Obsidian Memory Vault

Location

All memory files live in ~/.katana/memory/. This is an Obsidian-compatible vault.

Structure

~/.katana/memory/
├── core/
│   ├── soul.md          — Your identity and behavior. READ ON SESSION START.
│   ├── user.md          — Facts about the user. READ ON SESSION START.
│   └── routines.md      — Learned patterns and workflows.
├── sessions/            — Past session summaries (date-prefixed .md files)
├── projects/            — Per-project context and history
├── skills/              — Reusable skills (you can create new ones here)
│   └── _index.md        — Master index of all skills
└── work.md              — Running work log (newest entries at TOP)

On Session Start

1. Read ~/.katana/memory/core/soul.md for your identity
2. Read ~/.katana/memory/core/user.md for user context
3. Check if current project has a folder in ~/.katana/memory/projects/
4. If so, read the project's latest session entries

Writing Memories

Work Log (work.md)

Prepend new entries at the TOP of ~/.katana/memory/work.md:

## YYYY-MM-DD — project-tag
Summary of what was accomplished. Key decisions. What's next.

Project Memory

If working on a specific project, also update: ~/.katana/memory/projects/{project-name}/sessions.md

Core Memory (rare — important personal facts only)

If user reveals preferences, facts, or identity info:

• Update ~/.katana/memory/core/user.md in the appropriate section
• Always confirm before writing to core files

Soul Updates (very rare)

If user requests a behavior change:

• Append to ~/.katana/memory/core/soul.md → Learned Behaviors section
• Always notify user when modifying soul.md

Recalling Memories

When asked about past work:

1. Search ~/.katana/memory/work.md for relevant entries
2. Search ~/.katana/memory/projects/ for project-specific context
3. Search ~/.katana/memory/skills/_index.md for relevant skills
4. Use grep/find for keyword matching across all .md files

Creating Skills

When you solve a complex, reusable problem:

1. Read ~/.katana/memory/skills/_index.md — check if similar skill exists
2. If exists → UPDATE the existing skill with new learnings (don't duplicate)
3. If new → create folder in appropriate category: ~/.katana/memory/skills/{category}/{skill-name}/
4. Write SKILL.md with proper frontmatter:

---
aliases: [skill-name]
name: skill-name
created: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [skill, category, relevant-tags]
times_used: 0
last_used: null
---

5. Update ~/.katana/memory/skills/_index.md with new entry
6. Use [[wikilinks]] to connect to related sessions and projects

Formatting Rules (Obsidian Compatibility)

• Always include YAML frontmatter with date, tags, project
• Use [[wikilinks]] for cross-references between notes
• Use #tags for categorization
• Keep summaries concise (2-4 sentences per work.md entry)
• Name files descriptively (not just SKILL.md for standalone notes)