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A live demo is available at https://second-brain-production-53b3.up.railway.app/ — no setup required to try it out.
1

Check the prerequisites

You need one of the following to run Second Brain:
  • Docker (recommended) — any recent version.
  • Python 3.12 and pip — if you prefer to run without Docker.
You also need a running Gemini Proxy Balancer instance. The proxy handles API key rotation and load balancing so you don’t hit Gemini quota limits. Set one up at https://github.com/Abraham2106/gemini-proxy-balancer before continuing.
2

Configure your environment

Create a .env file in the project root with these two required variables:
.env
GEMINI_PROXY_URL="https://your-proxy.up.railway.app/v1/chat/completions"
OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/path/to/your/obsidian/vault"
Replace GEMINI_PROXY_URL with the URL of your deployed Gemini Proxy Balancer, and OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH with the absolute path to the Obsidian vault folder on your machine.See Configuration for all available options.
3

Run Second Brain

docker build -t second-brain .
docker run -p 8501:8501 --env-file .env second-brain
The Docker image uses Python 3.12-slim and exposes the app on port 8501.
4

Open the Vault Launcher

Navigate to http://localhost:8501 in your browser.The Vault Launcher opens automatically. From here you can:
  • Recent Vaults — open a vault you have used before.
  • Browse Local — select any folder on your machine as a vault (desktop only).
  • Create New — create a new tracked vault inside the default workspace.
Select or create a vault and click Open. Second Brain indexes the vault contents and then takes you to the chat interface.
5

Send your first prompt

Type a request in the prompt area at the bottom of the screen and click Send.The agent pipeline — Manager, Planner, Researcher, Builder, Critic — processes your request in sequence. You can watch each agent’s status in the Tasks popover next to the prompt bar. Once complete, any new or modified notes appear directly in your Obsidian vault folder.Example prompts to try:
  • Create a note summarizing the key ideas in my vault about productivity.
  • Write a new note called "Meeting Notes 2026-04-04" and link it to my Projects index.
  • Reorganize my vault so that all book summaries are under a Books folder.