Memory outside the context window
Agents read and write an external markdown index instead of relying on what fits in a context window. Context survives between sessions because it is a file, not a conversation.
Personal agent system · 2026 · runs daily
A second brain that agents read and write.
My own operating system: a markdown vault as long-term memory, MCP servers for calendar, mail and files, and agents that read the index at the start of every session and write back what they learned. A morning briefing is composed before I sit down.
Agents read and write an external markdown index instead of relying on what fits in a context window. Context survives between sessions because it is a file, not a conversation.
Calendar, mail, the filesystem and research are exposed as MCP tools, so an agent can check the schedule before it suggests a deadline instead of asking me.
Personal system. The vault itself stays private.
Next case studyUniOneA student's whole semester, on one screen.josh.botha@outlook.com · I read every email
---
title: "JoshOS · Josh Botha"
description: "A second brain that agents read and write. My own operating system: a markdown vault as long-term memory, MCP servers for calendar, mail and files, and agents that read the index at the start of every session and write back what they learned. A morning briefing is composed before I sit down."
url: https://www.botha.solutions/work/joshos
updated: 2026-10-05
generated: true
---
> Markdown twin of https://www.botha.solutions/work/joshos
>
> Built from the same data as the page at build time, so the facts match. Navigation, animation and the island's visuals are left out.
# JoshOS
Personal agent system · 2026 · runs daily
**A second brain that agents read and write.**
My own operating system: a markdown vault as long-term memory, MCP servers for calendar, mail and files, and agents that read the index at the start of every session and write back what they learned. A morning briefing is composed before I sit down.
- 1: index injected into every session
- Daily: briefing: calendar, deadlines, markets, news
- 0: times I re-explain context
- MCP: calendar, mail, files and research as tools
Stack: Claude Code, MCP, Obsidian, Scheduled agents
**Memory outside the context window.** Agents read and write an external markdown index instead of relying on what fits in a context window. Context survives between sessions because it is a file, not a conversation.
**Tools, not copy and paste.** Calendar, mail, the filesystem and research are exposed as MCP tools, so an agent can check the schedule before it suggests a deadline instead of asking me.
_Personal system. The vault itself stays private._
Case study: https://www.botha.solutions/work/joshos
## For agents
```json
{
"contact": {
"type": "email",
"address": "josh.botha@outlook.com",
"note": "Josh is happy at Project2100 and not job hunting, but reads every email"
},
"profiles": {
"linkedin": "https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-botha-88139b368",
"github": "https://github.com/josh-botha"
},
"cv": "https://www.botha.solutions/about",
"play": {
"url": "https://www.botha.solutions/play",
"note": "the same content as a walkable three.js island; needs WebGL"
},
"index": "https://www.botha.solutions/llms.txt"
}
```
## Limits
The same caveats close every page, so a quote lifted from one keeps them.
- **Product sketches on this site use demo data** and say so where they appear. The headline numbers in case studies (for example 8,112 wage rows, ~40 sites, TestFlight build 43) are real production figures; client and property names are withheld.
- **Website images are captures** of the live sites taken on 4 Oct 2026, not live frames.
- **Pip is scripted.** The site's guide is a keyword router with no model behind it and makes no network calls.
- **Model status means exactly what it says.** "Ships in production" and "Daily driver" describe work Josh has shipped; "Know where it fits" means he knows the model's strengths, not that he has deployed it.
- The Second Brain is partly built: three of seventeen increments are shipped; the rest is design and is labelled as design.
- The site carries no testimonials, client logos, pricing or certifications beyond the courses listed on the CV.