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The operating system for intellectual work. Your Knowledge. Your Experience. Your Environment — runs on top of any AI Platform.
Repository type:
Base/Formats(FMT) — template distribution. After forking, it becomes your personal environment with AI agents.
AI assistants can generate text, code, and answers. But most users face the same issues:
- Work context is scattered. AI services can store conversations and project materials, but decisions and plans from other tools are not always available in the next Session or to another agent.
- Knowledge stays in your head. You complete a course, read a book, solve a problem — but a month later you cannot reconstruct your reasoning.
- AI replaces thinking instead of amplifying it. You get an answer, but you do not become more competent. Without AI — you are back to zero.
- No system. Plans are in notes, tasks are in your head, Knowledge is in chats. Everything is disconnected.
- Time slips away. It is unclear what you worked on, what you accomplished, or where you are headed.
IWE (Intellectual Work Environment) is an intellectual work environment.
Just as an IDE brings together an editor, compiler, and debugger into one environment for a programmer — IWE brings together Knowledge, planning, and AI agents into one environment for thinking.
| IDE (for code) | IWE (for thinking) |
|---|---|
| Editor → you write code | Exocortex → you capture Knowledge |
| Compiler → checks syntax | Principles → check the correctness of decisions |
| Debugger → finds errors | Opening→Work→Closing (OWC) Protocols → find Knowledge and context losses |
| Linter → improves quality | ArchGate → assesses architectural decisions |
| Git → change history | Strategist → work history and planning |
Key principle: exoskeleton, not prosthesis. IWE amplifies your thinking — it does not replace it. After every Session you become more competent, not just better supplied with outputs. More: principles-vs-skills.md.
| Term | What it is |
|---|---|
| Exocortex | Your external Memory — files containing plans, context, and conclusions that Claude reads at the start of every Session |
| Pack | A formalized Knowledge base for your Domain — the single source of truth for domain Knowledge |
| OWC | Opening → Work → Closing — a ritual for every Session and every day; prevents context loss |
| ArchGate | Structured Assessment of architectural decisions across 7 characteristics (instead of "I think this looks fine") |
| Strategist | An AI agent that automatically builds day/week plans and tracks Progress |
| 5 repository families | Recommended structure for separating code, Knowledge, and data — see below |
The Exocortex is not a single Repository — it is a set of Repositories with clear boundaries: code, domain Knowledge, and personal data do not mix. setup.sh creates a minimal starting point (your own strategic Repository plus 3 base principles Repositories); additional Repositories are created as needed.
| Family | What it stores | Example name |
|---|---|---|
Base (ZP/FPF/SPF/FMT-*) |
Platform principles and formats — delivered ready to use | ZP, FPF |
PACK-* |
Formalized domain Knowledge (source of truth) | PACK-my-domain |
DS-* |
Code, plans, courses — derived from Pack | DS-strategy |
PD-* |
Personal user data of a single type (no code) | PD-persona, PD-metrics |
MC-* |
Agent data (dialogues, service logs) — not read by humans day-to-day | MC-sessions |
Detailed data domain map and rationale: ADR-004.
Every Session and every day passes through three stages:
- Opening — Claude reviews the plan, identifies the task, and aligns on the approach. You do not start work from a blank slate — the AI knows the context.
- Work — as work proceeds, Claude captures valuable Knowledge (Capture-to-Pack). Insights are not lost.
- Closing — the result is recorded, the plan is updated, and the next Session starts where you left off.
Skipping Opening = unplanned work. Skipping Closing = lost results.
Your Knowledge, principles, Distinctions, plans, and context are stored in files that Claude reads at the start of every Session. This is not a "prompt" — it is an accumulated base that grows with you.
What you learn does not stay in your head. Valuable Knowledge is formalized into a Pack — the domain passport. Pack is the single source of truth for domain Knowledge. More: LEARNING-PATH.md.
Every professional drowns in information: 12+ tools (Notion, Google Docs, Slack, ChatGPT, courses…), Knowledge is spread thin, nothing is connected. AI can account for the materials it has access to, but keeping decisions from different tools in one current work context is difficult.
IWE is for those who want to change that:
- Entrepreneurs and managers — you strategize, make decisions, manage projects. IWE provides a system: from weekly planning to domain Knowledge formalization.
- Engineers and developers — you work with code and Architecture. IWE preserves context between Sessions; the AI knows your codebase, technical debt, and Roadmap.
- Researchers and analysts — you study, synthesize, publish. IWE turns scattered notes into a structured Knowledge base that grows with you.
