Free guide · Reel 55
An AI operating system sounds big. In practice it's one folder on your computer that Claude works in: a file that tells Claude how your business runs, a memory of decisions and notes, your connected tools, your skills, and a short review every night that suggests what to improve.
The system in the Reel is someone else's product. You don't need it. You can build your own version in an afternoon with Claude's desktop app or Claude Code, and it grows with every task you give it. Below are the setup prompt, the operating manual and the nightly review skill.
Owners who already use Claude for a few jobs and keep explaining the same things again: who the clients are, how they like things written, what was decided last week.
Our example: a two-person interior styling studio in York. Notes, client emails and call transcripts are scattered, and every new chat starts from zero.
One file, CLAUDE.md, that Claude reads first: what the business does, where things live and the house rules.
Plain files for the business, your voice, clients, decisions and a short daily log. Claude reads them instead of asking you again.
Email, calendar and documents through Claude's connectors, so the system can look things up and draft for you.
Your repeat jobs, written down once: the weekly report, replies to leads, proposals.
A scheduled task that reads the day's log and suggests fixes, new rules and costs to cut. It never changes anything without your OK.
Set up this folder as the AI operating system for my business. 1. Create these folders: about/, memory/, memory/log/, skills/, inbox/, reports/. 2. Create CLAUDE.md from the operating manual I paste below, and fill in the brackets with me. 3. Interview me, one question at a time, to write about/business.md (what we sell, to whom, prices, team, tools) and about/voice.md (how I write, words I use and avoid, two examples of my writing). 4. Create memory/clients.md and memory/decisions.md, empty but with a short header explaining what goes in each. Show me each file before you save it.
# Operating manual: [business name] ## Read first, every session - about/business.md: what the business does - about/voice.md: how I write - memory/decisions.md: what we've decided and why - The last 3 files in memory/log/ ## Where things live - memory/clients.md: one section per client (who, what they bought, preferences, open items) - inbox/: new notes, transcripts and files. When I say "file the inbox", move each item into the right memory file, then move it to inbox/done/ and list what you learned. - reports/: anything you produce for me to keep - skills/: my repeat jobs ## House rules - Before you send, publish, pay, book or delete anything: show me and wait for "approved". - If you don't know something, check memory first, then ask me. Never guess facts about clients, prices or dates. - Write in my voice from about/voice.md. ## End of every session Add 3 to 5 lines to today's file in memory/log/ (named by date, e.g. 2026-11-02.md): what we did, what I decided, what I corrected, and anything unfinished. If I made a decision that will matter later, also add it to memory/decisions.md.
--- name: nightly-review description: Reviews today's work in my AI operating system and suggests improvements to the manual, the skills and my costs. Use when I say "nightly review" or when it runs on a schedule. --- # Nightly review ## Step 1. Read Read today's file and the last 30 days of logs in memory/log/, plus anything still in inbox/. If there is no log for today, say so and stop. ## Step 2. Find improvements Look for: - Corrections I made more than once: suggest a new rule for CLAUDE.md or the right skill. - Jobs I asked for by hand two or more times this week: suggest a new skill, with a name and a one-line description. - Facts I had to repeat that aren't in memory: suggest where to save them. - Unfinished items: list them for tomorrow. - If Gmail is connected: receipts for subscriptions this month, and which of them I haven't mentioned in the logs of the last 30 days. Flag them as "check if still needed"; never cancel anything. ## Step 3. Write the review Save it as reports/review-[date].md: at most 7 numbered suggestions, each with what to change, where, and why in one line. Then the unfinished list. ## Step 4. Wait Never change CLAUDE.md, a skill or a memory file during the review. When I write "apply 1 and 3", make those changes and show me what changed.
The nightly review can only learn from what was written down. The end-of-session rule in the manual is what makes the system improve.
A system that rewrites its own rules overnight drifts. Keep the "apply 1 and 3" step, so every change goes through you.
Start with the manual, two memory files and one skill. Add a piece only when you notice yourself repeating something.
Make Claude write the daily log, not you.
The rule at the bottom of the manual asks Claude to write it at the end of each session. If it forgets, just say "update the log".
Next step
Your system has a home and a memory. Next, give it a proper "about me" file so every answer starts from your business, not from zero.