Help your AI understand your work with an index
An index records where your projects, notes and plans live, and when reading them is allowed. Use this method in your existing AI tool or ask Shennian Steward to maintain the index.
Build your first index in three steps
Step 1: Choose one set of materials
Start with one project or set of notes. Specify which directories to include or exclude. To connect Shennian, check and reuse your existing installation using https://shennian.net/install.md.
Help me build an index. Ask which materials to include first. After I confirm, record names, locations and access rules without moving or changing originals. Do not read their contents without asking.
Step 2: Record locations and access rules
Record each item’s name, original location and confirmation rule. For example: “Product guide | designated product folder | readable for product questions”. Private notes can require confirmation before each read. These are index examples, not automatic permission grants.
Step 3: Check the index with a question
Test the finished index with a specific question:
Consult the index and tell me which materials relate to “enter the question here”. Follow the recorded access rules. If confirmation is needed, list the material names and ask first.
An index helps locate materials. It does not guarantee unlimited memory or transfer every old conversation to a new model. Update an entry when its location changes.