Getting Started

This guide walks through installing Knowlery, initializing a vault, and understanding what changes after setup.

Requirements

Knowlery targets Obsidian desktop and requires community plugins to be enabled.

You also need Claude Code or OpenCode if you want to run agent workflows against the vault. Node.js and npm are required for optional tool preparation and the external skill browser.

Desktop behavior

Knowlery uses local command-line tools and Electron desktop APIs for agent-oriented features. The current plugin manifest marks it as desktop-only.

Install With BRAT

BRAT is the Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tool for Obsidian. Use it when Knowlery is not yet installed from the community plugin directory.

1. Install BRAT in Obsidian.
2. Open BRAT settings.
3. Add this beta plugin repository: https://github.com/JayJiangCT/knowlery.
4. Enable Knowlery from Settings -> Community plugins.

Manual Install

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest GitHub release.
2. Create .obsidian/plugins/knowlery/ inside your vault if it does not already exist.
3. Place the three files in that folder.
4. Reload Obsidian.
5. Enable Knowlery from Settings -> Community plugins.

First Run

After enabling the plugin, open Knowlery from the ribbon icon or command palette.

If the vault is not initialized, Knowlery shows setup entry points in the dashboard and settings tab.

The setup wizard asks you to choose a platform:

Platform	Generated config
Claude Code	.claude/CLAUDE.md plus .claude/rules/
OpenCode	opencode.json plus .agents/rules/

If you are upgrading from an older release, v0.3.5 auto-syncs bundled skills and migrates SCHEMA.md the first time the plugin loads. Custom and forked skills are preserved.

If Knowlery detects an older BYOAO vault, the setup wizard can switch into migration mode and preserve the existing BYOAO/OpenCode files while configuring Knowlery for Claude Code.

What Setup Creates

Knowlery creates the knowledge workspace and agent configuration in your vault:

Path	Purpose
KNOWLEDGE.md	Vault operating guide for humans and agents
SCHEMA.md	Knowledge taxonomy and page conventions
INDEX.base	Obsidian Bases index for compiled knowledge pages
entities/	Named things such as people, tools, organizations, and projects
concepts/	Ideas, frameworks, theories, and mental models
comparisons/	Side-by-side analyses
queries/	Saved questions and research threads
.knowlery/manifest.json	Knowlery setup metadata
.agents/skills/	Canonical installed skill files
.agents/rules/	OpenCode rules and shared agent rules
.claude/skills/	Mirrored built-in skill files for Claude Code
.claude/CLAUDE.md	Claude Code vault instructions
.claude/rules/	Claude Code rules
opencode.json	OpenCode configuration
skills-lock.json	Skill source, version, and disabled-state metadata

Optional Tool Preparation

The setup wizard can detect Claude Code, OpenCode, Node.js, Claudian, and skills tooling.

Missing optional tools are shown as selectable install or preparation steps. Already-installed tools are shown as read-only status rows. These actions are opt-in and run on your computer with your user permissions.

Open the Dashboard

After setup, open the Knowlery dashboard. It has five main tabs:

Tab	Use it for
Today	Start from the current activity context and choose the next small move
This note	Review the active Markdown note and prepare a focused prompt
Weekly Review	Generate a Knowledge Atlas and optionally send a polish request
Review Menu	Browse source skills, suggested next moves, and reusable review recipes
System	Run health checks and open the underlying configuration files

Recommended First Session

1. Initialize a clean test vault first.
2. Read the generated KNOWLEDGE.md and SCHEMA.md.
3. Open Today, This note, and Review Menu to see how Knowlery frames work.
4. Add one or two real notes to the vault.
5. Generate a Weekly Atlas, then open System and run a diagnosis.