- Everyone doing intellectual work — and who wants symbiosis with AI, not dependence on it. An exoskeleton for thinking, not a prosthesis.
| Scenario | What happens | More |
|---|---|---|
| Product development | Claude knows the Architecture, technical debt, and Roadmap. Every Session is a continuation, not a restart from zero | SC.013, SC.015 |
| Documentation | Knowledge is captured in Pack during work. No need to "write docs later" — they are written as you work | SC.004, SC.014 |
| Project coordination | WeekPlan, DayPlan, Work Product registry — the Strategist helps plan and track Progress | SC.001, SC.002 |
| Review and Refactoring | ArchGate evaluates decisions across 7 characteristics. Not "I think this is fine" — a structured Assessment | SC.015 |
| Scenario | What happens | More |
|---|---|---|
| Taking a course | Claude helps capture key ideas, asks questions to check Understanding, and connects new material to what you already know | SC.003 |
| Writing articles | A creative Pipeline: note → draft → prepared piece → publication. Every Artifact is tracked | SC.005 |
| Strategizing | A weekly Session: Review of the previous week, planning the next, alignment with goals. The Strategist prepares a draft — you make the decisions | SC.011 |
| Building a Knowledge base | Your Pack grows. After six months you have a formalized domain Knowledge base — not a collection of notes | SC.014 |
Full catalog of 15 use cases: USE-CASES.md
- In the morning — the Strategist has prepared a plan: a Telegram notification plus a DayPlan file in the Repository.
- You open VS Code →
claude→ Claude knows what is in the plan and suggests starting with the top Priority. - You work — Claude captures Knowledge as you go (Capture-to-Pack).
- You close the Session — the result is recorded, the plan is updated.
- On Monday — the Strategist prepares a draft weekly plan; you discuss it in a strategizing Session.
A minimum of 4 GiB of free RAM is required while Claude Code (or another agent) runs on top of IWE. With less memory — especially on shared servers with multiple users — file read/write tools may intermittently fail with a message such as PreToolUse hook did not respond before its timeout. This message indicates insufficient host-process memory, not a broken template Hook (issue #461) — bash scripts/iwe-audit.sh shows the current available memory level in the "Available memory" section.
Quick start (Git, Node.js, and Claude Code already installed): QUICK-START.md — 15 minutes to your first Session.
Full installation from a clean machine: SETUP-GUIDE.md — 30–60 minutes including all dependencies.
Not on macOS or not using Claude Code? Read PORTABILITY.md — instructions for Kimi Code, Hermes Agent, and others.
Different agent or LLM? IWE is not tied to Claude. If your agent can see files in the repo folder and edit files, it will work. How to connect → PORTABILITY.md.
mkdir -p ~/IWE && cd ~/IWE
gh repo fork iwesys/IWE --clone
cd IWE
bash setup.shAfter installation:
cd ~/IWE
claudeTell Claude: "Let's run our first strategic session" — and it will walk you through defining goals, creating your first plan, and configuring your Environment.
IWE updates like a distribution — you receive Platform updates without losing your settings.
Extensions (extensions/) — add your own blocks to Protocols:
# Add end-of-day reflection
echo "## Day Reflection
- What was difficult?
- What would I do differently?
- What deserves praise?" > extensions/day-close.after.mdParameters (params.yaml) — enable or disable Protocol steps:
reflection_enabled: true # Enable reflection
video_check: false # Disable video check
multiplier_enabled: true # IWE multiplierUpdates — bash update.sh updates the Platform while preserving your extensions/, params.yaml, and edits in CLAUDE.md (3-way merge).
| Document | Contents |
|---|---|
| Beginner's guide | Start here if you are new to IWE. What it is, why it exists, what it consists of — no technical jargon |
| Quick start | 15 minutes from git clone to your first Session. For those who already have Git and Claude Code |
| SETUP-GUIDE.md | Step-by-step installation from a clean machine. Requirements, modes (core/full), verification |
| LEARNING-PATH.md | The IWE learning path: Architecture, principles, Protocols, Pack, Roles |
| DATA-POLICY.md | Data policy: what is collected, where it is stored, how to delete it |
| DATA-RESIDENCY.md | The residency principle: data you bring into IWE from outside (health, calendar, working hours) — where it may and may not go |
| IWE-HELP.md | Quick reference and FAQ |
| principles-vs-skills.md | Why principles matter more than Skills: the generative hierarchy |
| CHANGELOG.md | Template change history |
Two documents cover adjacent topics:
DATA-POLICY.mdcovers data the Platform collects about you;DATA-RESIDENCY.mdcovers data you bring into IWE from external sources.
Q: Is an Anthropic subscription required?
