Hermes + Obsidian Giveaway Pack — Setup Guide¶

Author: david-internal Total stars: 36 across 4 repos Created: June 22, 2026

A complete companion bundle for the "Hermes + Obsidian" video series. Gets you from "I watched the video" to "Hermes is running on a VPS, writing into the same Obsidian vault I use on my Mac, and organizing everything I throw at it from my phone."

What's Included¶

The giveaway pack contains four repos, each a standalone bundle that builds on the previous:

#	Repo	Stars	What It Does
1	`hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack`	11 ⭐	All bundles combined — the full pack
2	`hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup`	9 ⭐	VPS + systemd + Obsidian Sync base setup
3	`hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault`	9 ⭐	Vault curator skill + starter templates
4	`hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof`	7 ⭐	Telegram → Obsidian capture + sync doctor

Bundle 1: Always-On Base Setup (`hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup`)¶

Goal: Get Hermes running on a VPS writing into the same Obsidian vault you use on your Mac.

Skills Included¶

Skill	Type	Purpose
`hermes-obsidian-setup`	Agent skill	Guides full VPS, Hermes, Obsidian Sync, obsidian-headless, systemd, and vault-path setup

Reference Files¶

File	Content
`references/full-setup-runbook.md`	Long-form setup path with every command
`references/troubleshooting.md`	Common failure modes and fixes
`copy-paste-setup-plan.md`	Viewer-facing concise command sequence

Scripts¶

Script	Purpose
`scripts/check_vps_prereqs.sh`	Reads the VPS and reports what's missing before setup
`scripts/install_obsidian_sync_service.sh`	Creates the tested systemd service for continuous sync

Installation¶

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/david-internal/hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup.git

# Copy the skill
cp -r hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup/skills/hermes-obsidian-setup ~/.hermes/skills/

# Run the prerequisite checker on your VPS
bash hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup/skills/hermes-obsidian-setup/scripts/check_vps_prereqs.sh

# Install the sync service
sudo bash hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup/skills/hermes-obsidian-setup/scripts/install_obsidian_sync_service.sh

Setup Flow¶

SSH into the VPS
Run the prerequisite checker
Follow copy-paste-setup-plan.md
Use the agent skill for guided setup or when stuck
Consult troubleshooting if notes don't appear on the Mac

Key Gotchas¶

Obsidian Sync + obsidian-headless must point at the same vault path — mismatched paths are the #1 failure mode
Hermes obsidian_vault_path must match the headless client's vault folder — verify with hermes config get
systemd service must restart on failure — the install script includes Restart=always

Bundle 2: Self-Organizing Vault (`hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault`)¶

Goal: The agent keeps your notes clean without you doing anything.

Skills Included¶

Skill	Type	Purpose
`obsidian-vault-curator`	Agent skill	Turns raw captures into clean Markdown notes with links, tags, maps of content, and indexes

Assets¶

Asset	Content
`assets/vault-starter/`	Complete starter vault with folders: Inbox, Sources, Maps, Projects, People
`assets/vault-starter/_templates/`	6 templates: Daily Capture, Map of Content, Captured Source, Person, Project, Atomic Note

Reference Files¶

File	Content
`references/vault-rules.md`	Folder structure, naming conventions, tag rules, link quality standards

Installation¶

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/david-internal/hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault.git

# Copy the skill
cp -r hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault/skills/obsidian-vault-curator ~/.hermes/skills/

# Copy the vault starter into your Obsidian vault
cp -r hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault/skills/obsidian-vault-curator/assets/vault-starter/* ~/your-obsidian-vault/

Usage¶

Copy vault-starter contents into a new or existing Obsidian vault
Point your agent at the obsidian-vault-curator skill
Tell the agent which vault folder to use
Send raw notes through Telegram, CLI, or chat
Let the agent create source notes, atomic notes, links, tags, maps, and project updates

Demo Tip¶

Open Obsidian's graph view after several captures. The agent continuously creates Markdown relationships while you do nothing but capture raw material.

Bundle 3: Phone-to-Vault Workflow (`hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof`)¶

Goal: Send messy things from your phone and the agent files them correctly. Plus a way to prove it actually works.

