AgentsAutonomy & tool use
Video tutorial links Claude Code, Codex, Hermes and OpenClaw through one shared Obsidian vault with nightly logs
A video tutorial describes a shared memory setup in which Claude Code, Codex, Hermes and OpenClaw each write nightly summaries to one Obsidian vault of plain-text notes and read it at startup, using instruction-file pointers and scheduled jobs the tools already support.
From the r/AISEOInsider (via last30days) article of October 17, 2026 and cited sources: In this setup, one 'orchestrator' agent (Claude Code or Codex is suggested) runs a single setup prompt. [1] [2] [11]
SOURCES[1] How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes Obsidian Memory reddit.com[2] Linked video: How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes… youtube.com[11] Workflowy: PARA Method workflowy.com
AT Pulse research deskPublished · Updated · 5 min read · AI-assisted analysisAI-assisted, not human-edited. Methodology Corrections Who owns this site
- What happened
- In this setup, one 'orchestrator' agent (Claude Code or Codex is suggested) runs a single setup prompt. [1] [2] [11]
- Original source
- r/AISEOInsider (via last30days) article, independent perspective
- Brief by
- AT Pulse research desk AI-assisted; publisher and contact on the desk page
- When
- October 17, 2026 article published
- Covered
- Oct 18 edition
- Evidence
- 11 sources across 9 sites
- 1How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes Obsidian Memoryreddit.com
- 2Linked video: How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes…youtube.com
- 3Hermes Agent docs: Bundled Skills Cataloghermes-agent.nousresearch.com
- 4Agentpedia: Karpathy LLM Wiki idea fileagentpedia.codes
- 5Karpathy: llm-wiki gistgist.github.com
- 6Hermes Atlas Newsletter Issue 01hermesatlas.beehiiv.com
QuietHow it’s measured
YouTube video · 25 views
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In this setup, one 'orchestrator' agent (Claude Code or Codex is suggested) runs a single setup prompt. The prompt builds PARA-style folders, adds a short 'read the vault at startup' pointer to each agent's instruction file, and schedules a nightly logging task for each agent. One rules note in the vault controls how every agent logs. [1] [2] [11]
The parts already exist in the tools. Hermes ships separate Obsidian and LLM-Wiki skills and runs cron jobs as fresh sessions. Claude Code and Codex load their instruction files every session. The overall pattern adapts Karpathy's llm-wiki idea, in which an LLM maintains interlinked markdown notes with an append-only log. [3] [5] [8] [9] [10]
Size limits mean a growing vault cannot all be loaded at once. Codex caps combined AGENTS.md content at 32 KiB by default, and Hermes caps its memory files by character count and loads them once per session. Agents therefore need to read the vault on demand, guided by a curated index note. Anthropic also says memory files are context rather than enforced configuration, so an agent may not follow a pointer. [5] [7] [9] [10]
Hermes screens its own memory entries for prompt injection and data exfiltration, but the reviewed documentation does not say a vault shared by several agents gets the same screening. Letting one agent edit every other agent's configuration also widens the attack surface. [7]
the components are documented features, but the only demonstration is the creator's own, with no measurements.
Read the full assessment
Implication: teams can trial shared agent memory cheaply, but should version-control the vault, limit write access and measure whether repeated explanations actually drop.
Sources are checked; writing the dossier now.
Executive brief
The striking part is how little code the "shared AI brain" needs. Claude Code, Codex, Hermes and OpenClaw each write a nightly summary into one folder of plain-text notes (an Obsidian vault) and read it back at startup. The building blocks already ship with the tools: Hermes includes bundled Obsidian and LLM-Wiki skills, and Claude Code and Codex read their instruction files every session. The source itself is a video that promotes a paid community. It shows a single demo and no measurements. No independent source tests whether this setup actually cuts repeated explanations.
What changed and event timeline
Karpathy publishes "llm-wiki"
A one-page "idea file" with no code. An LLM compiles raw sources into interlinked markdown, and the user reads the result in Obsidian. It was quickly forked thousands of times (;).
Hermes Agent v0.12.0
A newsletter calls it Nous Research's biggest release, with 1,096 commits from 213 contributors. It also notes that an earlier release upgraded the bundled llm-wiki skill ().
Wiki skill comes bundled
Hermes Atlas reports that the skill now ships with Hermes and adds provenance markers, source hashing and quality signals ().
Reddit post and video
The video lays out PARA folders, an "orchestrator" agent, one setup prompt and nightly logs, then pitches the AI Profit Boardroom (;).
Capabilities and access
- Hermes Agent (Nous Research, open source): stores memory in
MEMORY.md(2,200 characters) andUSER.md(1,375 characters) under~/.hermes/memories/. - Scheduling: Hermes cron jobs start a fresh agent session for each due job (Hermes cron).
- Claude Code reads
CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.mdplus its own auto memory (Anthropic).
Read the full section
- Hermes Agent (Nous Research, open source): stores memory in
MEMORY.md(2,200 characters) andUSER.md(1,375 characters) under~/.hermes/memories/. It also offers full-text search across past sessions and plug-in memory providers (Hermes docs). - Scheduling: Hermes cron jobs start a fresh agent session for each due job (Hermes cron).