A: For the full installation (Claude Code) — Claude Pro ($20/month) is recommended. If needed, you can upgrade to Claude Max (~$100/month) for unlimited work. For the minimal installation (setup.sh --core) — works with any AI CLI. More: SETUP-GUIDE.md.
Q: Does it work with other AI models (not Claude)? A: Yes, three agents are supported out of the box:
- Claude Code — full support: reads
CLAUDE.md, all Skills and Hooks work. - Kimi Code (VS Code) — reads
AGENTS.mdautomatically when the repo is opened. Customization:extensions/orAGENTS-agent-blocks.md. Skills (/day-openetc.) via Claude Code. - Hermes Agent — connect aisystant MCP through Hermes settings, and it receives instructions automatically.
For other agents (Cursor, Copilot, Gemini) adaptation is required. More: PORTABILITY.md.
The minimal installation (setup.sh --core) works without being tied to a specific agent.
Q: Does it work on Linux/Windows?
A: On macOS and Linux, all standard scenarios work; Strategist automation uses launchd and systemd respectively, and the cloud option uses GitHub Actions. On Windows, individual parts have been verified through Git Bash with native Python (Strategist lock, #1030), but session-guard.sh and session opening require WSL2: in native Git Bash they fail early due to the Unix fcntl lock (#1032). Full IWE installation and updates on Windows remain untested — more: SETUP-GUIDE.md § Windows.
Q: What if the computer is off or asleep — will automation stop?
A: Cloud Scheduler (GitHub Actions) runs in the cloud even when the computer is off. For local agents: Scripts automatically prevent sleep while running (macOS: caffeinate, Linux: systemd-inhibit). For laptops, configuring automatic wake and disabling idle sleep is recommended — see SETUP-GUIDE.md.
Q: What is a Pack? A: A formalized Knowledge Domain — the single source of truth for domain Knowledge. More: LEARNING-PATH.md.
Q: Is my data secure? A: Three protection zones: local, GitHub (private repos), and Platform (per-user isolation). More: DATA-POLICY.md.
Q: How is IWE different from Obsidian / Notion / Logseq?
A: Obsidian is a note storage tool. IWE is a work environment with Protocols, AI agents, and Knowledge formalization. For notes, you can open a separate governance Repository (DS-strategy) in Obsidian — using that specific folder as the vault. Using the IWE root (~/IWE) as an Obsidian vault is not supported: it may contain very large Markdown files (for example, FPF/FPF-Spec.md) that cause Obsidian to show a white screen. The full workspace can be safely browsed in VS Code.
Q: Is programming required? A: No. The template is a ready-made Configuration. Installation is done via setup.sh. Work is done through Claude Code in natural language.
Q: Can it be used without the Strategist? A: Yes. Claude Code + CLAUDE.md + memory/ work fully. The Strategist is planning automation. Without it, you plan manually.
Q: How do I configure the strategizing day?
A: In memory/day-rhythm-config.yaml, change strategy_day: sunday to the desired day. More: LEARNING-PATH.md.
Q: The clone ended up in ~ instead of ~/IWE?
A: All installation commands must be run in the same terminal session. Opening a new terminal starts from ~. Delete the folder from ~ and repeat from cd ~/IWE. More: SETUP-GUIDE.md.
IWE is an Environment you build alone. But you develop it together.
The IWE community is a closed chat for Practitioners who work within the same system: OWC, Pack, Exocortex. A place where people discuss not "how to write better prompts" but how to build intellectual work seriously.
- Work Product breakdowns — members share real Packs, plans, and Retrospectives. They receive feedback from people who understand what "Closing without capturing the result" means.
- IWE installation and customization experience — what broke, how it was fixed, which extensions proved useful.
- Method discussions — OWC fractal, ArchGate, Capture-to-Pack in practice: what works, where theory diverges from reality.
- Links and findings — tools, patterns, SOTA that fit the IWE philosophy.
Studying the system alone is possible. But most questions arise at the application stage: "How do I formalize this Knowledge Domain?", "Am I using OWC correctly?", "Who has experience with this tool?"
In the community, these questions get answers from people who have already been through it.
- GitHub Discussions — questions, ideas, share your setup
- Issues — bug reports and feature requests
Deep practice, Work Product breakdowns, direct support. Entry is via the "IWE for Practitioners" seminar (5000₽) through the bot @aist_me_bot.
See CONTRIBUTING.md — how to help the project.
IWE team developers (level T4+): the single entry point is Getting started as a developer. In 10 minutes you will understand the development Pipeline (6 stations, dual output) and complete your first task.
MIT