Vault Setup Checklist (OpenClaw-optimized, ~10 min)

Vault Setup Checklist — OpenClaw-Optimized

Tuned for your specific workflow: memory rules respect (em-dashes, YAML key order, bare URLs), 8 templates matching your plan/memory/feedback structure, folder-icon recommendations matching the system-map taxonomy.

Step 1 — Apply automated configs (one bash command, ~30 sec)

cd ~/Obsidian/openclaw-vault
bash wiki/_setup/apply-recommended-configs.sh

This:

• Sets Templater templates folder → wiki/_templates/ (8 OpenClaw-style templates)
• Sets Linter rules → respects your memory rules (em-dash dividers, YAML order, bare URLs left alone)
• Reminds you what’s left manual

Step 2 — Reload Obsidian

Cmd-P → "Reload app without saving" — picks up Templater + Linter configs.

Step 3 — Per-plugin manual configs (UI clicks for what can’t auto-apply)

Templater — verify the 8 templates work

Cmd-P → "Templater: Open Insert Template Modal". You should see:

Template	When to use
daily-note	Daily journal entry
project-plan	New ~/.claude/plans/*.md (Sources / Blockers / Phased)
agent-status	New per-agent status page
feedback-rule	New feedback_*.md (incident-derived governance rule)
project-memory	New project_*.md (paired with a plan file)
reference-memory	New reference_*.md (op-cli pattern, etc.)
session-bridge	Stop-hook bridge file at session end
friction-entry	New SYSTEM-FRICTION-LOG entry

These match your G-PLAN-INDEX-REQUIRED + memory structure.

Hotkey suggestion: Settings → Hotkeys → search “Templater: Insert Template” → bind to Cmd-Shift-T.

Linter — verify rules match your memory rules

Settings → Linter → Settings tab:

Sanity-check these are OFF (auto-set by my config, but verify):

• ❌ “YAML key sort” (you have specific frontmatter ordering)
• ❌ “No bare URLs” (you use bare URLs intentionally inline)
• ❌ “Force YAML escape” (breaks Bases queries on path strings)
• ❌ “Proper ellipsis” (... is fine)
• ❌ “Blockquote style” (you use both > and >>)
• ❌ “Lint on Save” (avoid surprise edits)

Sanity-check these are ON:

• ✅ “YAML timestamp” with last-updated key (auto-updates timestamp on save IF you enable “Lint on Save” later)
• ✅ “Trailing spaces” (no two-space line break)
• ✅ “Consecutive blank lines”
• ✅ “Heading blank lines”

Test: open wiki/agents/aurora/SOUL.md → Cmd-P → "Linter: Lint current file" → see what changes (should be minimal — file is already clean).

Tasks (no config — works out of box)

OpenClaw-specific use:

• In personal/ notes: - [ ] follow up on [[acquisitions-system-plan]]
• Cmd-P → “Tasks: Open” → see all open tasks vault-wide
• Filter syntax: not done, due before tomorrow, path includes plans/

Smart Connections — embed model + Anthropic key

Settings → Smart Connections:

• Embedding model: keep default (bge-micro-v2, on-device, free, fast)
• For chat: paste Anthropic API key from 1P “Anthropic | API Credentials”
• Wait ~3 min for vault indexing (status bar shows progress)

OpenClaw-specific — once indexed, ask Smart Chat:

• “What plans are blocked on Henry decisions?”
• “Show me feedback rules about credential handling”
• “Which agents handle SMS?”

Smart Connections Visualizer (no config)

Test: Cmd-P → "Smart Connections Visualizer: Open" → 3D view of vault. Hover clusters to see related notes.

Iconize — folder icons matching the system-map taxonomy

Settings → Iconize:

1. Add icon pack: Lucide (built-in, free)
2. Frontmatter Icon: ON (so notes can specify icons via icon: lucide:flame)

Then right-click each top-level folder → “Change icon” → search + pick:

Folder	Recommended Lucide icon	Why
plans/	list-todo	Active plans = todos
memory/	brain	Memory rules = institutional brain
wiki/agents/	bot	The 42 agents
wiki/system-map/	network	Mermaid system maps
wiki/skills/	wand	Skills = magic commands
wiki/runbooks/	file-text	Operational runbooks
wiki/workspace-docs/	folder-open	Workspace governance
wiki/_setup/	settings	This setup folder
wiki/_templates/	file-template	Templater templates
sources/kb/	archive	Read-only KB
sources/session-audits/	clock	Session history
personal/	user	Henry’s zone
logs/	file-clock	Append-only log

5 min total for all 13 folders. Becomes navigation visual on every device.

Omnisearch (no config — auto-indexes)

After indexing (~2 min):

• Cmd-P → "Omnisearch: Vault search"
• Type queries like: “salesmsg api key” → finds anywhere it’s mentioned across all 855 files

Recent Files (no config — already in left sidebar)

Bases (CORE — toggle ON)

Settings → Core Plugins → Bases → ON.

