Obsidian LLM Wiki

An implementation of Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern: instead of retrieval on every query, Claude compiles raw sources into a persistent, cross-referenced markdown wiki. You curate; Claude maintains everything. Knowledge compounds.

Core Insight

Traditional RAG re-searches raw documents on every query. The LLM Wiki shifts to compilation:

• Raw sources (articles, transcripts, screenshots, URLs) → ingested once
• Claude writes and cross-links wiki pages → synthesis already exists
• Queries hit the compiled wiki → instant, cited answers
• Humans supply sources and ask questions; Claude handles all bookkeeping

Three-Layer Architecture

raw/          ← Layer 1: Immutable source material. Never modified by Claude.
wiki/         ← Layer 2: LLM-owned. Claude creates, edits, cross-references.
CLAUDE.md     ← Layer 3: Schema/config. Governs how Claude maintains the wiki.

Invocation

Run /obsidian-llm-wiki followed by an operation:

Operation: setup

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki setup:

1. Ask for vault path if not already running inside one. Default: ~/Documents/Vault/.
2. Create the directory structure:

{vault}/
├── raw/                    # Source inbox — drop anything here
│   ├── articles/
│   ├── transcripts/
│   ├── screenshots/
│   └── assets/
├── inbox/                  # Fleeting thoughts, quick captures
├── wiki/                   # LLM-generated and maintained
│   ├── sources/            # One page per ingested source
│   ├── people/             # Contacts, collaborators, relationships
│   ├── concepts/           # Ideas, frameworks, mental models
│   ├── projects/           # Active and archived projects
│   ├── meetings/           # Meeting notes and decisions
│   ├── content/            # Content created: posts, videos, writing
│   ├── revenue/            # Deals, invoices, financial milestones
│   ├── fitness/            # Workouts, health metrics, sleep
│   ├── synthesis/          # Comparisons, deep-dives, analyses
│   ├── index.md            # Master catalog — one line per page
│   └── log.md              # Chronological operation log
├── output/                 # Generated reports, exports
├── daily/                  # Daily notes (YYYY-MM-DD.md)
├── templates/              # Note templates
└── CLAUDE.md               # Governs how Claude works here

3. Write CLAUDE.md in the vault root (see template below).
4. Write starter wiki/index.md and wiki/log.md.
5. Write all templates in templates/.
6. Confirm with a summary of what was created.

CLAUDE.md to write into the vault (verbatim)

# Wiki Maintainer Instructions

You are the maintainer of this Obsidian knowledge base. Your job is to compile raw sources into a
structured, cross-referenced wiki. Humans supply sources and ask questions; you handle all bookkeeping
and synthesis.

## Hard Rules

- **Never modify `raw/`** — it is immutable source material.
- **Always update `wiki/index.md`** when you create or significantly change a wiki page.
- **Always append to `wiki/log.md`** after every operation (timestamp + what changed).
- **Use wikilinks** `[[Page Name]]` for all internal cross-references.
- **Frontmatter** every wiki page with: `type`, `created`, `updated`, `tags`, `sources`.
- One page per entity (person, concept, project). Merge, don't duplicate.
- When uncertain about a claim, mark it `> [!question] Unverified:` callout.

## Page Types

| Type | Folder | Purpose |
|------|--------|---------|
| source | wiki/sources/ | Summary of one ingested item |
| person | wiki/people/ | Individual contact or figure |
| concept | wiki/concepts/ | Idea, framework, mental model |
| project | wiki/projects/ | Active or archived project |
| meeting | wiki/meetings/ | Meeting record + decisions |
| content | wiki/content/ | Published or drafted content |
| revenue | wiki/revenue/ | Deal, invoice, financial milestone |
| fitness | wiki/fitness/ | Workout, metric, health record |
| synthesis | wiki/synthesis/ | Cross-source analysis |

## Frontmatter Schema

```yaml
---
type: concept
title: "Page Title"
created: 2026-01-01
updated: 2026-01-01
tags: []
sources: []
related: []
status: active   # active | archived | stub
---

wiki/index.md Format

One line per page: | [[Page]] | type | one-line summary | updated | Keep sorted by type, then alphabetically.

wiki/log.md Format

## 2026-01-15T14:32 — ingest
Source: "Article Title"
Created: [[sources/article-slug]]
Touched: [[concepts/concept]], [[people/author]]

Callout Conventions

• > [!summary] — key takeaways at top of source pages
• > [!quote] — verbatim excerpts worth preserving
• > [!question] — unverified or needs research
• > [!action] — tasks that emerge from a source
• > [!decision] — decisions made in meetings

Synthesis Guidelines

When multiple sources touch the same concept:

1. Update the concept page — add the new perspective, note agreements/contradictions
2. If contradiction: create a synthesis page comparing the views
3. Cross-link bidirectionally: concept → sources, source → concept

Quality Standards

• Every source page must have a > [!summary] with 3-5 bullet takeaways
• Every person page must link to sources where they appear
• Every project page must have: goal, status, next action, related meetings
• Stubs (< 3 sentences) get status: stub and appear in lint report

### Templates to write in `templates/`

**source.md** — for ingested articles, videos, transcripts:
```markdown
---
type: source
title: ""
created: {{date}}
updated: {{date}}
tags: []
url: ""
author: ""
sources: []
related: []
status: active
---

