# The Grok Bot + Obsidian Vault

> **Rather have it built for you?** My team sets up a done-for-you AI second brain: the vault, your calls and notes filed in, your AI connected to your tools. **[Book a call with my team](https://qwavelabs.io/book)**

Here's the full setup from the reel. The goal isn't "build a second brain". The goal is an AI that already knows your meetings, the people you work with and where every project stands, so you stop re-explaining your life to it every time you open a chat. The vault is just how you get there. Obsidian is completely free, and you can have this running tonight.

## Why Obsidian

- **It's just a folder.** Every note is a plain markdown file on your own computer. No database, no account needed.
- **Any AI can read it.** I run Grok Bot on mine, and Claude Code and Codex work in the same folder. Swap AIs whenever you want; your notes stay put.
- **Links are built in.** Type `[[Person Name]]` and notes connect. Those links are how the AI follows a meeting to a person to a project.

## Step 1: Make the vault (2 minutes)

Download Obsidian at obsidian.md → **Create new vault** → call it `vault`. Then make this:

```
vault/
  Inbox/       <- dump anything here, unsorted
  Meetings/    <- one note per call: summary, decisions, to-dos
  People/      <- one page per person you work with
  Projects/    <- one page per thing you're building + where it's at
  AGENTS.md    <- the rules your AI follows (Step 3)
  Index.md     <- the map your AI reads first (it builds this for you)
```

![The vault: one folder, three that matter](/tools/vault/images/vault-1-structure.png)

Three folders do the real work. Something gets **said in a meeting**, it's **about a person**, and it **moves a project**. Link those three and your AI can answer almost anything about your business.

## Step 2: Capture into Inbox, don't organize

Paste in anything: call transcripts from whatever recorder you use (most export a transcript), old meeting notes, voice-memo transcripts, docs. Don't rename it, don't sort it, don't tag it. Filing is the AI's job, not yours.

## Step 3: The filing prompt (save it as `AGENTS.md`)

Make a note in the vault root called `AGENTS.md` and paste this in. Agents that work in a folder (Grok Bot, Claude Code, Codex) read it as their rules. If you use Claude Code, also save a copy as `CLAUDE.md`, since that's the file Claude Code looks for.

```
# Vault rules

You run my vault. It's how you know my meetings, people and projects.
Folders: Inbox/ (unsorted), Meetings/, People/, Projects/. Index.md is the map.

## When I say "file it"
1. Read everything in Inbox/.
2. Each call or meeting becomes Meetings/YYYY-MM-DD Title.md using the Meeting
   template below: a 3-line summary, decisions (with the reason), to-dos
   (who, what, by when), open questions, and [[links]] to every person and
   project mentioned.
3. Every person mentioned gets a People/Full Name.md page (create it from the
   Person template if missing). Add the meeting link, update last_contact,
   add any open loops.
4. Every project touched gets its Projects/ page updated: "Where it's at",
   next 3 steps, and a dated line in the decisions log linking the meeting.
5. Keep my exact numbers, dates and quotes. Never round, never paraphrase a quote.
6. Update Index.md: every active project and person, one line each, as [[links]].
7. When an item is filed, move it to Inbox/_filed/. Never delete anything
   without asking me.
8. Tell me what you created and updated, as a short list of [[links]].

## When I ask a question
- Answer only from the notes in this vault. Start at Index.md, then open only
  the notes you need.
- Cite every fact with the [[note]] it came from.
- If it's not in the vault, say "not in the vault". Never guess.
- If the answer is useful, offer to save it as a new note linked to the notes
  you used.

## When I say "tidy"
List duplicates, notes with no links, projects not updated in 30 days, and
people with no last_contact. Don't change anything until I pick the fixes.

## Templates
Meeting (Meetings/YYYY-MM-DD Title.md):
---
type: meeting
date: YYYY-MM-DD
people: [[Person One]], [[Person Two]]
projects: [[Project Name]]
---
## Summary (3 lines max)
## Decisions (and why)
## To-dos
- [ ] Who: what, by when
## Open questions

Person (People/Full Name.md):
---
type: person
company:
role:
last_contact: YYYY-MM-DD
---
## Who they are (1-2 lines)
## What they care about / how they like to work
## Open loops with me
## Meetings

Project (Projects/Project Name.md):
---
type: project
status: active | waiting | done
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
---
## Goal (one sentence)
## Where it's at
## Next 3 steps
## Decisions log
- YYYY-MM-DD: decided X because Y ([[meeting link]])
## People

## Rules
- Plain markdown only. Use [[wikilinks]] for every person, project and meeting.
- Never store passwords, card numbers or logins in notes.
- Ask before anything that sends, pays or deletes.
```

