Power Tools

Leveling up Your System

Obsidian for Beautiful Notes (5 minutes)

Why Obsidian:

• Beautiful note editor
• Syncs across devices ($5/month or free with iCloud)
• Starter kit includes plugins pre-configured

Install

1. Download from https://obsidian.md/download (picks the right version for your OS)
2. Run the installer:
   • Mac: Open the .dmg file and drag to Applications
   • Windows: Run the .exe installer
   • Linux: Use the .AppImage, .deb, or .snap package
3. Open Obsidian
4. Click “Open folder as vault”

4. Navigate to your claude-workspace

The .obsidian folder in the starter kit has pre-loaded plugins, such as:

• 1 Click Terminal Launcher
• Manage your .claude commands and agent files
• Simpler task archiving

Click the terminal button to open a terminal window from your vault folder

Sync Options

Note: all our files are local, and it’s essential to back them up

Option A: Obsidian Sync ($5/month) - RECOMMENDED

• Works across all platforms (iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Linux)
• Automatically syncs markdown files (but no other file types)
• Enables collaborating on files with others

Option B: iCloud (Mac/iOS only)

• Free (if under 5 GB)
• Can be finicky & unreliable (in my experience)

Note: I pair Obsidian Sync with Git (which we’ll talk about later on)

Alternative Editor: Cursor

• Great if mixing code and markdown
• Simple UX for opening your workspace folder
• Has a built in terminal
• Download: https://cursor.com/download

I use both: Cursor for code, Obsidian for markdown.

Better Terminal with Warp (5 minutes)

Why: The default terminal works, but is limited. I recommend Warp.

Enables:

• Multiline inputs
• Command autocomplete
• Nicer Interface

Install Warp

1. Go to warp.dev (available for Mac, Windows, and Linux)
2. Download and install for your OS
3. Open Warp
4. Turn off their AI features (we’re using Claude Code, not Warp AI)

Expected outcome:

Basic Terminal Navigation

ls              # list files
cd folder-name  # enter folder
cd ..           # go back one level
pwd             # show current location

Now you can use Shift-Enter for multiline prompts in Claude

Git for Time Travel (15 minutes - OPTIONAL)

Why Git matters for this system:

• See what changed with /review command
• Revert mistakes
• Track your system evolution with commit messages (show example)

Note: Git & iCloud do not play nice together.

Install Git (this may take ~5-10 minutes)

# If you have Homebrew:
brew install git

# If you don't have Homebrew, install it first:
/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
# Then run: brew install git

Initialize Your Repository (copy this into terminal, change Desktop to your folder path)

cd ~/Desktop/claude-workspace
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial setup"

Test It Works

In Claude Code:

/push

This creates a commit with a real message based on your changes. In the future, no need to remember syntax for anything with git, just ask claude to figure it out

Optional: Connect to GitHub (enables sync with the cloud)

1. Create account at github.com
2. Create new private repository (IMPORTANT: change visibility to private for security)
3. Follow their instructions to connect your local repo to github
4. Now /push syncs to cloud

Note: this command push to main branch (terrible practice for code, but for personal operations simplifies things). I typically push once a week before I do my weekly review.

Security: What Should Never Go in Text Files

Never put in text files:

• API keys (unless in .env and in .gitignore)
• Passwords
• Credit cards
• SSNs
• Private keys

Instead:

• Use environment variables
• Keep sensitive data elsewhere (e.g. 1Password)
• Create a .gitignore file and list files that you don’t want backed up

Checkpoint

Tools installed:

• Warp terminal
• Git initialized and /push works
• Obsidian pointed at your workspace

Understanding:

• Know when to use terminal vs Claude Code
• Can navigate folders in terminal
• Git gives you time travel

What’s Next

Module 3: Make It Yours

• Migrate your data from Notion/Drive/wherever
• Run commands with real data
• Setup a custom command