Tool Setup

Get productive with aDNA using your preferred tool. aDNA is tool-agnostic at Tier 1 — any text editor and file system works.

Prerequisites

All setups require:

• Git (for cloning and version control)
• A text editor that can read markdown and YAML
• Python 3.8+ (for validation tooling)

Setup 1: Terminal + Claude Code (Minimal)

Best for: agent operators, CLI-first workflows, headless environments.

Quick Start

# Clone or create an aDNA instance
git clone <your-adna-repo> && cd <repo-name>

# Or bootstrap a new instance
bash setup.sh  # if available, or manually create the triad

# Validate the instance
python what/lattices/tools/adna_validate.py .

# Start working — Claude Code reads CLAUDE.md automatically
claude

What Works

Tips

• Use grep -r "type: mission" how/missions/ to find active missions
• Use grep -r "status: active" --include="*.md" for active items
• Session files are your changelog — check how/sessions/active/

Setup 2: VS Code / Cursor

Best for: developers, mixed code + knowledge workflows, team environments.

Quick Start

# Clone and open
git clone <your-adna-repo>
code <repo-name>   # or: cursor <repo-name>

Recommended Extensions

Configuration

Add to .vscode/settings.json for best experience:

{
  "files.associations": {
    "*.md": "markdown"
  },
  "markdown.validate.enabled": true,
  "yaml.schemas": {
    "what/lattices/lattice_yaml_schema.json": "*.lattice.yaml",
    "what/lattices/tools/frontmatter_schema.json": "*.md"
  }
}

What Works

Setup 3: Obsidian

Best for: knowledge workers, visual thinkers, projects with heavy cross-referencing.

Quick Start

1. Download Obsidian
2. Open the aDNA instance directory as a vault
3. Trust the vault when prompted (required for community plugins)

Recommended Plugins

Tier 3 Features (Obsidian-specific)

• Wikilinks: [[file_name]] syntax for bidirectional linking
• Graph View: Visual map of all cross-references
• Canvas: Visual composition of lattice workflows
• Dataview queries: Dynamic tables from frontmatter
• Banner images: Visual file identification via banner field

What Works

Conformance by Tool

All three setups support full aDNA conformance:

The aDNA standard is designed so that Tier 1 features (directory structure, YAML frontmatter, markdown files, naming conventions) work universally. Tier 2 adds frontmatter querying (any YAML-aware tool). Tier 3 adds environment-specific enhancements.

Validation (All Tools)

# Check instance conformance
python what/lattices/tools/adna_validate.py .

# Check governance file consistency
bash what/lattices/tools/governance_sync_check.sh

# Validate a specific lattice YAML
python what/lattices/tools/lattice_validate.py path/to/file.lattice.yaml

Related Docs

• agent_first_guide.md — Agent operator setup (Claude Code focus)
• adna_standard.md §16 — Tool Integration Tiers specification
• standard_reading_guide.md — How to navigate the standard document