- Claude Code reads
CLAUDE.md/AGENTS.mdplus its own auto memory (Anthropic). - Codex reads
AGENTS.mdfiles, up to a combined 32 KiB by default (OpenAI). - The creator's "Agent OS" is sold as a paid download (video).
Technical analysis for researchers and developers
- Each agent gets a short pointer in its instruction file ("read the vault at startup"), a nightly logging task, and one shared rules note that every agent follows (06:32).
- Hermes loads memory once per session as a fixed snapshot, so edits made mid-session only show up in the next session (Hermes docs).
- Codex's 32 KiB cap and Hermes's character caps mean a growing vault cannot all be loaded at once.
Read the full section
- Mechanism. Each agent gets a short pointer in its instruction file ("read the vault at startup"), a nightly logging task, and one shared rules note that every agent follows (06:32). Only Claude Code or Codex is suggested as the orchestrator, because they can edit other agents' config files across the computer (05:09).
- Hermes timing. Hermes loads memory once per session as a fixed snapshot, so edits made mid-session only show up in the next session (Hermes docs). A nightly cadence works with that.
- Size limits (inference). Codex's 32 KiB cap and Hermes's character caps mean a growing vault cannot all be loaded at once. Agents have to read it on demand, which is why a curated index file, like Karpathy's
index.md, matters (gist). - Reproducibility. The video shows no prompt text beyond a paraphrase (05:26), no pass/fail logs and no evaluation.
Claims and evidence
- "Hermes has a built-in Obsidian skill based on Karpathy's method" (03:23). Partly correct: Hermes's catalog lists separate bundled Obsidian and LLM-Wiki skills (catalog).
- Hermes stores memory in two files (01:02). Confirmed, though the docs add character caps that the video leaves out (docs).
- "Thousands of memories," automatic test-and-fix, and setup that works on existing vaults (00:19; 06:16; 07:28). No independent confirmation was found.
Read the full section
- "Hermes has a built-in Obsidian skill based on Karpathy's method" (03:23). Partly correct: Hermes's catalog lists separate bundled Obsidian and LLM-Wiki skills (catalog).
- Hermes stores memory in two files (01:02). Confirmed, though the docs add character caps that the video leaves out (docs).
- "Thousands of memories," automatic test-and-fix, and setup that works on existing vaults (00:19; 06:16; 07:28). Shown only in the creator's demo. No independent confirmation was found.
- PARA attribution to Tiago Forte is accurate (Workflowy).
Context and prior work
- Karpathy's pattern has three layers: raw sources, an LLM-owned wiki, and a schema file such as
CLAUDE.md. - PARA sorts notes into projects, areas, resources and archives, and favours organising things as work requires them (Workflowy).
- Hermes also supports external memory providers such as Mem0 and Honcho. These are an alternative to a shared plain-text file (Hermes docs).
Read the full section
- Karpathy's pattern has three layers: raw sources, an LLM-owned wiki, and a schema file such as
CLAUDE.md. It runs three operations (ingest, query, lint), with an append-onlylog.md(gist). The video's nightly log is a multi-agent version of thatlog.md. - PARA sorts notes into projects, areas, resources and archives, and favours organising things as work requires them (Workflowy).
- Hermes also supports external memory providers such as Mem0 and Honcho. These are an alternative to a shared plain-text file (Hermes docs).
Limitations, safety and contested findings
- Instructions are not guaranteed to be followed. A pointer telling an agent to "read the vault" can be ignored.
- Hermes screens its own memory entries for prompt-injection and data-exfiltration patterns (docs).
- Not everyone pairs the two.
Read the full section
- Instructions are not guaranteed to be followed. Anthropic says Claude treats memory files as context, not enforced configuration, and recommends hooks for hard rules (Anthropic). A pointer telling an agent to "read the vault" can be ignored.
- Security (partly inference). Hermes screens its own memory entries for prompt-injection and data-exfiltration patterns (docs). The documentation reviewed does not say that a shared vault several agents write to gets the same screening. Giving one agent permission to edit every other agent's config also widens the attack surface.
- Not everyone pairs the two. One builder profiled by Hermes Atlas used Hermes to replace Obsidian, citing manual cross-referencing, lock-in to the desktop app, and notes that never improved on their own (Hermes Atlas).
- Sales framing. The "window won't stay open" pitch is marketing, not evidence (07:35).
Business and practitioner implications
- You can try this cheaply with tools you already have: a plain-text folder, instruction-file pointers, and scheduled jobs.
- Treat the vault like code: put it under version control, review what agents write, and make the log append-only.
- Before rolling it out to a team, measure whether it actually reduces repeated context. None of the reviewed sources measured this.
Read the full section
- You can try this cheaply with tools you already have: a plain-text folder, instruction-file pointers, and scheduled jobs. No paid bundle is required (catalog; cron).
- Treat the vault like code: put it under version control, review what agents write, and make the log append-only.
- Before rolling it out to a team, measure whether it actually reduces repeated context. None of the reviewed sources measured this.
- Limit write access when agents handle client or confidential data.
The source trail.
Sources (11)
How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes Obsidian Memory
Feed excerpt only. A transcript of the video linked from this page is supplied (linked video auto captions; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWOGmjULI9E); automatic text may contain errors.
reddit.comLinked video: How I Built A Shared AI Brain With Hermes Obsidian Memory
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