> [!summary]
> -
> -
> -

## Key Points

## Quotes

## Actions

## Related

project.md:

---
type: project
title: ""
created: {{date}}
updated: {{date}}
tags: []
status: active
---

## Goal

## Status

## Next Action

## Decisions

## Related Meetings

## Related People

daily.md:

---
type: daily
date: {{date}}
---

## Focus

## Done

## Notes

## Inbox

meeting.md:

---
type: meeting
title: ""
date: {{date}}
attendees: []
tags: []
---

## Agenda

## Notes

> [!decision]
>

## Actions

## Related Projects

person.md:

---
type: person
title: ""
created: {{date}}
updated: {{date}}
tags: []
status: active
---

## Role / Context

## Key Interactions

## Appears In

Operation: ingest

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki ingest [source]:

Source can be: URL → fetch, file path → read, or raw text pasted inline.

Ingest Workflow

1. Read the source completely before writing anything.
2. Announce the plan: list pages you'll create or update.
3. Create wiki/sources/{slug}.md from source template:
   • Fill > [!summary] with 3-5 bullet key takeaways
   • Extract > [!quote] for high-value passages
   • Note > [!action] items if source implies tasks
4. Update or create entity pages touched by the source:
   • People mentioned → wiki/people/{name}.md
   • Concepts introduced → wiki/concepts/{concept}.md
   • Projects referenced → wiki/projects/{project}.md
5. Cross-link bidirectionally using wikilinks.
6. Update wiki/index.md with all new/changed pages.
7. Append to wiki/log.md with timestamp and pages touched.
8. Report: N pages created, M pages updated, key insights.

Typically touches 5–15 pages per source.

Operation: daily-journal

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki daily-journal:

1. Check if daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md exists for today.
2. If no: create from templates/daily.md.
3. If yes: read it and ask what to add, or append provided content.
4. Surface any unresolved > [!action] items from yesterday's note.
5. Check wiki/projects/ for projects with overdue next actions.
6. Append to wiki/log.md.

Operation: inbox

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki inbox:

1. List all files in inbox/ plus today's daily note ## Inbox section.
2. For each item:
   • Classify: source to ingest? Task? Person? Project update?
   • Route it: ingest sources, update project pages, create stubs for new entities.
   • Archive the inbox item to raw/ after routing.
3. Report: N items processed, what was created/updated.
4. Append to wiki/log.md.

Operation: brain-dump

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki brain-dump:

The orphan hunter and gap filler. Surfaces problems you didn't know existed.

1. Find orphan pages: wiki pages with no inbound wikilinks.
2. Find stubs: pages with status: stub or < 100 words.
3. Find stale pages: updated > 30 days ago with status: active.
4. Find missing pages: [[wikilinks]] referenced but no file exists.
5. Find index gaps: pages not listed in wiki/index.md.
6. Produce report in output/brain-dump-YYYY-MM-DD.md:

## Orphans (N) — no inbound links
## Stubs (N) — needs expansion
## Stale (N) — not updated in 30+ days
## Missing pages (N) — referenced but don't exist
## Index gaps (N) — not in index.md

7. Ask: "Fix automatically, or review first?" If auto-fix: expand stubs with placeholders, create missing pages as stubs, update index, cross-link orphans where logical.
8. Append to wiki/log.md.

Operation: query

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki query [question]:

1. Search wiki/index.md to identify relevant pages.
2. Read those pages plus their linked pages (one hop).
3. Synthesize an answer with inline [[citations]].
4. If the answer reveals a synthesis worth preserving, ask: "Save this as a synthesis page?"
5. Never fabricate — if the wiki doesn't have it, say so and suggest a source to ingest.

Operation: lint

When the user runs /obsidian-llm-wiki lint:

Comprehensive health check. Produces output/lint-YYYY-MM-DD.md.

Checks:

• 🔴 Broken wikilinks (referenced pages that don't exist)
• 🔴 Pages missing required frontmatter fields
• 🟡 Orphan pages (no inbound links)
• 🟡 Stubs (< 100 words, status: stub)
• 🟡 Stale active pages (not updated in 30+ days)
• 🟡 Index out of sync (pages not in index, or dead index entries)
• 🟢 Log gaps (pages with no log entry)
• 🟢 Contradiction flags (same claim stated differently on two pages)

Tracking Domains

Key Behaviors

• Announce the plan before writing anything — list pages, then execute.
• Never guess wiki content — derive from sources only.
• Always update wiki/index.md and wiki/log.md — non-negotiable after every operation.
• Prefer updating existing pages over creating new — merge, don't duplicate.
• Use obsidian CLI if available (see obsidian-cli skill) for file ops inside a live vault.
• Wikilinks are connective tissue — every named entity gets one.
• Mark uncertainty with > [!question] — never silently fabricate.

Running Claude Code Inside the Vault

For persistent wiki maintenance, run Claude Code from the vault root:

cd ~/Documents/Vault
claude

The vault's CLAUDE.md loads automatically and governs all behavior. This turns Claude Code into a dedicated wiki maintainer for as long as the session runs.

For one-shot operations from outside the vault:

claude --add-dir ~/Documents/Vault "/obsidian-llm-wiki ingest https://example.com/article"

Sources

• Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki Gist
• NicholasSpisak/second-brain — reference implementation
• LLM Wiki + Obsidian Guide