Personal Docs Structure Guide

A domain-driven documentation system for personal life administration, learning, and creative work—optimized for both human navigation and AI ingestion.

---

Core Principle

The file path encodes context.

content/{DOMAIN}/{SYSTEM}/{TYPE}/{FILE}

When your Go service (or any AI) reads 30_property/home/sops/winterize-pipes.md, it immediately knows:

• Domain: Property (physical assets)
• System: Home
• Type: SOP (a procedure)
• Topic: Winterizing pipes

No frontmatter required for basic context. The path does the work.

---

Domain Overview

Range	Purpose	Domains
00–01	Meta	PKM system, personal tech
10–50	Life Admin	Identity, finance, property, health, family
60–70	Growth	Creative work, learning
80	Cross-cutting	General reference
90	Historical	Immutable records

Numbers leave gaps intentionally—you can insert new domains without renumbering.

---

The Domains

00_meta/

What this knowledge base is and how to use it.

00_meta/
├── templates/      # Document templates
└── workflows/      # Capture, review, archive processes

Use for: PKM philosophy, tagging conventions, review schedules.

---

01_technology/

Your personal tech infrastructure.

01_technology/
├── network/        # Home network topology, router configs, VLANs, DNS
├── devices/        # Inventory with specs, serial numbers, warranties
├── services/       # Subscriptions, licenses, self-hosted apps
└── development/    # Dev environment setup, dotfiles, tooling reference

Use for: Anything you'd need if you had to rebuild your tech setup from scratch.

Examples: - network/home-network-diagram.md - devices/macbook-pro-2023.md - services/software-subscriptions.md - development/go-environment.md

---

10_identity/

Legal identity and account credentials.

10_identity/
├── documents/      # Passport, license, birth certificate, SSN notes
├── accounts/       # Master account reference (not passwords—use a password manager)
└── records/        # Signed legal documents, filings

Use for: "Where is my passport number?" "What's my driver's license expiration?"

---

20_finance/

All money matters.

20_finance/
├── banking/        # Bank accounts, routing numbers, contacts
├── investing/      # Brokerage accounts, allocation strategy
├── taxes/
│   └── records/    # Filed returns by year
├── insurance/      # Non-health insurance (home, auto, umbrella)
└── planning/       # Budget, net worth tracking, financial goals

Use for: Account references, tax prep, financial planning docs.

---

30_property/

Physical assets you own.

30_property/
├── home/
│   ├── reference/  # Appliance specs, filter sizes, paint colors, manuals
│   ├── sops/       # Maintenance procedures (HVAC filter schedule, winterization)
│   └── records/    # Repairs done, inspections, improvements with dates
└── vehicles/
    ├── reference/  # VINs, specs, dealer contacts, tire sizes
    └── records/    # Service history, repairs

This domain uses type layers because homes and vehicles have clear reference material, procedures, and historical records.

Examples: - home/reference/hvac-system.md - home/sops/quarterly-maintenance.md - home/records/2024-roof-replacement.md - vehicles/reference/2021-honda-accord.md - vehicles/records/service-log.md

---

40_health/

Medical information, organized by person.

40_health/
├── tyler/
│   ├── reference/  # Providers, prescriptions, allergies, blood type
│   └── records/    # Visit summaries, lab results, imaging
├── family/         # Partner, children (can split into subfolders per person)
└── insurance/      # Health insurance policies, coverage details

Split by person because medical records are inherently personal. AI can scope queries: "What are Tyler's current prescriptions?" → looks in 40_health/tyler/reference/.

---

50_family/

Family logistics (not medical).

50_family/
├── childcare/      # Daycare info, babysitters, emergency contacts
├── education/      # Schools, 529 plans, educational resources
└── planning/       # Family goals, traditions, future planning

Use for: "What's the daycare's phone number?" "When does school start?"

---

60_creative/

Hobbies and creative projects.

60_creative/
├── ttrpg/          # Campaigns, characters, worldbuilding, session notes
├── writing/        # Fiction, blog drafts, creative writing
└── ideas/          # Loose capture, brainstorms, shower thoughts

No type layers here—creative work doesn't follow reference/sops/records patterns. Organize by project or medium.

Examples: - ttrpg/campaigns/curse-of-strahd/ - ttrpg/characters/wizard-build.md - writing/blog-drafts/ai-knowledge-graphs.md

---

70_learning/

Knowledge acquisition.

