Gearing Up

What You’ll Accomplish

• Download the starter workspace
• Install Claude Code
• Run your first command

Part 1: Get the Starter Kit

We’ll create a folder on your computer where:

• You store all your notes and tasks (like Notion, but local)
• Claude Code can read and edit everything
• You run commands like /daily
• Delegate tasks to Claude

Download The Workspace

First, open your terminal:

• Mac: Search for “Terminal” in Spotlight (Cmd+Space)
• Windows: Open PowerShell (search in Start menu)
• Linux: Open your terminal app (Ctrl+Alt+T on most distros)

Then copy and paste these commands:

# Navigate to Documents
cd ~/Documents

# Download the starter workspace
curl -L https://github.com/derek-larson14/feed-the-beast/archive/main.zip -o starter.zip

# Extract and clean up
unzip starter.zip && rm starter.zip

# Rename to claude-workspace
mv feed-the-beast-main claude-workspace

# Enter the workspace
cd claude-workspace

# Install Claude Sidebar plugin
curl -sL https://github.com/derek-larson14/obsidian-claude-sidebar/archive/refs/heads/main.tar.gz | tar -xz -C .obsidian/plugins && mv .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-claude-sidebar-main .obsidian/plugins/claude-sidebar

# List files to confirm
ls

You should see files like roadmap.md, tasks.md, etc. You can also find it in Finder → Documents → claude-workspace.

Feel free to rename the claude-workspace folder to whatever you wish.

Part 2: Install the Software

curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash

If you run into issues, see Claude Quickstart

Part 3: Set Up Obsidian

Your workspace is a folder with files in it. Obsidian is how you’ll view and edit them.

Think of Obsidian as a local Notion - it’s a nice interface wrapped around a folder that lives on your computer. The files are plain text (markdown), so Claude Code can read and edit them.

Install

1. Download Obsidian Here
2. Run the installer
3. Open Obsidian
4. Click “Open folder as vault”

5. Navigate to your claude-workspace (in Documents)

Once opened, you’ll see your files in the sidebar:

The starter kit includes pre-configured plugins. When prompted, click “Trust author and enable plugins.”

Open Claude Sidebar

Click the bot icon in the left sidebar:

Or use Command Palette (Cmd+P) → “Open Claude Code”:

We built a plugin that embeds Claude Code directly into Obsidian - no terminal needed after setup. The first time you open it, you’ll be prompted to log in or create an account (see Part 4).

cd Documents        # Go to Documents folder
cd claude-workspace # Go into the workspace
ls                  # See what's inside

cd ~/Documents/claude-workspace && claude

Part 4: Log In to Claude

The first time you open the sidebar, you’ll be prompted to log in.

Select your login method (Recommended: 1. Claude account with subscription)

You will be prompted to log in or create a Claude account.

You’ll need either:

• Claude Pro ($20/month)
• Claude Max ($100+/month)

Which one? I recommend starting with the $20 / month Pro plan. If you hit usage limits you can always upgrade

Part 5: Your First Command

In the sidebar, type:

/daily

Example output:

BRIEF - Nov 20

STATE OF AFFAIRS:
Setting up Claude workspace. Need to test basic commands and get familiar with the workflow.

💰 KEY OPPORTUNITIES:
□ Finish workspace setup
□ Download Obsidian for accessing my workspace

🔓 BLOCKERS:
None currently

🎯 ONE THING:
If you do nothing else today: finish setting up the workspace

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

What happened?

When you type /daily, here’s what happens:

1. Claude looks for a file called .claude/commands/daily.md
2. Claude reads the instructions in that file
3. Claude follows those instructions

A command is just a markdown file. You can edit it, create new ones, or delete ones you don’t use. You’re not limited to pre-built commands - type any request you can imagine.

Here’s what the daily.md command file looks like:

Basic Commands to Try

/status

Shows usage, settings, configuration

/help

Lists tips and commands

Part 6: The Basics

Inline Editing

Try typing a natural language request like:

add "update email copy for the waitlist email for product launch" to open tasks

Claude will read your tasks file, propose an edit, and ask for approval:

You can:

1. Press Enter (Yes) to accept the edit
2. Press Shift+Tab to allow all edits this session
3. Press Esc to reject and give different instructions

Chatting With Your Files

You can also have a conversation with Claude about your files. Type @ and start typing a filename - Claude will autocomplete:

Try something like:

@tasks.md what's on my plate today?

You can tag multiple files to give Claude more context:

Claude can read, compare, and reason across all your files.

When Things Go Wrong

LLMs are imperfect by nature. What works for us may break for you. When in doubt:

Undo Claude’s changes: Press ESC twice to open the rewind menu. Select which message you want to restore to:

Then choose how to restore - “Restore code and conversation” undoes both Claude’s file changes and the conversation:

Undo your own changes: Rewind only affects Claude’s edits, not changes you made manually. For those, use Obsidian’s file recovery:

1. Open Command Palette (Cmd+P)
2. Search “File recovery: Open local history”
3. Select the file and version to restore

If you’re really stuck, email support@newyorkai.org

Checkpoint

You should now have:

• Workspace downloaded
• Claude Code installed
• Obsidian set up with Claude Sidebar
• Successfully ran /daily command