How I set up Obsidian + Claude as my second brain

Most people use Obsidian as a notes app.

They write things down, maybe add a few links, maybe organize folders.

And most people use Claude as a chatbot.

They ask a question, get an answer, then start over in a new chat the next day.

The real value starts when you connect the two.

Obsidian becomes the memory layer. Claude becomes the reasoning layer. Together, they turn your notes into a system you can actually work with.

Here are the plugins, workflows, and setups I use to make that happen.

Part 1: The Core Plugins

1. Smart Connections

This is one of the best starting points for adding AI to an Obsidian vault.

It helps Claude or other AI tools find related notes instead of relying only on the current file. That means your old ideas, research, meeting notes, and project docs can actually come back when they are useful.

2. Copilot

Copilot gives you an AI chat experience inside Obsidian.

Instead of jumping between apps, you can ask questions directly against your vault. It is useful when you want your notes and AI conversation in the same workspace.

3. Templater

Templater makes your notes consistent.

I use it for things like:

• Daily notes
• Meeting notes
• Project pages
• Content briefs
• Research summaries

The goal is simple: every important note starts with structure.

4. Dataview

Dataview turns your vault into something closer to a database.

You can create live lists and tables from your notes based on tags, dates, fields, projects, or status.

This becomes powerful when Claude can reason over structured notes instead of messy text.

5. Tasks

Tasks lets you manage to-dos inside your notes.

You can add due dates, priorities, recurring tasks, and status. Then your work is not separated from your thinking. Your projects, notes, and tasks stay connected.

6. Periodic Notes

This is the backbone of a time-based system.

Daily, weekly, monthly, and quarterly notes give Claude a timeline of what happened, what changed, and what you were focused on.

7. Calendar

Calendar makes daily notes easier to navigate.

It is simple, but useful. When your notes are connected to dates, Claude can help reconstruct your work over time.

8. Kanban

Kanban is useful for visual workflows.

I use it for:

• Content pipelines
• Project stages
• Research queues
• Task planning
• Idea development

Claude can help update boards, summarize progress, and suggest next moves.

9. Obsidian Git

If your vault matters, version control matters.

Obsidian Git helps keep a history of your notes. If something breaks, changes, or disappears, you have a way back.

10. Obsidian CLI

For advanced setups, command-line access changes everything.

Once your vault can be searched, edited, and managed from the terminal, Claude Code or other agents can interact with it much more directly.

Part 2: The Workflows That Make It Useful

11. Morning Brief

Every morning, Claude checks my recent daily notes, open tasks, and active projects.

Then it creates a short start-of-day note with:

• What I was working on
• What needs attention today
• What is overdue
• What I should focus on first

This removes the "where do I start?" problem.

12. Meeting Cleanup

After a meeting, I drop rough notes into Obsidian.

Claude turns them into:

• Summary
• Decisions
• Action items
• Owners
• Deadlines
• Links to related projects

A messy note becomes a usable record.

13. Research Intake

When I save an article, video transcript, PDF, or idea, Claude processes it into a clean research note.

The note includes:

• Key points
• Useful quotes or claims
• Related notes
• Possible contradictions
• Tags
• Follow-up questions

This makes research reusable instead of disposable.

14. Weekly Review

Every Friday, Claude reviews the week.

It looks for:

• Completed work
• Missed tasks
• Active projects
• Recurring problems
• Ideas worth saving
• Priorities for next week

Instead of manually reviewing everything, I get a clean summary.

15. Idea Connector

When I have a new idea, I ask Claude to find related notes.

The best insights usually come from connections I would not have searched for manually.

This is where Obsidian becomes more than storage. It becomes a thinking system.

16. Project Kickoff

For every new project, Claude creates the starting structure.

That includes:

• Project overview
• Goals
• Constraints
• Milestones
• Related notes
• Open questions
• Weekly update template

Starting clean makes the project easier to maintain.

17. Vault Cleanup

Once a month, Claude audits the vault.

It looks for:

• Notes with no links
• Inconsistent tags
• Old projects
• Missing metadata
• Unfinished drafts
• Duplicate ideas

This keeps the system from turning into a messy archive.

18. Book Notes System

When I finish a book, I create one main note with highlights and thoughts.

Claude then connects it to:

• Projects
• Previous ideas
• Content topics
• Decisions
• Other books
• Useful frameworks

The book becomes part of the system instead of just another summary.

19. Argument Builder

When I need to write a post, proposal, or presentation, I give Claude the main claim.

Then it searches my vault for supporting material:

• Examples
• Past notes
• Research
• Data points
• Counterarguments
• Useful references

This makes writing much faster.

