AI Second Brain skill
Claude Code skill that builds an Obsidian wiki from ChatGPT and Claude exports, articles and email, Karpathy style.
- 224 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Extended access
Why this level
- The skill asks for an export of personal conversations and connects Gmail, NotebookLM and Granola, so the content passes through the model.
- The iMessage Channels step lets the agent be driven by phone messages, and such a channel must be protected from outsiders.
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add skills/ai-second-brainDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewExtended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.
- The skill asks for an export of personal conversations and connects Gmail, NotebookLM and Granola, so the content passes through the model.
- The iMessage Channels step lets the agent be driven by phone messages, and such a channel must be protected from outsiders.
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
AI Second Brain is a Claude Code skill that walks step by step to a personal knowledge base in Obsidian. The idea comes from Andrej Karpathy's note on a wiki maintained by a language model over a folder of markdown files. The first step turns an export of ChatGPT and Claude history into a vault with tags and links. The second creates a pair of folders `raw/` and `wiki/`: raw articles, PDFs and transcripts go into the first, and Claude Code builds the second from them. The third connects Gmail, NotebookLM and Granola, sets up iMessage Channels for messages from a phone and adds three commands: `/today`, `/ideas` and `/create`. Each step can be picked separately with a phrase such as "Set up my AI second brain". Wherever a human action is required, for example a data export or macOS permissions, the skill stops.
Who it is for. Writers, researchers and founders who have piled up hundreds of ChatGPT and Claude conversations and want to turn them into search by topic, project and person.
Good fit when
- A ChatGPT export sits unused and you want to search it for past years' solutions.
- Articles and PDFs on a topic pile up in a folder and nobody maintains a wiki from them.
- A morning summary of email and notes is wanted via `/today`.
- Post ideas are gathered from the accumulated base with `/ideas`.
Not a fit when
- Data must not leave the machine: Claude Code sends content to the Anthropic API.
- There is no macOS but iMessage Channels is specifically wanted: that step works only on a Mac.
- A ready plugin or MCP server for Obsidian is wanted: this is a step-by-step scenario as a skill.
Example request
Set up my AI second brain. Start with step 1: my ChatGPT export is ready.Limitations
Claude Code and Obsidian are required, setup takes about half an hour, and the email with the ChatGPT export from OpenAI arrives in one to three days. The iMessage Channels step is available only on macOS, and on Windows it is replaced with a Telegram or Discord version. Connecting Gmail and other services asks for permission on each access. The skill stores no data itself, but the content of conversations is processed by the Claude model, which is worth remembering before uploading personal archives.
How to disable. Remove the skill with `rm -rf ~/.claude/skills/ai-second-brain`. The Obsidian vault and the `raw/` and `wiki/` folders stay in place.
FAQ
How do I install the skill?
Run `git clone https://github.com/charlie947/ai-second-brain.git ~/.claude/skills/ai-second-brain`, then check it with `/skills` in Claude Code.
Does the skill send my data anywhere?
The skill itself stores and sends nothing. The only network calls are those Claude Code makes to the Anthropic API to run the model.
Can I do just one step?
Yes. Say, for example, "skip step 1, I've already done it".
How do I update the skill?
Run `git pull` in the `~/.claude/skills/ai-second-brain` folder.
Does it work on Windows?
Steps 1 and 2 work on any system. The iMessage Channels step is available only on a Mac.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI Second Brain (this card) | no | 224 | |
| Second Brain Starter | no | 876 | drafts a requirements document and plan for a second brain; AI Second Brain itself processes chat exports and maintains the wiki |
| obsidian-second-brain | no | 5,168 | serves as persistent agent memory in a vault; AI Second Brain builds a wiki from chat history and research in a step-by-step flow |
README in short
The README explains where the idea comes from, the three setup stages, trigger phrases and common questions. The author names the sources: the ideas belong to Karpathy, Alex Freedman and Greg Isenberg, and the skill only assembles them.