kb-init

Overview

One-time (or re-runnable) setup that bootstraps a knowledge base project as an Obsidian vault.

Prerequisites

Obsidian must be installed.

Plugin Setup

After confirming the vault path, run the bundled setup script via Bash tool:

# Interactive — asks user about each optional plugin
bash plugins/kb/setup.sh /path/to/vault

# Install everything
bash plugins/kb/setup.sh /path/to/vault --all

# Install specific plugins only
bash plugins/kb/setup.sh /path/to/vault --only dataview,obsidian-git

Required plugins (always installed):

• Dataview — query wiki articles like a database
• Obsidian Git — auto-backup vault to git

Optional plugins (user chooses interactively):

• Kanban — track wiki tasks on boards
• Outliner — better list editing for article drafts
• Tag Wrangler — rename and merge tags across the wiki
• Local Images Plus — download and store remote images locally

Browser extension (printed as manual step):

• Web Clipper — clip web articles into raw/

The script is idempotent — safe to re-run. If Obsidian is open, tell the user to restart it.

Flow

1. Vault Setup

Ask: create a new vault or use an existing directory? If new, scaffold .obsidian/. If existing, verify it exists.

2. Source Gathering Strategy

Ask how the user wants to get raw data in:

• Self-serve -- User drops files in raw/. Per-type guidance:
  • Web articles: Obsidian Web Clipper extension -> raw/articles/
  • Academic papers (PDF): Download to raw/papers/
  • GitHub repos: Clone/snapshot to raw/repos/
  • Local markdown/text: Copy to raw/notes/
  • Images/diagrams: Place in raw/images/
  • YouTube transcripts: Transcript tool -> raw/transcripts/
  • Datasets (CSV, JSON): Place in raw/datasets/
• Assisted -- Claude fetches via WebFetch, Bash (clone repos, download PDFs, pull transcripts)
• Mixed -- Some of each

3. Output Format Preferences

Ask which formats the user wants: markdown (always on), Marp slides, matplotlib charts, HTML, CSV, Excalidraw, other. Use an extensible pattern so new formats can be added later.

4. Maintenance Cadence

Inform about options:

• Daily/hourly: /loop (e.g., /loop 1d kb lint)
• Weekly/monthly: /schedule
• Manual: just ask anytime

5. Generate kb.yaml

Write kb.yaml at project root with paths, output_formats, and obsidian config.

6. Scaffold Directories

Create: raw/articles/, raw/papers/, raw/repos/, raw/notes/, raw/images/, raw/transcripts/, raw/datasets/, wiki/, output/. Plus .obsidian/ if new vault.

7. Write Project Files

• CLAUDE.md -- project instructions for future sessions
• README.md -- repo docs with prerequisites, setup, workflows, directory structure, and attribution for research skills

8. Next Steps Guidance

Tell user what to do next: add sources, compile, and list available workflows (compile, query, lint, evolve).

Common Mistakes

• Do not overwrite an existing kb.yaml without confirming with the user first.
• Do not skip the source-gathering strategy question -- it determines the entire workflow.
• Do not create .obsidian/ inside a directory that is already an Obsidian vault.
• Do not assume output formats -- always ask the user.