ID | Key Config | |--------|----|-----------| | Periodic Notes | obsidian-periodic-notes | Daily/Weekly/Monthly enabled with template + folder mapping | | Omnisearch | obsidian-omnisearch | Default (hotkey Ctrl+Shift+O) | | Linter | obsidian-linter | YAML Timestamp on date field, trailing spaces, lintOnSave: true, ignore Templates folder | | Tag Wrangler | tag-wrangler | Default | | obsidian-git | obsidian-git | autoSaveInterval: 10, autoPullOnBoot: true, commitMessage: "vault: {{date}}" |

Templater Folder Templates:

| Folder | Template | |--------|---------| | 01 - Projetos | Template Nota | | 02 - Areas/Investimentos/Ativos | Template Ativo | | 02 - Areas/Pessoas | Template Pessoa | | 02 - Areas/Dev/TILs | Template TIL | | 02 - Areas | Template Nota | | 03 - Recursos | Template Nota | | 06 - Diario/Semanas | Template Semana | | 06 - Diario | Template Diario | | 07 - Claude | Template Nota |

Periodic Notes Config:

| Period | Format | Folder | Template | |--------|--------|--------|---------| | Daily | YYYY-MM-DD | 06 - Diario | Template Diario | | Weekly | YYYY-[W]ww | 06 - Diario/Semanas | Template Semana | | Monthly | YYYY-MM | 06 - Diario | Template Mensal |

Phase 5: Dashboard

Create 00 - Dashboard.md with Dataview queries for:

1. Projetos Ativos — TABLE from 01 - Projetos where _contexto exists
2. Tarefas Pendentes — Tasks query not done, sorted by due, limit 10
3. Inbox Pendente — LIST from 00 - Inbox, sorted by creation
4. Ultimas Notas — TABLE last 10 modified notes
5. Investimentos — TABLE from 02 - Areas/Investimentos/Ativos
6. TILs Recentes — TABLE from #til, last 5
7. Notas Orfas — LIST notes with 0 inlinks and 0 outlinks

Phase 6: Hotkeys

Configure .obsidian/hotkeys.json:

| Hotkey | Action | |--------|--------| | Ctrl+Shift+I | QuickAdd Captura Inbox | | Ctrl+Shift+D | Open daily note | | Ctrl+Shift+O | Omnisearch | | Alt+G | Open graph view | | Alt+T | Insert Templater template | | Alt+Left | Navigate back | | Alt+Right | Navigate forward |

Phase 7: Git Backup

1. Init repo in vault root with .gitignore:

`` .obsidian/workspace.json .obsidian/workspace .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-git/data.json .trash/ .DS_Store Thumbs.db desktop.ini ``

1. Create private GitHub repo and push initial commit

1. Install obsidian-git plugin — auto-commits every 10 min when Obsidian is open

1. Cron job (15 min) for persistent backup even without Obsidian:

``bash #!/usr/bin/env bash VAULT="/path/to/vault" cd "$VAULT" || exit 0 if git diff --quiet && git diff --cached --quiet && [ -z "$(git ls-files --others --exclude-standard)" ]; then exit 0 fi git add --all git commit -m "vault: sync $(date +'%Y-%m-%d %H:%M')" git push origin main 2>/dev/null exit 0 ` Register: /15 * /path/to/vault-cron-sync.sh >> /tmp/vault-sync.log 2>&1`

1. Ensure cron starts on boot (WSL: systemd=true in /etc/wsl.conf)

Phase 8: Claude Code Integration

MCP Server:

claude mcp add obsidian --scope user -- npx @mauricio.wolff/mcp-obsidian@latest "/path/to/vault"

• Filesystem-only (works without Obsidian GUI running)
• Path traversal protection, TOCTOU fixes

PostToolUse Hook (vault-autocommit.sh):

• Triggers on Write/Edit tools
• Auto-commits if file is inside the vault
• Runs async (non-blocking)
• Register in ~/.claude/settings.json under hooks.PostToolUse

Skills (install to ~/.claude/skills/):

| Skill | Trigger | Output Location | |-------|---------|----------------| | /capture | Quick note to Inbox | 00 - Inbox/ | | /today | Daily planning briefing | 07 - Claude/ | | /emerge | Reveal implicit ideas from recent notes | 07 - Claude/ | | /connect | Cross-domain pattern linking | 07 - Claude/ | | /review [project] | Project status summary | 07 - Claude/ |

Community Skills:

npx skills add kepano/obsidian-skills -g -a claude-code -y

Installs: obsidian-markdown, obsidian-bases, obsidian-cli, json-canvas, defuddle

Phase 9: Audit (Existing Vault)

When auditing an existing vault, check each layer:

1. PARA folders exist?           → Create missing ones
2. CLAUDE.md exists and current? → Create or update
3. Templates complete?           → Create missing, verify frontmatter
4. Plugins installed + configured? → Install missing, verify data.json
5. Dashboard exists?             → Create with Dataview queries
6. Hotkeys configured?           → Set up hotkeys.json
7. Git backup active?            → Init repo, .gitignore, cron, push
8. MCP server configured?       → Add via claude mcp add
9. Skills installed?             → Install community + custom skills
10. Hooks registered?            → Add PostToolUse auto-commit hook

Tag System

Hierarchical (group by domain)

#projeto/name          # Active project
#area/dev              # Development knowledge
#area/investimentos    # Investments
#area/investimentos/dividendos
#area/investimentos/acoes
#hobby/anime
#hobby/manga
#hobby/gaming
#hobby/boardgames

Flat (quick filter)

#til        #decisao      #ideia       #analise
#reflexao   #conexao      #ativo       #pausado
#concluido  #bug          #referencia  #pessoa

Common Mistakes

| Mistake | Fix | |---------|-----| | Writing to 06 - Diario/ from Claude | Output goes to 07 - Claude/ ALWAYS | | Forgetting .gitignore for workspace.json | Obsidian changes this constantly, creates noise | | Not ignoring obsidian-git data.json | Creates sync loops between plugin and cron | | Generic templates without frontmatter | Every template needs YAML with tags + date | | Linter running on Templates folder | Add 05 - Templates to foldersToIgnore | | No _contexto.md in project folders | Claude lacks project context without it | | Flat-only tags | Hierarchical tags enable powerful Dataview filtering |

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: sennaBruno
• Source: sennaBruno/claude-skills
• License: Apache-2.0

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.