Vault Guide

Last updated: 2026-06-30

This vault is for work knowledge you need to find again. Keep capture fast, structure light, and archive finished work.

Start Here

1. Open Dashboard first.
2. Capture the note with the smallest useful template.
3. Put the note in the right PARA folder.
4. Add a short summary when the note matters.
5. Review active projects weekly and archive finished work.

Folder Rules

Folder	Use For
00 - Dashboard/	Entry points, guides, MOCs, examples
01 - Projects/	Active work with an outcome or deadline
02 - Areas/	Ongoing responsibilities like Career, Learning, Productivity
03 - Resources/	Reusable references, commands, docs, specs, technical notes
04 - Archives/	Completed or inactive work

Projects should not stay in 01 - Projects/ after they are done. Set status: archived, then move them to 04 - Archives/Work Related/.

Which Template To Use

Need	Template	Target Folder
Track active work	Project Note.md	01 - Projects/
Capture a meeting	Meeting Notes.md	01 - Projects/ if project-specific, otherwise nearest useful folder
Save reusable knowledge	Reference.md	03 - Resources/
Write a procedure	Documentation.md	03 - Resources/
Maintain an ongoing responsibility	Area Dashboard.md	02 - Areas/
Daily scratch log	Journal.md	only if you actually use daily notes

Default to Reference.md for reusable technical knowledge. Use Documentation.md only when the note is a step-by-step guide.

Capture Workflow

For writing syntax like tables, bold, italic, checkboxes, and lists, see Obsidian Markdown 101.

1. Press Cmd + P on macOS (Ctrl + P on Windows/Linux).
2. Run Templater: Create new note from template.
3. Pick the template.
4. Fill the prompts.
5. Save it in the target folder.
6. Write only the sections you need.

For very quick capture, use QuickAdd choices if configured:

• QuickAdd: Project Note
• QuickAdd: Meeting Note
• QuickAdd: Area Dashboard

For web references, paste the URL normally and use Auto Link Title when you want the page title filled in.

Review Workflow

Weekly:

1. Open Dashboard.
2. Review active projects.
3. Review open Tasks results.
4. Update tasks, decisions, and blockers.
5. Archive finished or stale projects.
6. Fix only the links or summaries you actually use.

Monthly:

1. Review area dashboards.
2. Clean outdated resources.
3. Move inactive work to archives.
4. Delete empty notes.

Archive Workflow

1. Change frontmatter to status: archived.
2. Move the note to 04 - Archives/Work Related/.
3. Leave useful summaries and links intact.
4. Do not keep archived projects in 01 - Projects/.

Search Workflow

Use the fastest search that answers the question:

Need	Use
Open a known note	Cmd + O on macOS, Ctrl + O on Windows/Linux
Search all note text	Cmd + Shift + F on macOS, Ctrl + Shift + F on Windows/Linux
Smarter search	Option + F on macOS, Alt + F on Windows/Linux
Browse active work	Dashboard
Browse curated groups	MOC notes

MOCs are curated navigation, not mandatory bookkeeping. Update them when they make navigation easier.

Frontmatter Rules

Default frontmatter:

title: Clear Title
created: YYYY-MM-DD
type: project | area | resource | meeting | journal
status: active | done | archived
tags: []
summary:

Rules:

• summary should be one useful sentence.
• tags are for broad grouping, not every possible keyword.
• related is optional. Add it only when the link is genuinely useful.
• Use wikilinks in the body for normal relationships.

Maintenance Rules

• Keep templates short.
• Prefer one useful note over many half-filled notes.
• Do not create new folders unless search or review becomes painful.
• Do not maintain fields you do not query or read.
• Archive aggressively; old active projects make the dashboard noisy.
• Examples can be outdated. Templates are the source of truth.

AI Assistance

AI agents should read AGENTS.md first, then this guide and the relevant template before creating or editing notes.

Troubleshooting

Templater does not create notes

• Check Community Plugins: Templater is enabled.
• Check Settings -> Templater -> Template folder = templates/.

QuickAdd does not create notes

• Check Settings -> QuickAdd.
• Confirm choices point to the matching template and target folder.

Dataview looks wrong

• Check that notes have type, status, and created.
• Refresh the note or reopen Obsidian.

Tasks list looks wrong

• Check Community Plugins: Tasks is enabled.
• Keep active project tasks in 01 - Projects/.
• Use normal Markdown checkboxes: - [ ] Task.
• For Markdown syntax, open Obsidian Markdown 101.

Cannot find a note

• Try Cmd + O on macOS (Ctrl + O on Windows/Linux).
• Try full text search with Cmd + Shift + F on macOS (Ctrl + Shift + F on Windows/Linux).
• Try Omnisearch with Option + F on macOS (Alt + F on Windows/Linux).

Project list is noisy

• Archive completed projects.
• Add or fix summary only on projects you still care about.