**Point your AI at the vault:**
- **Claude Code / Codex:** open a terminal in the vault folder and run `claude` or `codex`. They pick up the rules file automatically. Then type `file it`.
- **Grok Bot:** give it access to the vault folder and tell it to read `AGENTS.md` first.
- **ChatGPT / Claude Projects:** paste `AGENTS.md` into the project instructions, upload your notes as project files, and paste in new transcripts. It can't write files, so copy its notes back into Obsidian. Fine to start, but an agent that works in the folder is the real thing.

![Dump it in, say "file it"](/tools/vault/images/vault-2-filing.png)

## Step 4: The ask prompt

Agents that read `AGENTS.md` already follow these rules. In a chat app, or any time answers drift, paste this before your question:

```
Answer only from the notes in my vault.
Start at Index.md, then open only the notes you need.
Cite every fact with the [[note]] it came from.
If it's not in the vault, say "not in the vault". Don't guess.
If the answer is useful, save it as a new note in the right folder
and link it to the notes you used.

My question: [your question]
```

That last part is why it gets smarter every day. Every good answer becomes a note the next answer can use.

Try:
- *"Prep me for my call with [person]. What did we decide last time, and what's still open?"*
- *"Where is [project] at, and what's blocking it?"*
- *"Who haven't I followed up with in 2 weeks?"*
- *"List every to-do assigned to me from this week's meetings."*

![It answers from your notes and saves good answers back](/tools/vault/images/vault-3-answer-loop.png)

## How I run it with Grok Bot

My vault lives on an always-on Mac. Grok Bot reads it, so when I ask about a person or a project, it answers from the vault and tells me which note it used. On a schedule, new calls and messages get filed into Meetings, People and Projects three times a day, and the vault gets tidied every night.

You don't need any of that on day one. Run `file it` by hand for a week first. When you want it on autopilot, have your agent schedule `file it` (Claude Code and Codex can run on a schedule, or use cron/launchd on a Mac) and `tidy` every night.

**This is the part where most people stall:** connecting the sources, scheduling the filing, setting the rules for what it can send. If you'd rather skip straight to the finished version, my team builds it for you. **[Book a call with my team](https://qwavelabs.io/book)**

## When it gets messy (the fixes)

- **Same person twice** ("Sam" and "Sam Lee"): *"Find duplicate People pages, merge them into the full name, and fix every link."*
- **Meetings with no links:** *"List notes in Meetings/ with no [[links]] and link them to the right people and projects."*
- **Projects going stale:** *"List projects not updated in 30 days. Ask me for each: still active, waiting, or done?"*
- **Graph looks like a hairball:** that's normal. Use Index.md as the front door, not the graph. Ask: *"Rebuild Index.md grouped by active projects, with the people on each."*
- **Answers feel generic:** your AI isn't reading the rules. Check `AGENTS.md` (or `CLAUDE.md`) is in the vault root, and tell it to start at Index.md.
- **Can't find something:** ask the AI instead of searching. If it can't find it either, it was never filed. Drop it back in Inbox.

> **Rule of thumb:** if you'd have to explain it to your AI twice, it belongs in the vault.

## Do this in the next 10 minutes

- [ ] Download Obsidian and make the `vault` with Inbox, Meetings, People, Projects
- [ ] Paste the Step 3 rules into `AGENTS.md` in the vault root
- [ ] Drop in one call transcript, say `file it`, then ask your AI what you decided

---

## Want us to build it for you?

**Who it's for:** founders, creators and small teams who want an AI that actually knows their business, without spending weekends wiring up vaults, sources and schedules.

**What you get:** my team builds your AI second brain with you:
- your vault, structured around your meetings, people and projects
- your existing calls and notes filed in, so it starts with real context
- your AI connected to the tools you already use, with approval rules so nothing goes out without your OK
- filing and cleanup on a schedule, plus the daily accountability coach on top
- a walkthrough so you know exactly how to run it

**What happens on the call:** we look at how you work today, where your notes and calls live and what eats your week, and I tell you what I'd build first. If it's a fit, we map out the build. If it's not, you still leave with the plan.

**→ [Book a call with my team](https://qwavelabs.io/book)**

**The vault isn't the point. An AI that remembers your business is.**