KnowledgeFactory - Quick Setup Cheatsheet

For advanced users - Assumes familiarity with all tools

Full guide: KnowledgeFactory-Your-AI-Powered-2nd-Brain.md

Prerequisites

• Claude Pro/Max subscription ($20-50/mo) - Sign up
• macOS/Linux/Windows with CLI access
• GitHub account - Create account

Time: ~20 minutes for experienced users

1. Foundation Install

System Dependencies

• Install system dependencies: ```bash

  macOS

  brew install git jq

Linux

sudo apt install git jq

Windows

choco install git jq

- [ ] Verify installations:
```bash
git --version && jq --version

Desktop Applications

• Download and install Docker Desktop
  • Start Docker Desktop application
  • Verify Docker is running: docker --version
• Download and install Obsidian
  • Launch Obsidian once
  • Close after initial launch
• Download and install Claude Code
  • Sign in with Claude Pro/Max account

2. Obsidian Setup

Create Vault

• Create new vault: Obsidian → File → New vault
  • Name: KnowledgeFactory
  • Location: ~/Documents/Obsidian/KnowledgeFactory

Install Required Plugins

Open Settings → Community plugins → Turn off Safe Mode → Browse (search in catalog)

Required (5):

• MCP Tools - Core MCP integration (click “Install Server” button after enabling)
• Local REST API - Auto-installed by MCP Tools, verify it’s enabled
• Terminal - Integrated terminal in Obsidian (by polyipseity), run Claude Code in side panel
• Smart Connections - Semantic search (required for /semantic-search command)
• Templater - Advanced templates (required for advanced /capture templates)

Retrieve Local REST API Key (CRITICAL)

IMPORTANT: Get this API key BEFORE installing Docker MCP servers. The Obsidian MCP server requires this key for configuration.

• Copy Obsidian API key: Settings → Community plugins → Local REST API → Copy API Key
  • Save this key somewhere secure (you’ll need it in Step 4)
  • Example format: 0de5ba07c38bd3250722a4978d463ab886dd507607482628794be7f8ee2bd66a

Configure Image Folder (REQUIRED)

• Set image folder: Settings → Files & Links → Attachment folder path: images
  • Under “Default location for new attachments”: Select “In the folder specified below”

3. Docker MCP Tool Setup

Now that you have the Obsidian Local REST API key, install and configure MCP servers.

Open Docker Desktop → MCP Toolkit → Catalog (search for each server and install)

Install MCP Servers

Required (3):

• GitHub Official (needs API key)
• YouTube Transcripts
• Obsidian (needs API key from Step 2)

Recommended (3):

• Firecrawl (needs API key)
• Context7
• Fetch (Reference)

Optional (2):

• Memory (Reference)
• Perplexity (needs API key)

Configure API Keys

For each server that requires an API key:

• GitHub: Generate token at github.com/settings/tokens (scopes: repo, public_repo)
  • MCP Toolkit → My servers → GitHub Official → Paste token
• Obsidian: MCP Toolkit → My servers → Obsidian → Add environment variable:
  • Key: OBSIDIAN_LOCAL_REST_API_KEY
  • Value: [API key from Step 2]
  • Save and restart server
• Firecrawl (recommended): Get key at firecrawl.dev (1000 free/month)
  • MCP Toolkit → My servers → Firecrawl → Paste key
• Perplexity (optional): Get key at perplexity.ai/settings/api
  • MCP Toolkit → My servers → Perplexity → Paste key

Connect Claude Code

• Connect to Claude Code: MCP Toolkit → Clients → Claude Code → Connect
  • Verify all servers show green status

4. Document Vault GitHub Setup

Private Vault (TIER 1)

• Setup private vault git:

  cd ~/Documents/Obsidian/KnowledgeFactory
  git init
  cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
  .obsidian/workspace.json
  .obsidian/workspace-mobile.json
  .trash/
  .DS_Store
  *.tmp
  EOF
  git add .
  git commit -m "Initial commit: Private knowledge vault"
  # Optional: Push to private GitHub repo
  gh repo create my-knowledge-vault --private --source=. --push
  

Public Sharehub (TIER 2 & 3)

• Setup public sharehub:

  cd ~/Documents
  git clone https://github.com/ZorroCheng-MC/sharehub.git
  cd sharehub
  rm -rf .git
  git init
  git add .
  git commit -m "Initial commit: My document portal"
  gh repo create my-sharehub --public --source=. --push
  gh repo edit --enable-pages --pages-branch main
  # Edit _config.yml: Set baseurl: "/my-sharehub"
  git add _config.yml
  git commit -m "Configure Jekyll baseurl"
  git push
  

• Verify deployment: Wait ~60 seconds, visit https://YOUR_USERNAME.github.io/my-sharehub

5. Install obsidian-vault-manager Plugin

• Add plugin marketplace: ```bash cd ~/Documents/Obsidian/KnowledgeFactory claude

In Claude Code CLI:

/plugin marketplace add ZorroCheng-MC/obsidian-vault-manager-plugin

- [ ] **Install the plugin**:
```bash
# Browse available plugins
/plugin

# Or install directly
/plugin install obsidian-vault-manager@ZorroCheng-MC/obsidian-vault-manager-plugin

The plugin will be available immediately with slash commands like /capture, /publish, etc.

