The Second Brain
From Chaos to Clarity
Stop organizing, start working. A complete guide to building a personal AI operating system that captures, organizes, and retrieves your digital life using Slack, Notion, and Python.
Guide Modules
Before You Begin
The tools and accounts you need before starting. Docker, GitHub, and your AI coding assistant.
The Concept: What is an Agent?
Moving beyond "Chatbots" to "Agents." Understanding the difference between a tool that answers questions and a system that does work.
The Architecture
A high-level look at how the pieces fit together. Slack as the mouth, Gemini as the brain, Notion as the memory.
The Interface (Slack)
Setting up your private Slack workspace and creating the App that will listen to your commands.
The Database (Notion)
Setting up the Notion databases and—crucially—sharing them with your integration so the API can see them.
The AI Interface (OpenRouter)
Setting up your AI provider. Using OpenRouter with Gemini 2.5 Flash for intelligent routing—or running a local LLM if you prefer.
The Brain (Building It)
Using your AI IDE to generate the Python application. The prompts that create your Second Brain.
Refining & Troubleshooting
When things break, how to fix them—and how to use AI to debug AI-generated code.
What You'll Build
- ✓Understand the "Agentic" architecture behind a Second Brain
- ✓Deploy a private Python/Docker app that acts as your central intelligence
- ✓Connect Slack as your capture interface and Notion as your long-term memory
- ✓Automate the categorization and routing of your thoughts and tasks