20. Decision Journal

Before important decisions, I create a decision note.

It includes:

• The situation
• Available options
• Assumptions
• Risks
• Expected outcome
• Final decision

Later, I review what happened. Over time, Claude can help me see patterns in how I make decisions.

Part 3: The Advanced Setup

21. Claude Code + Vault Memory

I use the vault as long-term memory for Claude Code.

The setup is simple: Claude should know where the vault is, how notes are structured, and what conventions I use.

That way, every task can start with relevant context.

22. MCP Server for the Vault

An MCP server lets Claude access the vault more cleanly.

Instead of manually opening files or copy-pasting notes, Claude can search and read the vault as part of the workflow.

This is the bridge between notes and automation.

23. Obsidian Skills

Skills are reusable instructions for specific workflows.

For example:

• Process a meeting note
• Create a research summary
• Review a project
• Clean up a draft
• Build a content brief

Instead of prompting from scratch, I trigger a known process.

24. AI-First Vault Rules

Every note should be easy for both humans and AI to understand.

That means I try to use:

• Clear titles
• Consistent tags
• Short summaries
• Useful links
• Simple metadata
• One idea per note when possible

Bad structure makes AI less useful.

25. Separate Vaults for Separate Contexts

I do not want every part of life mixed together.

A better setup is separate vaults for different contexts:

• Personal life
• Work projects
• Learning
• Content
• Clients

Claude should only access the vault that matters for the task.

26. Nightly Processing Routine

At the end of the day, Claude reviews the inbox folder.

It can:

• Clean up rough notes
• Add tags
• Link related notes
• Move notes to the right folders
• Create a short daily summary

I wake up to a cleaner vault.

27. Graph Review

Obsidian’s graph view is not just visual decoration.

Claude can help identify:

• Central notes
• Isolated notes
• Clusters
• Weakly connected topics
• Places where new links should exist

This helps improve the structure of the vault.

28. Zettelkasten + AI

Atomic notes work well with AI.

When each note contains one clear idea, Claude can combine them in better ways.

Instead of asking Claude to reason from one huge document, I let it follow chains of connected ideas.

29. Vault-Powered Claude Projects

Important parts of the vault can become knowledge sources for Claude projects.

For example:

• Marketing notes feed the content project
• Finance notes feed the budgeting project
• Product notes feed the strategy project
• Research notes feed the writing project

Each Claude project gets the slice of knowledge it needs.

30. Feedback Loop

When Claude creates something useful, I save it back into Obsidian.

That could be:

• Summary
• Decision
• Draft
• Framework
• Checklist
• New idea

The vault gets smarter every time I use it.

My Actual Setup

My current stack is simple:

• Obsidian for notes and long-term memory
• Smart Connections for AI-powered retrieval
• Templater for consistent note formats
• Dataview for structured views
• Tasks for action items
• Periodic Notes for daily and weekly rhythm
• Claude for reasoning and writing
• Claude Code or MCP when I need automation

The system is not complicated.

The hard part is setting up the first few workflows and actually using them every day.

How I Would Start From Zero

If I were building this again, I would not install everything at once.

I would do it in this order.

Hour 1

Install Obsidian.

Create the basic folder structure:

• Inbox
• Projects
• Areas
• Resources
• Archive

Then install Templater and create templates for daily notes and meeting notes.

Hour 2

Install Smart Connections.

Add 5-10 real notes.

Ask Claude questions against your vault and see what it can already find.

Hour 3

Set up one MCP or local vault access method.

The goal is to let Claude search and use your notes without constant copy-paste.

Day 2

Create 10-20 useful notes from your current work.

Make sure each note has:

• Clear title
• Useful tags
• At least one link to another note
• Enough context to make sense later

Day 3

Create your first workflow.

Start with the Morning Brief.

It should read your recent notes, open tasks, and active projects, then create a short daily plan.

Week 1

Add Dataview and Periodic Notes.

Start doing daily notes and one weekly review.

Week 2

Improve the system.

Add cleanup, research intake, project kickoff, or content workflows depending on what you actually do.

Why This Matters

Obsidian without AI is powerful, but manual.

Claude without Obsidian is useful, but forgetful.

Together, they solve each other's biggest weakness.

Obsidian gives Claude memory. Claude gives Obsidian intelligence.

That is the real unlock.

You stop starting from zero. You stop losing ideas in random notes. You stop copy-pasting context every day. You build a system where every note makes the next answer better.

Most people will keep using both tools separately.

The advantage comes from connecting them.

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