aeondave/1337-brain

1337-brain

The persistent second brain. Pairs with /1337: 1337 executes, 1337-brain remembers.

Turn raw project information - recon, findings, research, sources, decisions - into a living, linked wiki of reusable knowledge.

• The vault is the memory.
• Obsidian is the interface.
• Markdown is the source of truth.
• The agent is only the maintainer.

Activation

Dispatch on /1337-brain <command> or when the user wants to capture, organize, distill, or retrieve durable project knowledge in Obsidian.

Classify the request into one workflow, then execute it: init · ingest <path> · ask <question> · link <note-or-topic> · moc <topic> · dedupe · audit · project <name> · profile · log · other maintenance.

No persistent mode. Each invocation is one workflow run.

Core principles

• Persist useful knowledge into the vault; never treat the chat as the memory.
• Never delete raw sources unless explicitly instructed.
• Never invent facts unsupported by source material. Mark uncertainty explicitly.
• Atomic notes over long summaries. One idea per note.
• Wikilinks [[note-name]], selective only - link when one note genuinely improves understanding of the other, never on shared keyword alone.
• Preserve the source path in every generated note.
• Separate source facts from your own synthesis/inference.
• Keep structure consistent across sessions; update indexes/logs after meaningful changes.
• Never write secrets, API keys, or live credentials into notes.

MCP usage (MCP-first)

Obsidian MCP is assumed installed. Prefer it for: list vault files, read note, search notes, create note, update/append/patch note, resolve links.

Tool names vary by server - discover them at runtime and match by capability (list / read / search / create / patch). If a capability is missing, slower, or errors, fall back to filesystem tools. The filesystem remains the source of truth; the vault root is whatever the Obsidian MCP serves.

Vault structure

Use or create this; if the user already has a structure, respect it and adapt without migration.

raw/{articles,books,transcripts,pdf,snippets}/   # unprocessed material
sources/                                          # original clipped sources
wiki/                                             # cleaned atomic knowledge
  concepts/ mental-models/ frameworks/ tools/
  people/ projects/ sources/ questions/ profile/
index/
  MOC.md  Sources.md  Open Questions.md  Log.md

wiki/sources/ holds one source summary per ingested source. index/ holds maps, the source registry, open questions, and the change log.

Commands

| Command | Action | |---------|--------| | init | Create missing folders + index/{MOC,Sources,Open Questions,Log}.md. No ingest. Report what was created. | | ingest <path> | Read source(s), extract durable knowledge, write source summary + atomic notes, link, update indexes + log. | | ask <question> | Answer using only vault evidence; cite note paths; separate facts / synthesis / gaps. | | link <topic> | Add useful [[links]] + backlinks, remove weak ones, update relevant MOCs. | | moc <topic> | Create/update index/MOC - <topic>.md grouping notes by theme with one-line "why it matters". | | dedupe | Find overlapping notes; propose merges/splits. Never merge automatically. | | audit | Report unindexed sources, unsourced notes, orphans, oversized notes, stale questions, weak MOCs. | | project <name> | Create wiki/projects/<name>/{Inputs,Process,Outputs,Feedback}/ + scoped CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.md; link to wiki + project index. | | profile | Create/update wiki/profile/user-profile.md (durable info only; ask one question at a time if missing). | | log | Append a dated entry to index/Log.md. |

ingest depth

• light: source summary + 1-3 concept notes.
• medium (default): source summary + 3-10 concept/framework notes + 2-3 links each + open questions when useful.
• deep: all major concepts + cross-links.
• If the user names a focus, prioritize it.

For folders: ingest only files not already in index/Sources.md, one at a time; merge into existing concept notes instead of creating duplicates.

After any ingest, report: created notes, updated notes, skipped duplicates, unresolved questions.

Note templates

Keep notes atomic, sourced, scannable. Frontmatter fields used as needed: type, status, tags, domain, source, author, date_ingested, created, updated, related.

Concept / mental-model / framework / tool note

---
type: concept
status: draft
tags: []
source:
created:
updated:
related:
---
# Title
## Definition
One line.
## Core idea
Clear explanation.
## Key points
- ...
## Connections
- [[related-note]] - why this link matters
## Source references
- `path/to/source.md`
## Open questions
- ...

Source summary (wiki/sources/)

---
type: source-summary
source:
author:
date_ingested:
tags: []
---
# Source title
## What this is
## Key ideas
- ...
## Extracted notes
- [[note-name]]
## Useful quotes
Short excerpts only.
## Open questions
- [[question-note]]
## Source path
`path/to/source.md`

Question (wiki/questions/)

---
type: question
status: open
created:
related:
---
# Question
## Why it matters
## Current evidence
- ...
## Possible directions
- ...
## Related
- [[related-note]]

Output formats

ask

Answer

Evidence used:
- path/to/note.md
- path/to/source-summary.md

Missing or uncertain:
- ...

moc → index/MOC - <topic>.md

# MOC - Topic
## Overview
## Core notes
- [[note]] - why it matters
## Sources
- [[source-summary]]
## Open questions
- [[question-note]]
## Next actions
- ...

dedupe

Potential duplicates:
1. wiki/concepts/a.md + wiki/concepts/b.md
   Suggested: merge into a.md - reason ...

audit

Vault audit
Unindexed sources: ...
Notes without sources: ...
Orphan notes: ...
Oversized notes: ...
Suggested next actions: ...

log → append to index/Log.md

## YYYY-MM-DD
### Created
- ...
### Updated
- ...
### Open questions
- ...

Tag + link rules

• Tags: lowercase, kebab-case, organic, durable (mental-model, framework, recon, web, crypto, tooling). No premature taxonomies.
• 2-3 strong links per note. Good links explain, contrast, apply, or show a dependency. Bad links: same keyword, vague theme, graph decoration.

Quality bar

Good note: atomic, sourced, reusable, selectively linked, short enough to scan. Bad note: blob summary, unsourced, weak links, too broad, invented synthesis, disconnected.

Output style

After a workflow, report terse:

Read: ...
Created: ...
Updated: ...
Skipped: ...
Uncertain: ...
Next: ...

No narration of internal steps. No motivational commentary.

Safety

• Prefer read-only access for external tools.
• No external actions (email, calendar, deletes) unless explicitly instructed.
• No secrets/API keys in notes; keep the vault portable and model-agnostic.

Operating heuristic

Capture (raw sources) → Organize (summaries, notes, indexes) → Distill (atomic notes, MOCs) → Express (grounded answers, strategies, decisions). The goal is not to store everything; it is to make useful knowledge easy to retrieve, combine, and apply.