Skills Included¶

Skill	Type	Purpose
`telegram-to-obsidian-capture`	Agent skill	Converts messy Telegram dumps, URLs, PDFs, and pasted conversations into Obsidian-ready notes
`obsidian-sync-doctor`	Agent skill	Diagnoses why notes aren't appearing and verifies the end-to-end loop

Reference Files¶

File	Content
`references/capture-contract.md`	The format contract: what the agent expects and what it produces
`references/diagnostic-playbook.md`	Step-by-step diagnosis for sync failures
`assets/prompt-cards.md`	Ready-to-send prompts viewers can use from their phone

Scripts¶

Script	Purpose
`scripts/verify_hermes_obsidian_loop.sh`	Read-only checks by default; optional write test for end-to-end verification

Installation¶

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/david-internal/hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof.git

# Copy both skills
cp -r hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof/skills/telegram-to-obsidian-capture ~/.hermes/skills/
cp -r hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof/skills/obsidian-sync-doctor ~/.hermes/skills/

Usage¶

Prerequisite: Bundle 1 (always-on setup) must be complete
Install both skills
Send a demo prompt through Telegram (assets/prompt-cards.md has ready examples)
If the note doesn't appear on your Mac, run the sync doctor
Before recording a final demo shot, use the optional write test

Testing the Loop¶

# Read-only check (safe, no side effects)
bash hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof/skills/obsidian-sync-doctor/scripts/verify_hermes_obsidian_loop.sh

# With write test (creates a real note, then verifies it lands)
bash hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof/skills/obsidian-sync-doctor/scripts/verify_hermes_obsidian_loop.sh --write-test

Complete Giveaway Pack (`hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack`)¶

Goal: All three bundles in one ZIP.

Installation (Full Pack)¶

# Clone the full giveaway pack
git clone https://github.com/david-internal/hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack.git

# The pack contains all three bundles as subdirectories
ls hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack/
# → 01-always-on-setup/  02-self-organizing-vault/  03-capture-and-proof/

# Install all skills at once
for bundle in 01-always-on-setup 02-self-organizing-vault 03-capture-and-proof; do
  find hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack/$bundle/skills -name "SKILL.md" -exec dirname {} \; | while read skill_dir; do
    skill_name=$(basename "$skill_dir")
    cp -r "$skill_dir" ~/.hermes/skills/"$skill_name"
    echo "Installed: $skill_name"
  done
done

Recommended Handout¶

Give viewers one ZIP containing all three folders, or optionally three separate ZIPs:

always-on-setup.zip — VPS + Hermes + Obsidian Sync
self-organizing-vault.zip — Vault curator + templates
capture-and-proof.zip — Phone workflow + sync doctor
hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack.zip — Everything

Why This Matters¶

The hard part of Hermes + Obsidian isn't knowing that Hermes can write Markdown. It's making the always-on VPS, Obsidian Sync, headless client, and Hermes vault path all point at the same folder. This pack eliminates those setup traps:

Path alignment — Every config points at the same vault folder
Persistence — systemd keeps the sync service alive across restarts
Consistency — The vault curator enforces naming, tags, and link rules
Debuggability — The sync doctor diagnoses the full Hermes → Obsidian loop
Phone-first — Telegram capture works from any device

Dependencies¶

Dependency	Required For
Hermes Agent with Telegram gateway	Phone capture workflow
Obsidian Sync subscription	Cross-device vault sync
obsidian-headless	VPS-based Obsidian client
systemd (Linux VPS)	Always-on sync service
Python 3.10+	Scripts

Verification¶

After setup, verify the complete loop:

# 1. Check VPS prerequisites
bash skills/hermes-obsidian-setup/scripts/check_vps_prereqs.sh

# 2. Verify sync service is running
systemctl status obsidian-sync

# 3. Send a test capture through Telegram
# (Use a prompt from assets/prompt-cards.md)

# 4. Run the sync doctor if the note doesn't appear
bash skills/obsidian-sync-doctor/scripts/verify_hermes_obsidian_loop.sh

← Skills Catalog | Marketplace Home | david-internal on GitHub

Hermes + Obsidian Giveaway Pack — Setup Guide¶

What's Included¶

Bundle 1: Always-On Base Setup (hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup)¶

Skills Included¶

Reference Files¶

Scripts¶

Installation¶

Setup Flow¶

Key Gotchas¶

Bundle 2: Self-Organizing Vault (hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault)¶

Skills Included¶

Assets¶

Reference Files¶

Installation¶

Usage¶

Demo Tip¶

Bundle 3: Phone-to-Vault Workflow (hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof)¶

Skills Included¶

Reference Files¶

Scripts¶

Installation¶

Usage¶

Testing the Loop¶

Complete Giveaway Pack (hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack)¶

Installation (Full Pack)¶

Recommended Handout¶

Why This Matters¶

Dependencies¶

Verification¶

Bundle 1: Always-On Base Setup (`hermes-obsidian-always-on-setup`)¶

Bundle 2: Self-Organizing Vault (`hermes-obsidian-self-organizing-vault`)¶

Bundle 3: Phone-to-Vault Workflow (`hermes-obsidian-capture-and-proof`)¶

Complete Giveaway Pack (`hermes-obsidian-giveaway-pack`)¶