Dex by Dave — Your AI Chief of Staff

One personal Dex, built around your work. Keep your priorities, people, meeting notes and tasks in a folder you own. Work with Dex through your AI app to plan the day, prepare for a meeting or follow through on a promise. Your saved work stays with your vault when you change apps.

Start here or at heydex.ai. The Dex Guide walks through setup and everyday use; the steps below keep the same starting point in GitHub.

1. Choose your AI app

Your app	Route today
Claude Code, terminal or Code tab in the desktop app	Established full-vault route and reference for Dex's automatic session behavior. Use the install below, then open your Dex folder in Claude Code. Claude Code primer.
Cursor	Established full-vault setup for prompted skills and configured tools. Use the install below or the manual steps. Do not assume Claude Code's hooks run in Cursor.
Codex CLI/desktop and other new app integrations	Portable package files are distributed in v1.97.13. Complete supported install, workflow, update and removal journeys remain unverified. Developer preview and exact limits; no supported new-app install is promised here yet.

The AI app and the model it uses are separate choices. App subscriptions, usage limits and optional connected services have their own costs; check your provider before signing up.

2. Choose your vault

A vault is the folder containing your personal Dex notes and configuration.

Already use Dex? Open your existing folder in the app you already use. Keep your notes, profile and custom skills; changing apps is not a reason to create another vault or repeat onboarding. A new app must be granted access to that same folder before it can use your work.

Starting fresh? The established installer checks prerequisites and prepares Documents/Dex. Review its prompts before approving changes.

Quick install (Claude Code or Cursor)

Mac — Terminal:

curl -fsSL https://heydex.ai/install.sh | bash

Windows — Git Bash:

git clone --branch release --single-branch https://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git Dex
cd Dex
bash ./install.sh

Clone the official release, review install.sh, then run it from Git Bash in that folder. Git Bash comes with Git for Windows. Do not pipe a remote script into iex.

Then open the Dex folder in Claude Code or Cursor and say "hi". Dex guides you through your role and priorities. Installation help. If setup stops, keep the error message and use the help below; some prerequisites may already have been installed.

3. Get one useful result

Ask: "Plan my day from my priorities and tasks. Tell me which sources you can read."

In the established setup, /daily-plan guides that workflow. Start with the notes you have; calendar, email and meeting services are optional connections. Dex should name missing sources rather than imply it checked them. Review the proposed plan and ask where it was saved.

Next try "Brief me on this person from my notes" or "Help me capture the follow-up from this meeting." Available tools determine whether Dex can save the result. The released portable plugin alone provides read-only context, not the full task or meeting workflow.

How your app connects to Dex

Dex's bridge connects an app to the selected vault, exposes the tools it can use, and translates supported app events. Installing a plugin does not create a vault, connect accounts, start background jobs or prove that every workflow works in that app.

• Automatic: a configured and trusted app event runs the behavior.
• On demand: you ask for a registered tool or skill.
• Guided: Dex explains the steps that still need your participation.
• Unavailable: the installed surface cannot deliver that behavior.

These modes describe individual features, not whole apps. A package manifest or saved app selection is not proof of a successful session. See the surface and capability guide.

Privacy and control

Your notes live in your vault. That does not mean all processing stays on your computer: your AI app may send the context it reads to its model provider, and optional integrations contact their services. Grant access to the folder and services you intend to use; a local plugin does not grant a web app access to your files.

Dex's update service previews product changes and protects personal content through its ownership rules. Use the update and recovery guide. Review feedback before sending it under the configured consent policy; app permissions and diagnostic metadata do not establish who you are or authorize wider access.

This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