FAQ

FAQ

Does this include any of your personal data or API keys?

No. The template ships with only folder skeletons, index/README files, and plugin manifests — no chat history, no populated memory files, no credentials. See the README's Security notes for the full list of what's git-ignored and why.

I ran the installer and it says "Obsidian not found" but I have it installed

The detection is best-effort (checks a couple of common install paths / a obsidian command on PATH). It's informational only — the install still completes. Just open the vault folder in Obsidian manually afterward.

Which embedding backend should I pick — Ollama or sentence-transformers?

• Ollama (Scripts/pipeline.sh / pipeline.ps1) — no Python ML deps, just needs ollama serve running locally with the nomic-embed-text model pulled. Lighter weight if you already use Ollama.
• sentence-transformers (Scripts/trend_digest.sh / New-TrendDigest.ps1) — pure Python, no separate daemon, but pulls in sentence-transformers + numpy via pip.

Either is optional — skip it during install and run one manually later if you change your mind.

Can I use this without Hermes, just as a plain Obsidian vault?

Yes. The folder structure, Dataview views, and Smart Connections setup are useful on their own. You'll just be missing the automated Daily/ archiving and consolidate_memory.py pipeline that assumes a Hermes agent is writing into the vault on a schedule.

The hourly cron job I set up seems to be creating duplicate/racing writes

Only ever run one archiving cron job per vault. If you set one up twice (e.g. once per Hermes profile), they'll both write to Daily/manifest.jsonl and corrupt the index. Check existing jobs with cronjob_manage(action='list') (or your Hermes equivalent) before creating a new one — the master install prompt in INSTALL_PROMPT.md does this check automatically.

Where do I actually see my Hermes memories get promoted?

Memory-Review/Promotion-Candidates.md is regenerated by consolidate_memory.py with a checkbox per candidate fact. Checking a box and re-running the script archives that decision — but copying the fact into Hermes's real MEMORY.md/USER.md is a manual step you do yourself. This is intentional: nothing gets promoted to durable memory without a human reading it first.

I found a personal path / leftover credential in the template — what do I do?

That's a bug — please open an issue or PR. See CONTRIBUTING.md for what should never be committed.

Can I contribute?

Yes — see CONTRIBUTING.md. Platform-specific install fixes, more Obsidian plugin recipes, and additional automation scripts (ideally with both a PowerShell and bash version) are all welcome.