Guide · knowledge base

How to build your knowledge base.

A place outside your head for what you know, decide and need to remember. Six steps, a folder of notes on your computer and no subscription.

What it is

A knowledge base (what many people call a second brain) is a set of notes organized so you always know where to put things and where to find them. It is not an app, it is an agreement with yourself. Notes are text files (.md) in your own folder, and they open in Obsidian, in Tesseract or in any editor.

The six steps

  1. 01

    Create the structure

    It all starts with a fixed place and a map of where everything goes.

    • In Tesseract, the assistant sets it up in four questions: who you are, what you will use it for, where you work and where to save.
    • Without the app: create the folders below and a README.md explaining each one.
    • The README is the map. Read it whenever you are unsure.
  2. 02

    Capture everything in the inbox

    Your head is good at having ideas, not at keeping them. Writing without deciding where it goes removes the weight of organizing on the spot.

    • Idea, task, link, a line from a meeting: it becomes a note in inbox/.
    • Do not think about the right folder now. Just write.

    inbox/2026-11-03-pricing-idea.md: "charge per project instead of per hour?"

  3. 03

    Write the daily note

    Three lines a day become a history that answers "when did I decide this?" months later.

    • One note per day in daily/, named YYYY-MM-DD.
    • What I did, what I decided, what is left for tomorrow.

    daily/2026-11-03.md: "Meeting with [[people/marina]]: scope agreed."

  4. 04

    Organize once a week

    The inbox fills up fast. Emptying it every week keeps your knowledge base trustworthy.

    • Open inbox/ and decide where each note goes, using the README table.
    • What is no longer useful goes to archive/, never to the trash.
    • Update the next steps of each project.
  5. 05

    Link your notes

    Loose notes are a drawer. Linked notes are memory: from a person you reach the project, the meeting and the decision.

    • Use [[links]] whenever you mention a person, project or topic that has a note.
    • New information about someone goes into the "History" of their note, with the date.
    • Separate fact (it happened) from idea (maybe).
  6. 06

    Ask your knowledge base

    With everything organized, finding things is easy. In Tesseract, the AI will search your notes and answer with the source of each piece of information.

    • AI search arrives in an upcoming version of Tesseract.
    • It only writes to your knowledge base when you ask or confirm.

The structure

Start with these folders. Create others only when you need them.

  • README.mdthe map: where everything goes
  • inbox/quick capture
  • daily/one note per day
  • projects/one folder per project, with overview.md
  • people/one note per person
  • meetings/one note per meeting
  • knowledge/what you have learned
  • references/templates/note templates
  • archive/what is finished; nothing is deleted

Want Tesseract to set it up for you?

The assistant creates the structure, templates and first notes in four questions. The first Windows release is ready to download.

Discover Tesseract