70_learning/
├── books/          # Reading notes, summaries
├── courses/        # Course materials, certifications
└── topics/         # Research organized by subject

Examples: - books/designing-data-intensive-applications.md - courses/aws-solutions-architect.md - topics/graph-databases.md

---

80_reference/

Cross-cutting reference that doesn't fit elsewhere.

80_reference/
├── travel/         # Loyalty program numbers, packing lists, visa info
├── contacts/       # Personal directory, gift ideas for people
└── how-to/         # General life procedures

This is the catch-all. Push things here last—if it fits in another domain, put it there.

---

90_records/

Immutable historical records.

90_records/
├── decisions/      # Personal ADRs (decision records)
└── journal/        # Dated entries

Key rule: Documents in 90_records/ are never edited after creation. They're historical artifacts.

Decision records follow the pattern: - decisions/001-buy-vs-rent.md - decisions/002-school-choice.md

---

_drafts/

Work in progress.

Excluded from: - MkDocs navigation - Site builds - AI indexing

Move files to their proper domain when ready.

---

Type Layers

Some domains benefit from organizing content by type:

Type	Purpose	Example
reference/	"What is this?" — specs, contacts, static info	Filter sizes, VINs
sops/	"How do I?" — procedures, checklists	Winterization steps
records/	"What happened?" — dated history	2024 roof repair

When to use type layers:

Domain	Use Types?	Why
Property	✅ Yes	Homes have specs, procedures, and history
Health	✅ Partial	Reference + records; rarely SOPs
Finance	✅ Partial	Reference + records; no SOPs
Creative	❌ No	Organize by project, not type
Learning	❌ No	Organize by book/topic

Don't force types where they don't fit.

---

File Naming

Use kebab-case: - ✅ quarterly-hvac-maintenance.md - ❌ Quarterly HVAC Maintenance.md - ❌ quarterly_hvac_maintenance.md

Keep names 10–30 characters when practical.

No dates in filenames except in 90_records/: - ✅ 90_records/journal/2024-03-15-career-reflection.md - ❌ 20_finance/taxes/2024-03-15-tax-prep.md (use taxes/records/2024-federal.md)

---

Frontmatter

Optional but useful for richer AI context:

---
title: "Quarterly HVAC Maintenance"
type: SOP
status: active
created: 2024-01-15
updated: 2024-06-01
---

The path already encodes domain/system/type, so frontmatter adds metadata the path can't express: dates, status, tags.

---

Index Files

Every folder must have an index.md.

This file: - Serves as the landing page for that section - Describes what belongs in this folder - Links to key documents

Minimal example:

---
title: "Home Reference"
---

# Home Reference

Specs, manuals, and static information about the house.

## Contents

- [HVAC System](hvac-system.md)
- [Appliance Specs](appliances.md)
- [Paint Colors](paint-colors.md)

---

Quick Reference

I need to document...	Put it in...
My home network setup	01_technology/network/
Passport expiration	10_identity/documents/
Investment strategy	20_finance/investing/
How to winterize pipes	30_property/home/sops/
Roof replacement details	30_property/home/records/
My prescriptions	40_health/tyler/reference/
Kid's school info	50_family/education/
D&D campaign notes	60_creative/ttrpg/
Book summary	70_learning/books/
Frequent flyer numbers	80_reference/travel/
Why I chose this house	90_records/decisions/
Half-finished draft	_drafts/

---

For AI Ingestion

When your Go service scans this repo:

1. Walk the file tree — filepath.Walk("content", ...)
2. Parse the path — Extract domain, system, type from directory structure
3. Parse frontmatter — Get metadata (dates, status, tags)
4. Index content — Store in your graph DB and vector DB

The structure means your AI can answer: - "What are my home maintenance procedures?" → Scan 30_property/home/sops/ - "What prescriptions am I on?" → Scan 40_health/tyler/reference/ - "Summarize my D&D campaign" → Scan 60_creative/ttrpg/

Path-as-context reduces the need for manual tagging.

---

Getting Started

# Clone or unzip the scaffold
cd personal-docs

# Set up Python environment
uv venv
source .venv/bin/activate
uv pip install mkdocs-material

# Run locally
mkdocs serve

Visit http://127.0.0.1:8000

Start with one domain. Document something real. Let the system prove itself before filling every folder.