by davekilleen
Your AI Chief of Staff — a personal operating system starter kit that adapts to your role. No coding required.
# Add to your Claude Code skills
git clone https://github.com/davekilleen/DexLast scanned: 5/24/2026
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A personal operating system powered by Claude. Strategic work management, meeting intelligence, relationship tracking, daily planning — all configured for your specific role. No coding required.
Companion to Episode 8 of The Vibe PM Podcast and the full blog post.
Total time: ~10 minutes. Three steps: install tools → get the code → tell it your role.
Pick one of these to get started:
| Option | Cost | What It Is | |--------|------|------------| | Cursor | Free tier works, or $20/month for Pro | An app with a built-in AI assistant (Claude). No separate Claude account needed. | | Claude Code Desktop | Claude Pro $20/month | Anthropic's own app. Better experience — guaranteed self-learning hooks, automatic context loading. | | Claude Code Terminal | Claude Pro $20/month | Same as Desktop but runs in Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows). |
You do NOT go to claude.ai and type commands. You need one of the apps above. Cursor is the easiest starting point. Claude Code (Desktop or Terminal) gives you a better experience with self-learning hooks — setup instructions for those are further down this page.
Not sure which? Start with Cursor — it's free and gets you running in minutes. You can add or switch to Claude Code later.
All installers walk you through setup with default options.
Why Python 3.10+? The MCP SDK (Model Context Protocol) requires Python 3.10 or newer. This powers the Work MCP server that enables task sync - when you check off a task in a meeting note, it updates everywhere automatically (person pages, project files, Tasks.md).
Mac users: If this is your first time using command-line tools, macOS will prompt you to install "Command Line Developer Tools" during setup. Click Install when prompted - it's safe and required. Takes 2-3 minutes.
You'll use something called a "command line" (or "Terminal" on Mac, "PowerShell" on Windows) during setup. This is a text-based way to give your computer instructions - think of it as typing commands instead of clicking buttons.
Don't worry if this feels unfamiliar. You'll copy and paste a few commands, press Enter, and you're done. Takes less than 2 minutes.
Want to verify everything's ready? Open your command line:
Cmd+Space, type "Terminal", press EnterWin+R, type "powershell", press EnterCopy and paste this line exactly as you see it, then press Enter:
git --version
You should see a response like: git version 2.x.x (any version number is fine)
If you see "command not found": Download Git from git-scm.com, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.
Now copy and paste this line, then press Enter:
node --version
You should see a response like: v18.x.x or v20.x.x (must be version 18 or higher)
If you see "command not found": Download Node.js from nodejs.org, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.
Finally, check Python:
python3 --version
Windows users: Try python --version if python3 doesn't work.
You should see a response like: Python 3.10.x or higher (3.11, 3.12, etc.)
If you see Python 3.9 or older: The MCP SDK requires Python 3.10+. Download and install a newer version:
If you see "command not found":
Why Python 3.10+ matters: It powers the MCP servers that sync tasks everywhere. Check off a task in a meeting note → it updates in your Tasks.md, person pages, and project files automatically. Python 3.9 and older won't work - you need 3.10 or newer.
That's the technical heavy lifting done. If you got through that, the rest is straightforward - just clicking buttons and answering questions.
Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) - this opens a search bar at the tophttps://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git
Can't get this working? No problem:
dex-main)dex-main folderInside Cursor, you'll see a panel at the bottom (or go to View → Terminal). This is where you'll type commands.
Copy and paste this command and press Enter:
./install.sh
What's happening: This installs the automation that makes Dex work (task sync, career tracking, meeting intelligence). Takes 1-2 minutes. You'll see text scrolling - that's normal.
When it's done: You'll see your cursor blinking again, ready for the next command.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: You're not done yet. Complete Steps 2B and 3 to finish setup.
Verify MCP servers: Cursor should automatically detect .mcp.json and enable the MCP servers. Look for the MCP icon in Cursor's bottom panel - you should see server names with green checkmarks.
If you see errors: The most common issue is Python dependencies. First upgrade pip, then install packages:
python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip3 install --user "mcp>=1.0.0,<2.0.0" pyyaml python-dateutil
Then restart Cursor.
If you use Google Calendar, you can have Dex show your real meetings when you run /daily-plan or ask "what's on my calendar today?" Two steps, one-time setup (Mac only):
Step 1 — Add Google to your Mac's Calendar app
Open the Calendar app (the one that came with your Mac). In the menu bar, click Calendar → Add Account… → choose Google → sign in with your Google account. Your Google events will sync into Calendar. Dex reads from this app, so once Google is here, Dex sees your meetings.
Step 2 — Let Cursor use your calendar
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Calendars. Turn Cursor on, then click Cursor and choose Full access (not "Add Only") so Dex can read your events. If macOS pops up asking "Cursor would like to access your calendars", click Allow.
That's it. The installer already set up the rest on Mac. Your meetings—including recurring ones like weekly 1:1s—will show on the correct days in Dex.
More detail and troubleshooting: Calendar_Setup.md (in your vault after setup).
On Windows? Calendar connection is supported on Mac via Apple Calendar. We don't have Windows instructions in this repo yet.
⚠️ IMPORTANT: Complete Step 3 now to configure your role - this is what makes Dex work.
If you see a popup asking to install "Command Line Developer Tools":
This only happens once. Future updates won't need this.
What if I accidentally clicked "Cancel"?
Run this command, then run ./install.sh again:
xcode-select --install
This means Python wasn't added to your PATH during installation.
Fix:
./install.sh againGit for Windows isn't installed.
Fix: