Build a Personal AI Knowledge Base from Your Documents
Ask questions across your notes and documents, with sources you can check. No terminal needed.
What can you do with it?
- What have I already learned about this topic?
- What did we decide about this project?
- Which document supports this answer?
Here’s a real example: Claude searches three documents from a fictional project called Cedar to find its approved launch date.
Recorded example · fictional Cedar files
You ask
When is Cedar approved to launch?
Claude answers
November 19, 2026
The November 12 plan was superseded.
Source:decision-2026-10-08.md
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Why use Wenlan?
Wenlan manages the documents; Claude uses them to answer your questions. Connect a folder, let Claude search its contents, and open the cited originals in Wenlan. When files change, refresh the source before asking again.
Choose this setup for documents you’ll reuse and update. A one-off PDF question may only need a direct upload or Claude Projects.
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Start with three small documents
Install Wenlan to manage the sources, and sign in to Claude in your browser to ask questions. The connection needs internet and your computer must stay on. Let Wenlan finish its local search setup before continuing.
Download and extract the Cedar ZIP into a new folder. It contains an initial plan, an approved change, and a later call quoting the old date. Keep the answer record and fourth file outside this folder until the update step.
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1. Add the folder in Wenlan
Use a small test folder first so you can inspect every source.
1. Choose Add a source → Connect a folder
On the Wenlan home screen, click Add a source, then Connect a folder. Select your extracted Cedar folder in the file picker. For an existing vault, choose Connect Obsidian vault instead; leave your real archive out of this trial.
Wenlan 0.19.2: the actual Add a source menu, including Connect a folder and Connect Obsidian vault. 2. Check that all three files are indexed
Open Sources → Cedar project. In Info, check Files: 3, Memories: 3 and Status: Available. If indexing is unfinished, wait or use Refresh. Seeing a filename alone does not prove it is searchable.
The three fictional Cedar sources in Wenlan, with three files and three indexed memories.
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2. Connect Claude once, using the interface
This route uses Wenlan’s experimental Web access. Retrieved text passes through wenlan-relay to Claude; it is not an offline model. Our test used a separate library containing only fictional Cedar and Atlas data.
1. Enable Web access in Settings → Connections
Before turning on Web access, confirm that every item in your Wenlan library is okay to share with Claude. Whole library exposes every Space and unscoped note, not just the Cedar folder. If there are private notes or you are unsure of the scope, stop here. Our test used Whole library in a separate library containing only fictional data. To continue with a shareable library, open the user account menu → Settings → Connections and turn on Let web and phone AI apps search your library.
2. Choose Add to Claude and approve the connection
In Claude, review the Wenlan connector. If one already exists, use Customize → Connectors → Yours → Reconnect. Return to Wenlan to Allow the request. If the app does not open, use Have a code? in Web access and enter the code shown by the pairing page. Confirm Claude appears under Connected apps.
The actual test connection: Wenlan shows Claude under Connected apps. This is the isolated fictional library.
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3. Ask Claude to search the sources
Start a new Claude chat. Enable Wenlan in the chat’s connectors menu if needed, send the prompt below, and allow its read requests. Look for a Wenlan Recall call and source passages, not just a plausible answer.
In our first attempt Claude guessed a Space named Cedar and received an error. Removing that filter worked. The corrected prompt names the documents without inventing a Space.
Use Wenlan to search the Cedar project documents. Cedar is a project name, not a Space; do not set a Space filter. What are the approved launch date, support channels, reason for the date change, export format, and product price? Cite filenames and supporting passages. A quoted old date does not change an approved decision. Say unknown when the documents do not specify. Use only Cedar sources; do not write anything.06
4. Open the cited original in Wenlan
Return to Sources → Cedar project → decision-2026-10-08.md. Compare the quoted passage with the original. It approves November 19 and replaces November 12. The later client-call note merely quotes the old date; it does not approve another change.
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5. Add one update and ask in a fresh chat
Download the update below and move only decision-2026-10-15.md into the Cedar folder. In Wenlan, return to the folder, click Refresh, and confirm four files and four memories. Open the new file to check its text before asking again.
1. Check the updated source
The new note changes support to email and in-app. It leaves the approved launch date at November 19 and the export format at CSV. An ordinary folder is checked periodically, but use Refresh and the index status to confirm this update.
After Refresh, Wenlan shows four files and four memories. The new original changes support coverage and leaves the date unchanged. 2. Repeat the prompt in a new Claude conversation
Ask the same five questions with the corrected prompt. Do not paste the previous answer into the new conversation. Compare both answers and their citations with the source notes.
A separate Claude conversation reads the updated library: support is now email and in-app, while the approved date remains November 19.
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What the actual test returned
We ran this desktop-and-browser workflow on October 20, 2026 with Wenlan 0.19.2 and Claude Opus 5.5 Medium. Claude’s tool response contained the Cedar source text. Both conversations cited the relevant notes; the second had no earlier chat context.
This small test proves retrieval and the manually confirmed update for these files. It does not establish automatic wiki maintenance, PDF ingestion, Codex behavior, or an offline AI. Whole-library search also returned Atlas demo hits, which Claude excluded from its answer; a prompt is not an access boundary.
| Check | Three sources | After adding the update |
|---|---|---|
| Approved date | November 19 | November 19 |
| Support | Email only | Email and in-app |
| Reason / export | Security review / CSV | Security review / CSV |
| Missing price | Unknown | Unknown |
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Can I just use Claude Projects?
Yes. Put the three initial files in project knowledge and run the same source check. Replace or add the changed source before the second test. Wenlan does not automatically import private Projects uploads.
Check the current account limits and retrieval features in Anthropic’s guide. The Wenlan connector and Projects are different ways to provide source material.
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Advanced: use an Obsidian vault or a CLI client
For the Obsidian-only branch, open Manage vaults → Open folder as vault → Open and select the Cedar folder. No community plugin is needed to view the notes. Claude Code or Codex must be installed and signed in to read that folder through a terminal.
1. Open the same source notes in Obsidian
Open decision-2026-10-08 and check its approved date. Keep generated answers outside the vault. For the GUI route above, connect this vault through Wenlan’s Connect Obsidian vault; Wenlan then follows its changes in the background.
The same Cedar source decision in Obsidian 1.13.7; this is a source note, not an AI answer. 2. Use a terminal only if you prefer a coding client
Replace the path below, start Claude Code, and ask it to read only the source notes. For Codex, use codex instead of claude. This reads the folder directly; keep generated answers outside it.
Optional terminal commands — replace the folder path cd "/full/path/to/Cedar project" claude3. Import into a connected Wenlan client instead
As an alternative to direct folder reading, first configure the Wenlan connection linked below. Run these separate commands to check it and import the folder, then ask that client to use Wenlan recall.
Optional terminal — after Wenlan client setup wenlan status wenlan sources add "/full/path/to/Cedar project"
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File and privacy limits
Wenlan supports .md, .txt and text-extractable .pdf documents. Image-only or scanned PDFs need OCR. Directory Sources do not ingest arbitrary source-code files. Wenlan reads an Obsidian vault without rewriting its Markdown.
Local storage does not mean a local model. Review the source-sharing scope and the AI provider’s settings before using personal documents. Turn off Web access or remove the connected app when you no longer want it to query the library.
Keep your personal knowledge-base loop current
Add a few documents, ask one useful question, inspect its sources, then check a real update before bringing in your archive.
FAQ