Personal knowledge management system combining Zettelkasten methodology with Claude Code automation

Overview

Artem Zhutov uses a Zettelkasten-based Obsidian system enhanced with Claude Code for automated organization. The approach emphasizes templated thinking and AI-assisted knowledge graph maintenance.

Foundation: Zettelkasten in Obsidian

  • Atomic notes: each note captures a single idea
  • Interconnected through backlinks and wiki-links
  • 2+ years of active use developing the methodology

Templated Thinking Framework

Predefined templates reduce friction and encourage structured thinking:

TemplatePurpose
Daily NoteConsistent daily capture and reflection
Decision JournalDocument decision-making processes
Personal PostmortemSelf-analysis and learning
Meeting TemplateStandardized meeting notes
Mesocycle TemplateTraining/goal progression cycles

Information Consumption Workflow

Multi-layered summarization approach:

  1. AI summaries of YouTube videos and articles (Shortform, etc.)
  2. Capture key insights in Obsidian
  3. Bullet-point format with admonition boxes for highlights
  4. Connect to existing Zettelkasten notes

Claude Code Integration

Automated Maintenance

  • Tag tree kept up-to-date using Claude Code
  • Automated relationship discovery between notes
  • Quality validation on content changes

Potential Workflows (based on Claude + Obsidian patterns)

  • /vault-health - broken links, orphaned notes, missing tags
  • /connect-notes - semantic relationship discovery
  • /suggest-merges - find duplicate/similar notes
  • Automated backlinking for people, places, books mentioned

Custom Commands Structure

.claude/commands/  
├── daily-template.md  
├── tag-file.md  
├── organise.md  
└── connect-notes.md  

Each markdown file becomes a slash command using $ARGUMENTS for flexibility.

Reference Documentation Pattern

Central files guide Claude Code behavior:

  • TAGS.md - automated tagging standards
  • WIKILINKS.md - linking conventions
  • ORGANISATION.md - folder structure rules

Tags: ai-coding claude-code obsidian zettelkasten personal-ai knowledge-management