Quick Start

Stop chatting with AI. Start building with it.

Set up the workspace where Claude works alongside you. Everything else in the program builds on this.

About 10 minutes

Before you start

Don't have Claude yet? Download the desktop app and sign up for a paid plan first.

Setup Steps

Download and install Claude Desktop

~2 min

Step 1 of 6

Head over to claude.com/download.

  1. Click Download for Mac
  2. Open the .dmg file that downloads
  3. Drag the Claude icon into your Applications folder
  4. Open Claude from Applications (or hit ⌘+Space, type "Claude")
  1. Click Download for Windows
  2. Run the .exe installer that downloads
  3. Follow the install prompts — defaults are fine
  4. Open Claude from the Start menu (or hit Win, type "Claude")

Sign in to Claude Desktop

~1 min

Step 2 of 6

Open the Claude Desktop app.

  • If you see a sign-in prompt, sign in with the email you used when you joined the program.
  • If you don't see a sign-in prompt, look at the bottom-left corner of the app — there's a little icon there. Click it, then sign in.

Anthropic will email you a confirmation link. Click it to finish signing in.

After signing in, you should see three tabs in the sidebar: Chat, Co-work, and Code. We'll be using Code.

When you first open Claude Code, a popup might ask you to install Git or connect to GitHub. Click Allow on both. GitHub is where developers store and back up code — Claude uses it under the hood.

Download and install Obsidian

~2 min

Step 3 of 6

Head over to obsidian.md.

  1. Click Get Obsidian
  2. Download the macOS version
  3. Open the .dmg and drag the Obsidian icon into your Applications folder
  4. Open Obsidian — you'll land on a welcome screen
  1. Click Get Obsidian
  2. Download the Windows version
  3. Run the installer — defaults are fine
  4. Open Obsidian — you'll land on a welcome screen

Create your Obsidian vault

~2 min

Step 4 of 6

A "vault" is just a folder on your computer where Obsidian keeps your work. Don't overthink it.

4a. Name your vault

  1. In Obsidian, click Create new vault
  2. Name your vault — something simple and memorable. Strategic Profits works great.

4b. Choose where to save it

  1. Click Browse to pick where the folder lives on your computer
Save your vault locally — NOT in iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Two reasons:

  • Obsidian uses links between your notes, and cloud folders corrupt those links over time.
  • On Mac, Apple sometimes tightens iCloud restrictions and blocks Claude from reading iCloud folders entirely. Even if it works today, a macOS update could break it tomorrow.

Safe places: your Documents folder, your Desktop, or a folder under your username. Just somewhere local on your machine.

Save your vault locally — NOT in OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive.

Two reasons:

  • Obsidian uses links between your notes, and cloud-synced folders corrupt those links over time.
  • OneDrive's "Files On-Demand" feature can offload files to the cloud, which breaks Claude's ability to read them.

Safe places: your Documents folder (if it's not synced to OneDrive), your Desktop, or C:\Vaults\. Just somewhere local on your machine.

  1. Click Create
  2. Obsidian opens to your new (empty) vault. If a Welcome.md file shows up in the sidebar, right-click it and delete it. We don't need it.
Tip: Want to rename your vault later? Click the vault icon in the bottom-left → Manage vaults → click the three dots next to your vault → Rename. One vault is plenty.

Connect Claude Code to your vault

~1 min

Step 5 of 6

This is the step that makes the magic happen — Claude Code being able to actually read and write inside your Obsidian vault.

  1. In Claude Desktop, click the Code tab in the sidebar
  2. You'll see a button that says Select folder (or "Choose a different folder" if you've used it before)
  3. Click it, then navigate to your Obsidian vault folder — wherever you saved it in Step 4
  4. Select the vault folder → click Open
  5. Start a new session

Claude Code is now pointed at your Obsidian vault. Anything it creates from here on out gets saved straight into Obsidian.

The first time Claude tries to write to your vault, you'll see a popup asking permission. Click Allow. If you accidentally click Deny, just remove the folder and re-add it — the prompt comes back.

Test the connection

~1 min

Step 6 of 6 — Verification

Time to make sure the two apps are actually talking to each other.

In Claude Code, paste this prompt:

Please create a new folder in my Obsidian vault called TEST FOLDER.

When Claude asks permission, click Allow.

Now open Obsidian. You should see a new TEST FOLDER in the left sidebar.

You're connected. Continue below.
Don't see TEST FOLDER? Stop here.

Don't continue to the next part of the program until this works. Jump to troubleshooting →

Setup complete

You now have a workspace where Claude can read, write, and build alongside you.

Continue to Part 2 →

A few things worth knowing

Point Claude anywhere

Same Select Folder button, different target. Want Claude to put something on your Desktop? Just point it there.

You own your data

Everything is plain text files on your computer. If Anthropic disappeared tomorrow, your work would still be on your hard drive.

Markdown is AI's favorite format

That's what Obsidian uses by default. Don't worry about it — just know that's why everything ends up as .md files.

Troubleshooting

Claude Desktop won't open

Right-click the Claude icon in Applications → click Open. macOS blocks first launches by default. After you do this once, it'll open normally from then on.

If Windows Defender SmartScreen shows a warning, click More info → Run anyway. This only happens the first time. If the app still won't launch, try running the installer again as Administrator (right-click → Run as administrator).

You only see Chat in the sidebar — no Co-work or Code

You're either not signed in, or signed in with an account that doesn't have a paid subscription. Click the icon in the bottom-left → sign out → sign back in with the email tied to your Strategic Profits subscription.

Claude can't find your Obsidian vault

Go back to Step 5. The folder needs to be added explicitly in Claude — Claude won't find it on its own. Make sure you pointed at the vault folder itself.

Files are disappearing or links are getting corrupted

Your vault is probably in iCloud, Dropbox, or another cloud service. Move it:

  1. Quit Obsidian first
  2. Drag the vault folder out of the cloud service into your Documents folder
  3. Reopen Obsidian → Open folder as vault → point at the new location
  4. Then redo Step 5 in Claude Desktop

Your vault is probably in OneDrive, Dropbox, or another cloud service. Move it:

  1. Close Obsidian first
  2. Move the vault folder out of the cloud-synced folder into a local folder (e.g., C:\Vaults\)
  3. Reopen Obsidian → Open folder as vault → point at the new location
  4. Then redo Step 5 in Claude Desktop
Claude is asking me to install Git or connect to GitHub

Click Allow on both. GitHub is where developers store and back up code — Claude uses it under the hood for some features.

Still stuck?

Post in the Strategic Profits community and tag either Jem Erroba or Tom Hammaker — they'll get back to you shortly.

Or email us at mail@strategicprofits.com

Stuck? Get help →