Getting Started — Claude Desktop
Comfortable in a terminal? See the Claude Code version.
A minimal setup guide based on Karpathy's LLM wiki pattern. Fifteen minutes from zero to a working wiki that Claude maintains for you. Nothing here is novel — just the shortest path to running the pattern.
You need: The Claude Desktop app. Free.
Setup
1. Make an empty folder for your wiki. Anywhere on your computer is fine — Documents, Desktop, wherever. We'll call it my-wiki for the rest of these instructions.
2. Point Claude at the folder. Open the Claude Desktop app and click the Cowork tab. Click Work in a project → Create new project → select your my-wiki folder. Claude now has read/write access to the folder.
3. Hand Claude the pattern. With your project active, paste this into the message box and send it. If Claude asks to read the URL, allow it:
Use the following link to start my second brain project: https://gist.github.com/karpathy/442a6bf555914893e9891c11519de94f
Ask me what my topic is, then scaffold a minimal folder structure, write a starter CLAUDE.md schema, and create empty index.md and log.md files. Once that's done, explain what kinds of sources I can add to the wiki — URLs, text pastes, files, etc. — then ask what I'd like to add first and walk me through ingesting it.Claude will ask about your topic, then create the files in your wiki folder. Open CLAUDE.md and skim it — that's the configuration that'll guide every future session.
First session
4. Add your first source. A source can be:
- a file you drop into your wiki folder (article, PDF, notes)
- a paste of text directly into the chat
- a URL
- a Google Doc, Gmail thread, or anything else from a connector you've enabled in Claude Desktop's settings
When you've got one, paste:
Help me ingest a source. Ask me what I've got and walk me through it.Claude will ask what you've got, then write the summary, update index.md, cross-link relevant pages, and append to log.md.
5. Ask a question. Paste this anytime:
Ask me what I want to explore. When we land on a good answer, save it as a new page so it compounds.Good answers belong in the wiki, not buried in chat history.
Ongoing habit
6. Add sources one at a time. Each time you read something worth keeping, repeat step 4. Batch weekly if you prefer.
7. Query instead of searching. Repeat step 5 whenever something's on your mind. Let Claude synthesize across the wiki rather than ctrl+F-ing through files.
8. Health-check periodically. Every few weeks, paste:
Health-check the wiki. Flag contradictions, orphan pages, and gaps worth filling, then ask me what to fix first.Suggested tools
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Obsidian — a markdown editor that turns your wiki folder into a browsable knowledge base with backlinks, graph view, and search. Not required, but the best way to explore what Claude has built.
- Obsidian Web Clipper — clips web articles to markdown directly into your vault. After setup, open the extension settings and set the default save location to the inbox or sources folder Claude created (check your
CLAUDE.mdfor the folder name). - Dataview — query your vault like a database. Claude can write Dataview queries as part of ingestion, giving you dynamic indexes and tables automatically.
- Smart Connections — AI-powered semantic search within the vault. Good for surfacing related notes Claude may not have cross-linked.
- Obsidian Git — automates git commits on a schedule with no terminal needed. Cleaner than manual iCloud/Dropbox backup.
- Obsidian Web Clipper — clips web articles to markdown directly into your vault. After setup, open the extension settings and set the default save location to the inbox or sources folder Claude created (check your
Notes
- The folder is just markdown files. Save your wiki to iCloud, Dropbox, or similar and you get version history and free backup.
CLAUDE.mdis meant to evolve. When you discover something that works (or doesn't), tell Claude to update it.- Want Claude to pull from Google Drive or Gmail directly? Turn on those connectors in Claude Desktop's settings.