Getting Started — Claude Code

Not in a terminal? See the Claude Desktop version.

A minimal setup guide based on Karpathy's LLM wiki pattern. Fifteen minutes from zero to a working wiki that Claude Code maintains for you. Nothing here is novel — just the shortest path to running the pattern.

You need: Claude Code (free to install; requires a paid Claude.ai subscription or API access to use).

Setup

1. Make an empty folder for your wiki. ~/my-wiki or wherever.

2. Point Claude Code at the folder.

cd path/to/my-wiki
claude

3. Hand Claude the pattern. Paste this into the conversation 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 similar via an MCP server you've installed

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

obsidian-skills — agent skills that give Claude Code native understanding of Obsidian's markdown format and vault structure.
Fetch MCP — lets Claude pull URLs during ingestion without prompting each time. Add it with claude mcp add fetch.
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.md for 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.

Notes

The folder is just markdown files. Run git init and you get version history and free backup.
CLAUDE.md is meant to evolve. When you discover something that works (or doesn't), tell Claude to update it.
Want Claude Code to pull from Google Drive, Gmail, etc.? Install the relevant MCP servers. Run /mcp inside Claude Code to see what's connected.