Obsidian Brain Workflow

Obsidian Brain Workflow

Manage project memory using Obsidian-compatible markdown with Kanban, Dataview, and Templater.

Session Start Checklist

At the beginning of every session:

1. Read CONTEXT.md - Current project state

   cat .project/Memory/CONTEXT.md
   

2. Check KANBAN.md - Active tasks and their lanes

   cat .project/Memory/KANBAN.md
   

3. Review BLOCKERS.md - Any open blockers

   grep "status:: open" .project/Memory/BLOCKERS.md
   

4. Create session file - Copy template or use Templater

   cp .project/Sessions/TEMPLATE.md .project/Sessions/$(date +%Y-%m-%d).md
   

KANBAN.md Format

The Kanban board uses Obsidian Kanban plugin format. Each lane is an H2 heading, each task is a checkbox item.

---
kanban-plugin: board
---

## Backlog
- [ ] T-001 Setup monorepo #wave
- [ ] T-005 Add monitoring

## En Progreso
- [ ] T-002 Configure CI #wave

## Review
- [ ] T-003 Add linters #wave

## Completado
- [x] T-000 Init project

**Complete**

Moving Tasks Between Lanes

Without Obsidian (AI CLI or manual edit):

• Cut the - [ ] line from one H2 section
• Paste it under the target H2 section
• When completing: change - [ ] to - [x]

With Obsidian:

• Drag and drop cards between lanes

Tags

• #wave - Part of current wave
• #blocker - Has an associated blocker
• #review - Needs review

Dataview Inline Fields

Memory files use Dataview inline fields for automatic queries. Format: key:: value

Required Fields Reference

ADR Fields (DECISIONS.md)

## ADR-002: Use PostgreSQL

type:: adr
status:: aceptada
date:: 2026-01-15

Blocker Fields (BLOCKERS.md)

### BLOCKER-003: Docker build fails

type:: blocker
status:: open
impact:: alto
date:: 2026-01-20

Valid Status Values

Resolving a Blocker

When resolving, update both the inline field and the content:

### BLOCKER-003: Docker build fails

type:: blocker
status:: resolved
impact:: alto
date:: 2026-01-20

**Solucion:**
Changed base image from alpine to debian-slim.

Wave + Kanban Integration

KANBAN.md is for day-to-day task tracking. WAVES.md is the historical record.

Creating a Wave

1. Add tasks to KANBAN.md Backlog with #wave tag
2. Run ./scripts/new-wave.sh "T-001 T-002 T-003"
3. Move tagged tasks to "En Progreso" in KANBAN.md

Completing a Wave

1. Move all wave tasks to "Completado" in KANBAN.md
2. Run ./scripts/new-wave.sh --complete
3. Remove #wave tags from completed tasks

Templates

Manual (without Templater)

Copy the template file and fill in placeholders:

# New session
cp .project/Sessions/TEMPLATE.md .project/Sessions/2026-01-15.md

# New ADR - append to DECISIONS.md using the template at the bottom
# New Blocker - append to BLOCKERS.md using the template at the bottom

With Templater (Obsidian)

Use Ctrl+T (or Cmd+T) to insert templates that auto-fill dates and prompt for values:

• Session.md - Creates session with current date, prompts for phase/wave/branch
• ADR.md - Creates ADR entry, prompts for number/title/context/decision
• Blocker.md - Creates blocker entry, prompts for number/title/impact

Session End Checklist

At the end of every session:

1. Update CONTEXT.md - Reflect current state
2. Update KANBAN.md - Move tasks to correct lanes
3. Complete session file - Fill summary section
4. Record blockers - If any new ones appeared
5. Record decisions - If any ADRs were made

Dashboard

DASHBOARD.md contains Dataview queries that auto-update in Obsidian:

• Recent decisions
• Active blockers
• Recent sessions

Without Obsidian, it shows as code blocks (read-only reference).