OpenClaw-specific bases to create (once enabled):

1. Active plans by priority — right-click plans/ → “New base” → filter status: active, sort by priority ASC, columns: title, priority, blockers count, last-updated
2. Agents by tier — right-click wiki/agents/ → “New base” → group by tier frontmatter, columns: name, status, last-updated, memory DB chunk count
3. Memory rules by cluster — right-click memory/ → “New base” → filter type: feedback, group by cluster frontmatter

These give you queryable dashboards over your 91 plans + 42 agents + ~140 memory files.

Copilot Plus — vault-aware system prompt

Settings → Copilot → Basic tab:

• Default Chat Model: claude-sonnet-4-6 (already set, good cost/capability)
• Default Mode: Copilot Plus

Settings → Copilot → QA tab:

• Vault QA enabled: ON
• Embedding model for QA: local (uses Smart Connections) or text-embedding-3-small (OpenAI, paste key)
• Number of partition references: 5-10 (more context = better answers, costs more)

Settings → Copilot → Advanced tab → System Prompt field, paste:

You are working in Henry Hill's OpenClaw vault — a 91-plan + 42-agent real-estate operations system. Henry's preferences:

- Terse, action-gated responses (state intended action, wait for explicit go on side-effects)
- Vertical option lists with Recommend / Why / Override cost format
- Sources First protocol: cite paths/links + last_verified date
- No assumptions: mark NEEDS VERIFICATION if not source-grounded
- Use [[wikilinks]] for cross-references
- Read CLAUDE-system.md and AGENTS.md at session start
- Memory rules in memory/feedback_*.md are governance — apply them
- Never invent file paths or function names; verify via Read first

This makes Copilot answer in your style automatically.

Local REST API (already configured)

Confirm:

• HTTPS enabled, port 27124
• Key saved in 1P

Git plugin

Settings → Obsidian Git:

• Auto pull interval (minutes): 5
• Pull updates on startup: ON
• Disable push: ON (laptop is read-only follower for vault content)
• Vault backup interval: 0 (no auto-commit)

Step 4 — Sync .obsidian config to iPhone

Settings → Sync → “Sync settings” tab/section:

• ✅ Sync .obsidian config ← critical, propagates plugin enablement to iPhone
• ❌ Sync workspace.json (per-device pane layout)
• ❌ Sync workspace-mobile.json

Step 5 — Verify on iPhone

Open Obsidian iOS app → wait ~30 sec for Sync → confirm:

• All 7 community plugins listed in Settings → Community Plugins
• wiki/system-map/_mermaid-test.md renders Mermaid
• Folder icons applied (set on Mac → synced to iPhone)

Step 6 — Test the OpenClaw-style workflow

Pick ONE of these to validate everything works:

Workflow A: Create a new feedback rule

1. Cmd-P → “Templater: Insert Template” → feedback-rule
2. Save as memory/feedback_<your-name>.md
3. Linter cleans it up (Cmd-P → Lint current file)
4. Smart Connections finds related rules
5. Copilot can chat about why this rule exists

Workflow B: Daily note + task tracking

1. Cmd-P → “Templater: Insert” → daily-note
2. Save as personal/<YYYY-MM-DD>.md
3. Add tasks: - [ ] do X today
4. Tasks plugin aggregates them in Cmd-P → "Tasks: Open"

Workflow C: Query active plans via Bases

1. Right-click plans/ → “New base”
2. Filter: status: active
3. Sort: priority ASC
4. See all your active plans as a sortable table

---

Post-setup verification (~5 min)

✅ 8 templates available via Cmd-P “Templater: Insert”
✅ Linter respects em-dashes, YAML order, bare URLs
✅ Tasks aggregates checkboxes vault-wide
✅ Smart Connections + Visualizer indexed
✅ Iconize: 13 folders have semantic icons
✅ Bases: at least one custom base created (active plans recommended)
✅ Copilot Plus: system prompt set for OpenClaw style
✅ Sync .obsidian config: plugin enablement → iPhone
✅ iPhone: 7 plugins enabled, Mermaid renders, icons present

Total time: ~10 min one-time setup. Forever-after: vault is YOUR system, not generic Obsidian.

What this gives you that defaults don’t

• Templates match your G-PLAN-INDEX-REQUIRED + memory file structure (no manual frontmatter)
• Linter doesn’t fight your style choices (em-dashes, YAML order, bare URLs)
• Folder icons make the system-map taxonomy visible at a glance
• Bases turn frontmatter into queryable dashboards
• Copilot Plus answers in your communication style automatically
• Sync propagates everything to iPhone

When something breaks

• Pull errors → see feedback_obsidian_sync_external_changes_unreliable
• Plugin won’t enable → check .obsidian/plugins/<id>/main.js exists (git pull may have failed)
• Templater errors → check templates_folder in Settings → Templater = wiki/_templates
• Linter rule not applying → check the rule is enabled in Settings → Linter