THE FIRM DIRECTORY FOR OBSIDIAN
READ ME FIRST

1. Put this folder inside your encrypted container, your Vault, before you fill anything in. Its notes are plain text; the container is what protects them.

2. Open it in Obsidian: choose Manage Vaults..., then Open folder as vault, and pick this folder. Leave Restricted mode on and File recovery and Sync off; add no plugins.

3. Open "Start Here" and follow the checklist.

One word to know: Obsidian calls any folder of notes a "vault." That is not the Vault of the FIRM System, your encrypted, family-controlled container for secrets.

The Family Guide half of each note is what a trusted person may read. Copy only from the Family Guide heading down into a new file, read the copy before it leaves the container, and share that copy; this folder itself stays inside.

Every device that opens this folder needs whole-device encryption turned on (the book's first layer in the Encryption Module); close Obsidian, then the container, when you are done.

A sync service keeps its own copy of any folder it watches: never put this folder in one; only the Family Guide copy may go there.

One rule about AI tools: only ever give an AI tool the blank template. Never paste your real information into an AI tool, an online service, or anywhere outside your own Vault. That includes an assistant built into the device or browser that can read your screen or files: keep it off while the container is open.

This is The FIRM Directory for Obsidian, version 2.0.0, built from the thefirmguide.com templates (685f87e 2026-08-30).
