An AI assistant built from folders of text files, an instruction manual, and no vendor lock-in.
Jesse pairs a sandboxed desktop AI agent with a structured vault of interconnected markdown files. A single instruction file (JESSE.md) tells the agent who you are, what your priorities look like, and exactly what to do when you start a session. The vault is your memory. The instruction file is your process. The AI is the engine.
Read the full guide at jesse.help.
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Copy the
template/directory to wherever you want your vault:cp -r template/ ~/jesse-vault/ -
Open the vault in Obsidian (free) or any markdown editor.
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Edit
JESSE.mdfor your situation: your name, your tools, your priorities. If you're using Claude's Cowork mode, rename it toCLAUDE.md. -
Point your AI agent at the folder and ask it to run the start-of-day routine.
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Iterate. The instruction file is a living document. Improve it every time something goes wrong or you learn a better way.
template/
├── JESSE.md # The instruction file (start here)
├── Dashboard.md # Priority-sorted TODO index
├── Today.md # Living daily task list
├── Inbox/ # Quick capture from phone/desktop
├── Projects/
│ └── drafts/ # Active draft communications
│ └── archive/ # Sent drafts (date-prefixed)
└── Knowledge/
├── People/ # Contact directory
│ ├── Tag1/ # (your org — rename this)
│ ├── Client/
│ ├── Vendor/
│ ├── Candidate/
│ └── Other/
└── Reminders/ # Date-based reminders
Recipes are community-contributed guides for setting up specific capabilities: email integration, WhatsApp scanning, birthday reminders, network health monitoring, and more. Browse them at jesse.help/recipes.
Want to contribute a recipe? See CONTRIBUTING.md.
Jesse is not locked to Claude, Cowork, or Obsidian. The instruction file is a markdown document. The vault is a folder of markdown files. Any AI agent with file access and tool-calling can run it. Any markdown editor can view it.
Read more about the design philosophy in the blog post or at jesse.help.