Set up Obsidian for AI context in ten minutes

You do not need to learn Obsidian before you can use it for AI context. You need one folder, five files, and one index note.

This setup deliberately skips themes, community plugins, graph view, tags, and elaborate folder systems. At the end of ten minutes, you will be able to take three relevant lines from your own notes and use them in a real question.

Minute 0–2: install Obsidian and create a vault

1. Download Obsidian from the [official download page](https://obsidian.md/download). 2. Open the app and choose Create new vault. 3. Name it. AI Context is fine. 4. Choose a folder on your computer that you can back up. 5. Select Create.

A vault is simply a folder that Obsidian treats as a collection of notes. The notes are Markdown files, so they remain readable outside the app. Obsidian’s [Create a vault guide](https://help.obsidian.md/vault) explains the available vault options.

If you already have a vault, keep it. Create the folder in the next step inside your existing vault instead.

Minute 2–4: create one folder and five notes

In the File explorer, create a folder named Context. Inside it, create these notes:

Context/
  goals.md
  constraints.md
  decisions.md
  people.md
  standards.md

Use lowercase names if you want the filenames to match the examples exactly. The names themselves are not important; giving each type of information one predictable home is.

Minute 4–7: paste the starter templates

Open each file and paste the matching template.

goals.md

# Goals
- Current goal:
- What I want less of:
- Review date:

constraints.md

# Constraints
- Fixed deadline:
- Budget or capacity limit:
- Existing commitment I must protect:

decisions.md

# Decisions
## YYYY-MM-DD — Decision
- Chosen:
- Rejected and why:
- Revisit when:

people.md

# People and audience
- Who this work is for:
- What they value:
- Relationship to protect:

standards.md

# Standards
- A useful answer should:
- Avoid:
- Preferred format:

Do not fill every field. Add one honest line to each file. Leave unknowns blank instead of inventing an answer.

Minute 7–8: make one index

Create Context/index.md and paste:

# AI Context
- [[goals]]
- [[constraints]]
- [[decisions]]
- [[people]]
- [[standards]]

Text inside double square brackets is an Obsidian internal link. Click a link to open the note. You do not need a deeper hierarchy. See Obsidian’s [Internal links guide](https://help.obsidian.md/links).

Minute 8–9: learn one search shortcut

Press Cmd+Shift+F on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+F on Windows/Linux to search the whole vault. Search for a phrase such as price, deadline, or a client category.

Search matters more than designing the perfect folders. It lets you retrieve a decision even when you no longer remember where you wrote it. Obsidian documents search operators in its [Search guide](https://help.obsidian.md/plugins/search).

Minute 9–10: test the handoff

Open one real question. Copy only the lines that could change the answer and put them into this structure:

Context
- Goal:
- Constraint:
- Past decision:

Question
[What do I need to decide?]

For the two-person design studio, the first test might be:

Context
- Goal: Move toward fewer, higher-value projects this quarter.
- Constraint: Keep two long-standing clients on their current rates.
- Past decision: A blanket increase cost us a valued client. Do not repeat it.

Question
What is the lowest-risk way to test a higher rate for new clients?

After choosing an action, return to decisions.md and record the choice and reason. That final step turns a one-off AI chat into context for the next conversation.

What to ignore for the first week

Do not install a plugin because a tutorial says it is essential. Do not redesign the folder tree. Do not try to import every note you have ever written.

For one week, use only this test:

Can I find the few lines that change this answer, and can I record what I decided afterward?

If yes, the setup is working. Improve it only when a real limitation appears.

Read the filled examples for all five notes if you need help writing the first lines. Before sharing client or personal material, use the settings and redaction checklist.

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