Dex Quick Start Installation

Dex Quick Start Installation

Get up and running with Dex in 5 minutes.

Prerequisites

• Claude Code installed and configured
• Python 3.10+ installed (python3 --version)
• Git installed (for GitHub-based installation)

Installation

Option 1: GitHub Direct (Recommended)

# Install the plugin
claude plugin install https://github.com/davekilleen/dex

# Install Python dependencies
pip install anthropic-mcp pyyaml python-dateutil

Option 2: Local Development

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git
cd dex/dex-core

# Install Python dependencies
pip install anthropic-mcp pyyaml python-dateutil

# Link as local plugin
claude plugin add . --scope user

First Run

1. Open Claude Code

   cd ~/Documents  # or wherever you want your vault
   mkdir my-dex-vault
   cd my-dex-vault
   claude
   

2. Run Onboarding

   In Claude Code, type:

   /setup
   

   Or if that skill isn't available yet, ask Claude:

   I'd like to set up Dex. Can you start the onboarding process?
   

3. Answer Setup Questions

   The onboarding wizard will ask about:

   • Your name and role
   • Company size and domain
   • Your strategic pillars (what you focus on)
   • Working style preferences
   • Optional integrations

4. Vault Creation

   Dex will automatically create your vault structure:

   my-dex-vault/
   ├── 00-Inbox/           # Capture zone
   ├── 01-Quarter_Goals/   # Quarterly planning
   ├── 02-Week_Priorities/ # Weekly focus
   ├── 03-Tasks/           # Task backlog
   ├── 04-Projects/        # Active projects
   ├── 05-Areas/           # People, Companies, Career
   ├── 06-Resources/       # Reference material
   ├── 07-Archives/        # Historical data
   └── System/             # Configuration
   

Your First Day

Morning Planning

Type in Claude Code:

/daily-plan

This will:

• Pull in your calendar for today
• Review your task list
• Show your weekly priorities
• Help you plan your day

During the Day

Capture meeting notes naturally:

I just had a meeting with Sarah Chen about the Q2 roadmap.
Key decisions:
- Moving forward with the new feature set
- Launch target is June 15
- Need design mockups by next week

Dex will automatically:

• Create a meeting note
• Extract action items
• Create/update Sarah's person page
• Link to relevant projects

End of Day

Type:

/daily-review

This will:

• Review what you accomplished
• Check for uncommitted tasks
• Capture learnings
• Set up tomorrow

Essential Skills to Learn

Daily Workflow

• /daily-plan - Morning planning ritual (10 min)
• /daily-review - End-of-day review (5 min)

Weekly Workflow

• /week-plan - Sunday evening planning (20 min)
• /week-review - Friday wrap-up (15 min)

Meeting Intelligence

• /meeting-prep - Prepare before meetings (automatic context)
• /granola-daily - Process recorded meetings (if using Granola app)

Task Management

• Just say: "Add task: [description]" - Dex infers the pillar
• "Mark X as done" - Complete tasks naturally
• /promote-to-week - Pull tasks from projects into weekly focus

Discovery

• /dex-level-up - See what features you haven't used yet
• /dex-whats-new - Check for system updates
• /xray - Understand how Dex works under the hood

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Found

# Check installed plugins
claude plugin list

# Enable if disabled
claude plugin enable dex

MCP Servers Not Starting

# Check Python version (need 3.10+)
python3 --version

# Install dependencies again
pip install anthropic-mcp pyyaml python-dateutil

# Check MCP server logs
tail -f ~/.claude/logs/mcp-servers/work.log

Skills Not Appearing

1. Restart Claude Code
2. Check .claude/settings.json in your vault
3. Verify plugin is enabled: claude plugin list

Onboarding Won't Complete

If you get stuck during onboarding:

1. Check the state file:

   cat System/.onboarding/state.json
   

2. If needed, restart onboarding:

   rm System/.onboarding/state.json
   

   Then type /setup again.

Next Steps

Week 1: Build the Habit

• Run /daily-plan every morning
• Capture meetings and tasks as they happen
• Run /daily-review every evening

Week 2: Add Intelligence

• Set up Granola for meeting recording
• Configure Gmail API for newsletter intelligence
• Enable calendar integration (macOS Calendar.app)

Week 3: Go Deeper

• Set up quarterly goals with /quarter-plan
• Explore career tracking with /career-setup
• Create custom skills with /create-skill

Week 4: Master the System

• Learn /xray to understand the AI context system
• Customize your workflow with personal skills
• Share Dex with your team (demo mode available)

Getting Help

• Documentation: Check 06-Resources/Dex_System/Dex_System_Guide.md in your vault
• Feature Discovery: Type /dex-level-up to see unused features
• System Updates: Type /dex-whats-new for latest improvements
• Issues: Report on GitHub Issues

What Makes Dex Different

Most people use AI as a chat interface. You ask questions, get answers, start fresh every time.

Dex is different:

• Persistent memory across sessions
• Context that compounds over time
• Proactive intelligence (not just reactive)
• Learns your patterns and preferences
• Automates cognitive overhead

Two weeks of daily use and you'll wonder how you worked before.

Ready to start? Type /setup in Claude Code!