Setting up
your files
a beginner's guide
Your files are the source of truth. The AI tool is just a head you plug in. Set your files and folders up this way, and you can use it with anything — Claude Code or Codex.
Your root folder
Create a new folder on your computer — this is the one folder that holds everything. Name it whatever you want. I named mine HQ.
Then add these subfolders underneath. You should always have them:
- (a)me.mdWho you are. You write it; every tool reads it.
- (b)AGENTS.mdWhat the agents should know about this folder and its subfolders — and how they should work.
- (c)memoryWhat the tools should remember.
- (d)skillsReusable how-tos.
- (e)projects — where you put everything you'll be working on
Inside a project
Every time you work on a new project — or anything new — make a new folder for it inside projects. Then add these two:
- (f)AGENTS.mdThe rules for this project, for the agent — whether it's Claude Code or Codex.
- (g)memoryTwo simple questions: What's the status? (true right now — you replace it) and What happened? (the running log — you only add to it).
How do I make these?
Two easy moves, no coding.
Point and click. Right-click → New Folder, name it, done — that's your HQ and each project folder. (Same on Mac and Windows.)
A .md file is just plain text — and the easiest way to make your me.md and AGENTS.md is to let the AI help you write them. Open your AI tool inside your new folder and paste this — it'll interview you to fill in your me.md:
That's the whole base. One root, a few files, a folder per project — and any tool can pick up where the last one left off.
Compass rose: Catalan Atlas, 1375 · public domain.
Take it with you
Drop your email and the printable version is yours. You'll get the newsletter too.