second-brain-starter

An open source framework for building a personal AI knowledge system. Connect your AI to the methodology via MCP, or fork this repo and start from the templates.

What this is

A second brain is a personal knowledge system: a folder of markdown files that your AI reads at the start of every conversation. It compounds over time as you add your knowledge, decisions, thinking, and workflows. The AI becomes a true cognitive partner because it has persistent access to everything you know and care about.

This isn't an app. It's a pattern of usage that works with any AI tool (Claude Code, Claude Desktop, ChatGPT, Gemini, or anything that reads files).

Three ways to use this

1. Connect via MCP (easiest)

Add this to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json on Mac):

Restart Claude Desktop, then say: "Help me build my second brain."

The methodology guides you through setup interactively. You learn second brains by talking to one.

3. Read the methodology (manual)

Browse the methodology/ folder for the full framework, then copy templates from templates/ to get started.