Learn aDNA
New to aDNA? Work through this path top to bottom, or jump straight to the step you need — each one links to the next.
Start here
Read the overview first. It explains what aDNA is and why it exists in about five minutes — the one page to read if you read nothing else.
What is aDNA?
The 5-minute overview — the problem, the approach, and what a project looks like. Read this first.
Get started
Ready to build one? Stand up your first vault in under an hour.
1 · Understand the ideas
Once the overview clicks, these are the concepts everything else builds on. Start with the Triad, then branch out.
The Triad
what / how / who — the three-way split every aDNA vault is built on. Start here.
Governance Files
CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md, STATE.md — the fixed-path files an agent reads first.
The Ontology
The 16 entity types that give every piece of knowledge a home.
All 13 concepts
The Triad through FAIR metadata — the full concept library.
2 · Practice with a tutorial
Learn by doing. The tutorials run from your first CLAUDE.md to federating a vault — beginner to advanced.
Create your first CLAUDE.md
The best place to start building — a governed file in about ten minutes.
All 9 tutorials
Step-by-step, beginner to advanced.
3 · Compare to what you know
Already use PARA, Zettelkasten, or Notion? See where aDNA agrees, where it differs, and when to reach for it.
aDNA vs. the alternatives
Honest comparisons with PARA, Zettelkasten, Notion, Johnny.Decimal, and plain markdown.
aDNA vs. plain Markdown
The closest baseline — what the structure buys you over a folder of notes.
Where to next
Past the basics? Branch by what you need.