6. Run Setup Wizard

• Launch Claude Code and run setup:

  cd ~/Documents/Obsidian/KnowledgeFactory
  claude
  # In Claude Code CLI, run:
  /setup
  

  • Provide: Vault path (auto-detected), Sharehub path, Sharehub repo, GitHub Pages URL
  • Creates: .claude/config.sh and .claude/settings.local.json

7. Verification

• Test all commands:

  /capture Build a Chrome extension that auto-captures to Obsidian
  /idea Knowledge graph visualization for Obsidian
  /youtube-note https://youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID
  /semantic-search "machine learning workflows"
  /gitingest https://github.com/user/repo
  /publish my-first-note.md
  

• Verify MCP servers: Check that mcp__github__*, mcp__obsidian-mcp-tools__*, mcp__fetch__fetch, mcp__gitingest__* commands are available

• Check config paths: View ~/.claude/skills/obsidian-vault-manager/.claude/config.sh and verify paths are correct

8. Three-Tier Publishing

TIER 1: Private - Don’t run /publish, note stays in vault

TIER 2: Trusted Circle - Add access: private to frontmatter, run /publish, requires password “maco”

TIER 3: Public - Run /publish without access: private, anyone can read

Troubleshooting

MCP Servers Not Working:

• Check Docker Desktop → MCP Toolkit → My servers (all should be green)
• Verify API keys configured, restart server, or restart Docker Desktop

/publish Command Fails:

• Verify config exists: cat ~/.claude/skills/obsidian-vault-manager/.claude/config.sh
• Check sharehub is git repo: cd ~/Documents/sharehub && git status
• Verify remote: git remote -v

Obsidian MCP Tools Not Working:

• Settings → Community plugins → MCP Tools
• Verify “Install Server” was clicked, Local REST API enabled
• Restart Obsidian if needed

API Rate Limits:

• GitHub: 5000 requests/hour (authenticated)
• Firecrawl: 1000 requests/month (free tier)
• Perplexity: Depends on your plan

Architecture Summary

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    KNOWLEDGEFACTORY                          │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 1: Foundation                                         │
│  ├── Claude Code (AI assistant)                             │
│  ├── Obsidian (knowledge base)                              │
│  └── Docker Desktop (MCP infrastructure)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 2: MCP Servers                                        │
│  ├── GitHub Official (repo ops)                             │
│  ├── YouTube Transcripts (video data)                       │
│  ├── Firecrawl (web scraping)                               │
│  ├── Obsidian (vault ops)                                   │
│  ├── Context7 (docs)                                         │
│  ├── Fetch (web fetch)                                       │
│  ├── Memory (knowledge graph)                               │
│  └── Perplexity (AI search)                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 3: Plugin                                             │
│  └── obsidian-vault-manager                                 │
│      ├── /capture - Quick capture                           │
│      ├── /idea - AI-tagged ideas                            │
│      ├── /youtube-note - Video notes                        │
│      ├── /gitingest - Repo analysis                         │
│      ├── /study-guide - Content summaries                   │
│      ├── /semantic-search - Smart search                    │
│      ├── /bulk-auto-tag - Bulk tagging                      │
│      └── /publish - Publish to sharehub                     │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Layer 4: System Tools                                       │
│  ├── git (version control)                                  │
│  ├── jq (JSON processing)                                   │
│  ├── gh (GitHub CLI - optional)                             │
│  └── jekyll (via GitHub Actions)                            │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Two-Repository Model:
├── Vault (Private) - All notes, Tier 1 only
└── Sharehub (Public) - Selected notes, Tier 2 + 3

Available Slash Commands

/capture [content]          # Quick capture with AI tagging
/idea [idea-text]          # Create idea file with tags
/youtube-note [url]        # Fetch video transcript
/study-guide [source]      # Generate study guide
/gitingest [repo-url]      # Analyze repository
/semantic-search [query]   # Semantic vault search
/bulk-auto-tag [pattern]   # Bulk AI tagging
/publish [filename]        # Publish to sharehub

Quick Reference URLs

• Claude Code: claude.ai/code
• Obsidian: obsidian.md
• Docker Desktop: docker.com/products/docker-desktop
• GitHub Tokens: github.com/settings/tokens
• Firecrawl API: firecrawl.dev
• Perplexity API: perplexity.ai/settings/api
• Sharehub Template: github.com/ZorroCheng-MC/sharehub
• Vault Manager Plugin: github.com/ZorroCheng-MC/obsidian-vault-manager-plugin

Cost Breakdown

Total minimum: $20/mo (Claude Pro only)