my obsidian vault is 1,547 files today 😳
it started with 2.
i had no template, wasn't trained by a course, had no system i mapped out first. 2 files, because i was tired of re-introducing myself every single time i opened a new chat window.
why md files and not a google doc
your AI can read a folder of plain text on your computer faster.
no export, copy-paste, or "let me give you some context first"
you own the files. every one of them opens in notepad if obsidian disappears tomorrow
any model can read them. claude, grok, gemini, whatever you switch to next year
obsidian is free and it's a folder of .md files. don't overthink the app.
how my vault is organized as of right now
file 1: who you are
everything a stranger would need to know that you exist.
your name, your handle, where you are
every link you have. site, socials, blog, newsletter, shop, music, portfolio, the old one you still send people to
what you're known for, in one line
what you're building right now
no formatting rules. a list of URLs and 4 lines about yourself in a plain note.
i keep mine split into an identity file and a links file now. on day 1 it was one note.
file 2: what you do
the stuff you type into a chat window before you can even ask your question.
your job, in your words, not linkedin's
the projects you have open right now
your opinions. the takes you'd defend out loud
how you like things done. tone, format, what you hate
the tools you already pay for
write it in first person, exactly how you talk. lowercase if you're lowercase. this is the file that makes your AI sound like it knows you instead of sounding like a press release.
then you hand it over
open your AI and say:
let's set up an obsidian vault. here are my first 2 files. organize everything you know about me into folders, subfolders and root files that make sense.
it already knows things. every chat you've had, every correction you made, every project you complained about. all of that has been sitting in memory doing nothing for you. this is what turns it into a filing cabinet.
mine came back with folders for each thing i work on, one for research, one for tools, one for links. i renamed 2 of them and kept the rest.
you're not building 39 folders on day 1. you're getting 6 or 7 and letting them fill.
the rule that grows it
one line, dropped into whatever your AI reads first:
be sure to document everything we do together within appropriate files and folders in the vault.
then tell every AI you use to familiarize itself with the vault.
what that gets you:
i finish a build with my claude, it writes up what we did
i open grok next week, it reads that file, it knows what claude did
i open a model i've never used, zero history, zero memory, and it's caught up in one read
my AIs don't always “talk to each other”. the vault is how they hand off tasks and messages.
the file that tells them how to behave
one more file, and it's the one i've rewritten the most: an onboarding note for your agents. how to act, before you ask for anything.
mine covers 5 things:
output format. bullets, one idea per line, no walls of text
verbosity. short and actionable, lead with the answer
what to read first. the identity file, then the folder index
standing routines. "check my emails before you talk to me each morning"
what to never do. my list of banned words and habits lives here
every AI i open reads that file before it reads anything else. i stopped repeating myself in march.
honest version: i built it because i was correcting the same 3 things every session and got sick of it. laziness is responsible for most of this vault.
my setup now
1,547 files
39 folders at the root, one per lane of my life and business
225 README files, one inside each folder, so an AI reads the index instead of opening 40 notes to find one thing
8 files sitting at the root, including the behavior file every agent reads first
every file does a job or it's a set of instructions my agents run. nothing sits there for decoration.
none of it was designed. it grew because of one rule and a lot of sessions.
what i'd skip if i started today
don't build the folder structure first. you'll build folders for a life you're not living yet
don't install 12 plugins. you need zero to start
don't make it pretty. no one sees it but you and your models
don't write file 2 as a resume. write it as a rant
go make file 1 today
open a new note. title it your name. paste your links and write 4 lines about yourself.
that's the whole first step. your AI does the folder part 🧡
want to build yours with me?
the 2 files are easy. the part people stall on is file 2 and the behavior file, because writing down how you actually work is harder than it sounds, and a vague one teaches your AI nothing.
that's what the AI Workflows for Creators call is for. 60 minutes, live, we set your vault up together: your two files written properly, the folder structure your AI proposes reviewed and cut down, the documenting rule installed, and the behavior file written in your voice so every model you open reads the same instructions.
you leave with the thing running, not a list of homework.
see you in the next one 🧡
Auny