Usage guide

How does something you tossed off find its own place?

In Sebren, where a note lands is already decided. Memorizing the rule is MCP's job — the channel that connects Claude to your files — and right before saving, it double-checks that the rule was actually followed.

Below, walk through the rule for where a note lands, the order one ordinary sentence sets off, and how to make the rule switch on without explaining it every time.

Filing rules

The place is already decided

The shape a record takes depends on what kind it is. Work goes four levels deep; something you watched or read links out sideways into categories. Either way, one line at the top of the note decides where it goes.

Nine slots are already laid out — nothing to design. Work · People · Collected items · Watched/read/listened · Clippings · Know-how · Travel · Health · Journal. Below are two examples.

Work — four levels down

Workspace → Project → Plan → Task

Starts broad, and narrows down to the actual thing you have to do.

Every level carries a kind line. Without it, the item never shows up in a search list — you won't find it later.

Watched, read, listened — categories link out sideways

One flat note · category pages link to each other

Items tagged with the same category gather in one place, automatically.

You must fill in either Category or Genre. If you don't know a field, we don't guess — we leave it blank and ask again.

How it works

One sentence wakes up the rule

No folder names or commands to memorize. One ordinary sentence triggers the skill, which calls the MCP, and the MCP finds the filing rule and checks that it was followed.

What you said
An ordinary sentence like "save this" or "what was that again?" is enough. No commands to memorize.
Skill (the trigger)
A skill is a trigger you keep inside Claude. It notices mid-conversation that "this belongs in Sebren," and hands the actual work to the MCP.
MCP
MCP — the channel that connects Claude and your repository. It figures out which area a record belongs to, pulls the filing rule, and double-checks it right before saving. If something's missing, it stops and tells you what.

Real usage

Pick a situation you're curious about

These are pulled straight from real usage recordings. The question is the exact original wording, and the tool calls and answers follow the real flow too — pick a situation from the list on the left, and that conversation plays.

WorkWatched, read, listenedHealthKnow-howTravelWork × life

Work

Recapping recent work across projects

#lookup
#status

what am i supposed to be doing lately

Used the Sebren-Secondbrain-MCP integration, tools loaded

Found tools
Work guide
Read index
Read notes (batch)
Done

Here's what's moving across your three live projects right now.

KitchDot: the social content kit just wrapped, and packaging round 2 and the brand guide v1.2 update are both in progress.

GlowLog: the main product page got sign-off, so the secondary product page is next, due 8/5.

The Leaf Lab: the business card and secondary-logo guide is on the board but nothing's logged on it yet — that one needs a look first.

Your situation might be here too

Try it yourself →

Do this once

Set Sebren's tools to ‘Always allow’

It works without this — but every time Claude finds or saves a note, a confirmation dialog pops up and you have to click through it. It takes a minute.

In claude.ai, click Customize in the left menu, open the Connectors tab and pick Yours.
Click Sebren-Secondbrain-MCP in the list.
Under Tool permissions, open the dropdown next to each of the three groups (Interactive tools, Read-only tools, Write/delete tools) and pick Always allow.

claude.ai Customize → Connectors → Sebren-Secondbrain-MCP. The blue outlines are what to click. A mock-up built to the real screen's layout.

I clicked ‘Always allow’ in a chat and it asks again

‘Always allow’ in the in-chat dialog only lasts for that chat. A new chat asks again. To make it stick everywhere, change it on the settings screen above.

When Sebren adds a new tool, the dialog may come back. Just set that group to Always allow again on the same screen.

Open claude.ai connector settings ↗

Set it once

Write it in once, and it's more reliable

Open Account in claude.ai's settings and there's a field called Claude's instructions. Paste the instructions below in there,
and this rule switches on before you ever explain it.

Profile

AvatarS

Full nameSebren User

What should Claude call you?Sebren

What best describes your work?Design⌄

Claude's instructions

Claude remembers this across chats and Cowork, within Anthropic's guidelines. Learn more

## Using the Sebren skill If the user asks about their own past information, records, schedule, people, places, work, travel, purchases, or experiences, or asks to save, record, note, or clip something, always run the sebren-starter skill first. Don't skip this step even if the question seems to carry enough context, or you think you already know the answer from the current chat or memory. Personal recall questions and save requests are all a forced trigger — especially things like "what was it again," "where was it," "who was that," "back when," "recently," "the place I went," "the thing I did," "I already logged that," "remember?", and "save this," "note this down," "clip this," "keep this link." Based on what sebren-starter returns, use Sebren-Secondbrain-MCP. If there is a link (Threads, YouTube, a blog, an article), read it with the fetch_url_context tool before saving. Don't state personal past facts as settled before searching Sebren. After saving, show the user exactly what went in.

Save changesCancel

claude.ai Settings → Account → the 'Claude's instructions' field.
Built to the real screen's layout and sizing, for explanation.

The long version to paste in — one click copies it

## Using the Sebren skill

If the user asks about their own past information, records, schedule, people, places, work, travel, purchases, or experiences, or asks to save, record, note, or clip something, always run the sebren-starter skill first.

Don't skip this step even if the question seems to carry enough context, or you think you already know the answer from the current chat or memory.

Personal recall questions and save requests are all a forced trigger — especially things like "what was it again," "where was it," "who was that," "back when," "recently," "the place I went," "the thing I did," "I already logged that," "remember?", and "save this," "note this down," "clip this," "keep this link."

Based on what sebren-starter returns, use Sebren-Secondbrain-MCP. If there is a link (Threads, YouTube, a blog, an article), read it with the fetch_url_context tool before saving.

Don't state personal past facts as settled before searching Sebren. After saving, show the user exactly what went in.

What's next

Time to connect it and try it

Not connected yet? Start with setup. Already using it? Start with getting the same notes onto your own computer.

First-time connection

Connect Sebren to Claude

Walks you through registering the MCP and adding the skill, in order.

Start connecting

Also on your computer

Use it alongside Obsidian

Download the same notes from GitHub onto your computer.

See setup steps

When something's wrong

Reconnect the connector

How to remove and relink the connector — the MCP you added in claude.ai's settings — when the connection breaks, or you connected the wrong account.

See how to reconnect

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Answers on setup, data storage, pricing, and cancellation, grouped by topic.

Setup and getting started

How do I install the MCP and skill?

Once you sign up, you get your own connection address. Register it under claude.ai's settings, in 'Connectors', then upload one skill file — a few clicks and you're done. The skill is the trigger that notices mid-conversation "this belongs in Sebren"; the actual filing rule and storage are handled by the MCP (the server on the channel side). The rule always lives on the MCP side, so you'll never need to re-download the skill file when the rule improves. Start setup →

Do I need any development knowledge?

None at all. All you need is a GitHub account and the ability to click buttons. You'll never open a terminal or touch code. Sebren handles making the repository and setting it up so it can search through your notes for you.

A new feature isn't showing up yet

New tools show up on their own — nothing for you to do. If one still hasn't appeared, reconnecting refreshes the list: remove the connector and add it back with the same name and address, following the reconnect guide. See how to reconnect →

Can I use this on both PC and mobile?

Yes. Once connected, it works the same way on claude.ai on your PC and the Claude mobile app. Wherever you ask from, it picks up the same memory stored in your GitHub repository, to find and record.

Help

Can't find your answer, or something feels off?

Send us a short note on the situation, what you typed, and what you expected. Either channel lands in the same place.

Send an email File a GitHub issue

Claude is a product of Anthropic, and GitHub is a product of GitHub, Inc. This guide uses those names only to explain how to connect with them.