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Klaus can write notes directly to your Obsidian vault as you speak, letting you capture ideas, definitions, quotes, and page references without leaving your reading flow.

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Setup

You’ll configure your Obsidian vault path during the first-run setup wizard, or you can add it later in Settings.

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During First Run

1

Run the setup wizard

On first launch, Klaus walks you through a 7-step setup wizard.
2

Reach the 'About You' step

This step asks for your user background (optional) and Obsidian vault path (optional).
3

Click 'Browse' next to Obsidian Vault Path

A native folder picker opens.
4

Select your vault folder

Navigate to your Obsidian vault’s root directory (e.g., /Users/you/Documents/Obsidian Vault) and click “Select Folder”.

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After First Run

1

Open Settings

Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of Klaus.
2

Go to the Profile tab

The Profile tab contains User Background and Obsidian Vault Path.
3

Click 'Browse' and select your vault

Same as above - use the folder picker to select your vault’s root directory.
4

Click Save

Klaus reloads the configuration and notes are now enabled.

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Manual Configuration

You can also edit ~/.klaus/config.toml directly: 
obsidian_vault_path = "/Users/you/Documents/Obsidian Vault"
Or set an environment variable in ~/.klaus/.env: 
OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/Users/you/Documents/Obsidian Vault"
Klaus uses forward slashes / for paths on all platforms (Windows paths are converted automatically).

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How It Works

Klaus exposes two tools to Claude:
  1. set_notes_file - Sets the active markdown file for saving notes
  2. save_note - Appends content to the active notes file
You control these tools through natural language commands.

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Setting the Active Notes File

Before Klaus can save notes, you need to tell it which markdown file to use.

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Spoken Command

You: "Set the notes file to Complexity Science slash March Notes"

Klaus: "Notes file set to: Complexity Science/March Notes.md"
Klaus will:
  • Create the folder Complexity Science/ if it doesn’t exist
  • Create the file March Notes.md if it doesn’t exist
  • Remember this file for the rest of the session

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Path Rules

  • Paths are relative to your vault root
  • Use natural language for folder separators - Klaus interprets “slash”, ”/”, or pauses as path dividers
  • The .md extension is added automatically if missing
  • Klaus creates parent folders and the file if they don’t exist
Examples:
You sayKlaus creates
”Set notes to daily notes slash today”daily notes/today.md
”Use foundational papers in complexity science slash first march notes”foundational papers in complexity science/first march notes.md
”Set notes to reading log”reading log.md

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Saving Notes

Once a notes file is set, you can dictate notes hands-free.

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Basic Usage

You: "Save this as a note: Phase transitions occur when a system crosses 
a critical threshold. Water freezes at zero Celsius - abrupt change from 
liquid to solid."

Klaus: "Note saved to Complexity Science/March Notes.md"
Klaus appends the content to the file immediately.

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What to Save

Klaus can save:
  • Definitions - “Save this definition: Emergence is…”
  • Quotes - “Save this quote from the page: ‘Complex systems…’”
  • Page references - “Note that this is on page 47”
  • Summaries - “Summarize this section and save it as a note”
  • Ideas - “Save a note: This relates to the renormalization group discussion from last week”

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Markdown Formatting

Klaus automatically formats notes as markdown: You: 
"Save this as a note with a heading: Phase Transitions. Then write: 
Definition - a sudden qualitative change when a parameter crosses a 
threshold. Use a blockquote for this quote from the page: 'At the 
critical point, fluctuations occur at all length scales.'"
Klaus writes: 
## Phase Transitions

Definition - a sudden qualitative change when a parameter crosses a threshold.

> At the critical point, fluctuations occur at all length scales.

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Page References

When Klaus can see a page number in the camera image, it can include it: 
You: "Save a note that this definition of entropy is on this page"

Klaus: [sees page number 203 in the image]
Writes: "**Entropy** (page 203): A measure of disorder or the number of 
microstates consistent with a macrostate."

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Session Persistence

The active notes file persists within a session. Once you set a file, Klaus keeps using it until:
  • You explicitly set a different file
  • You switch to a new session
  • You close Klaus
This lets you save multiple notes to the same file without repeating the path.
Set your notes file at the start of a reading session, then just say “save that as a note” whenever you want to capture something.

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Changing the Notes File Mid-Session

You can switch to a different file at any time: 
You: "Set notes to weekly summaries slash week of march 3rd"

Klaus: "Notes file set to: weekly summaries/week of march 3rd.md"
Subsequent notes go to the new file.

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Viewing Notes in Obsidian

Klaus writes standard markdown files. Open Obsidian and navigate to the file - you’ll see all the notes Klaus saved, appended in chronological order. Klaus adds a newline before and after each note for readability.

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Error Handling

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No Vault Path Configured

You: "Save that as a note"

Klaus: "Error: No Obsidian vault path configured. Set OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH 
in your config."
Solution: Configure your vault path in Settings or config.toml.

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No Notes File Set

You: "Save this as a note: [content]"

Klaus: "Error: No notes file set. Which file should I use?"

You: "Use reading notes slash march 3rd"

Klaus: "Notes file set to: reading notes/march 3rd.md. Would you like me 
to save that note now?"

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File Write Errors

If Klaus can’t write to the file (permissions issue, disk full, etc.): 
Klaus: "Error writing note: [system error message]"
Solution: Check file permissions and disk space. Klaus logs the full error to the console.

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Tips for Effective Note-Taking

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1. Structure Your Vault

Organize notes by topic, paper, or date to keep them discoverable: 
Obsidian Vault/
  reading notes/
    complexity science/
      march 2026.md
    machine learning/
      transformers.md
  weekly summaries/
    2026-03-03.md

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2. Use Consistent Naming

Pick a naming convention and stick to it:
  • By date: march 3 2026.md
  • By topic: phase transitions.md
  • By paper: anderson more is different.md

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3. Combine with Session History

Klaus’s session history is ephemeral, but notes persist. Use sessions for your working conversation and save key insights to notes.

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4. Markdown Features

Tell Klaus to use markdown formatting:
  • Headings: “Use heading two for this”
  • Blockquotes: “Make this a blockquote”
  • Bold/Italic: “Bold this term” or “Italicize this phrase”
  • Lists: “Make this a bullet list” or “Number these points”

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5. Review and Refine

Klaus’s notes are raw transcriptions. Review them in Obsidian and refine as needed - add links, reorganize, expand abbreviations, etc.

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Disabling Notes

To disable the notes feature, clear the vault path:
  1. Open Settings → Profile
  2. Clear the Obsidian Vault Path field
  3. Click Save
Or edit config.toml: 
obsidian_vault_path = ""
Klaus will no longer offer note-taking tools.

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Technical Details

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File Format

Klaus writes UTF-8 encoded markdown files with Unix line endings (\n).

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Concurrency

Klaus appends to files using Python’s standard file I/O. If Obsidian has the file open, it should auto-reload when Klaus writes. If you’re editing the same file in Obsidian while Klaus is writing, you may see conflicts - avoid this by using different files for active editing vs. Klaus dictation.

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Storage Location

The notes file path is stored in ~/.klaus/klaus.db in the sessions table, under the notes_file column. Klaus remembers which file you used for each session.

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Next Steps

Asking Questions

Learn how to get the best answers to save as notes

Sessions

Organize your research by session

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