Dex by Dave — Your AI Chief of Staff

A personal operating system powered by Claude. Strategic work management, meeting intelligence, relationship tracking, daily planning — all configured for your specific role. No coding required.

Companion to Episode 8 of The Vibe PM Podcast and the full blog post.

Setup Overview

Total time: ~10 minutes. Three steps: install tools → get the code → tell it your role.

Pick one of these to get started:

| Option | Cost | What It Is | |--------|------|------------| | Cursor | Free tier works, or $20/month for Pro | An app with a built-in AI assistant (Claude). No separate Claude account needed. | | Claude Code Desktop | Claude Pro $20/month | Anthropic's own app. Better experience — guaranteed self-learning hooks, automatic context loading. | | Claude Code Terminal | Claude Pro $20/month | Same as Desktop but runs in Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows). |

You do NOT go to claude.ai and type commands. You need one of the apps above. Cursor is the easiest starting point. Claude Code (Desktop or Terminal) gives you a better experience with self-learning hooks — setup instructions for those are further down this page.

Not sure which? Start with Cursor — it's free and gets you running in minutes. You can add or switch to Claude Code later.

Getting Started

What You'll Need to Install (One-Time)

Cursor - Download and install (free account works fine)
Git - Required for setup and updates
- Mac: Installs automatically when needed (you'll see a prompt)
- Windows: Download from git-scm.com/download/win
Node.js - Download the "LTS" version and install (this enables the system's automation features)
Python 3.10+ - Download and install (required for MCP servers and task sync)
- Minimum version: Python 3.10 or newer
- Windows users: ⚠️ During installation, check the box "Add Python to PATH" - this is critical
- Mac users with old Python: If you have Python 3.9 or older, download fresh from python.org

All installers walk you through setup with default options.

Why Python 3.10+? The MCP SDK (Model Context Protocol) requires Python 3.10 or newer. This powers the Work MCP server that enables task sync - when you check off a task in a meeting note, it updates everywhere automatically (person pages, project files, Tasks.md).

Mac users: If this is your first time using command-line tools, macOS will prompt you to install "Command Line Developer Tools" during setup. Click Install when prompted - it's safe and required. Takes 2-3 minutes.

About the Command Line

You'll use something called a "command line" (or "Terminal" on Mac, "PowerShell" on Windows) during setup. This is a text-based way to give your computer instructions - think of it as typing commands instead of clicking buttons.

Don't worry if this feels unfamiliar. You'll copy and paste a few commands, press Enter, and you're done. Takes less than 2 minutes.

Check Your Setup (Optional)

Want to verify everything's ready? Open your command line:

Mac: Press Cmd+Space, type "Terminal", press Enter
Windows: Press Win+R, type "powershell", press Enter

Copy and paste this line exactly as you see it, then press Enter:

git --version

You should see a response like: git version 2.x.x (any version number is fine)

If you see "command not found": Download Git from git-scm.com, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.

Now copy and paste this line, then press Enter:

node --version

You should see a response like: v18.x.x or v20.x.x (must be version 18 or higher)

If you see "command not found": Download Node.js from nodejs.org, install it, then close and reopen your command line and try again.

Finally, check Python:

python3 --version

Windows users: Try python --version if python3 doesn't work.

You should see a response like: Python 3.10.x or higher (3.11, 3.12, etc.)

If you see Python 3.9 or older: The MCP SDK requires Python 3.10+. Download and install a newer version:

Mac/Windows: Download from python.org (get the latest stable version)
After installing, restart your terminal and check the version again

If you see "command not found":

Windows: Python likely isn't in your PATH. Reinstall from python.org and check "Add Python to PATH" during installation. Restart your terminal after.
Mac: Download Python from python.org, install it, then restart your terminal.

Why Python 3.10+ matters: It powers the MCP servers that sync tasks everywhere. Check off a task in a meeting note → it updates in your Tasks.md, person pages, and project files automatically. Python 3.9 and older won't work - you need 3.10 or newer.

That's the technical heavy lifting done. If you got through that, the rest is straightforward - just clicking buttons and answering questions.

Step 1: Get the Code into Cursor

Open Cursor
Press Cmd+Shift+P (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows) - this opens a search bar at the top
Type "Git: Clone" and press Enter
Paste this URL and press Enter:
```
https://github.com/davekilleen/dex.git
```
Choose where to save it (your Documents folder works great)
Click Open when Cursor asks if you want to open the folder

Can't get this working? No problem:

Go to github.com/davekilleen/dex
Click the green Code button → Download ZIP
Unzip to your Documents folder (the folder will be named dex-main)
In Cursor: File → Open Folder → select that dex-main folder

Step 2: Run the Installer

Inside Cursor, you'll see a panel at the bottom (or go to View → Terminal). This is where you'll type commands.

Copy and paste this command and press Enter:

./install.sh

What's happening: This installs the automation that makes Dex work (task sync, career tracking, meeting intelligence). Takes 1-2 minutes. You'll see text scrolling - that's normal.

When it's done: You'll see your cursor blinking again, ready for the next command.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: You're not done yet. Complete Steps 2B and 3 to finish setup.

Verify MCP servers: Cursor should automatically detect .mcp.json and enable the MCP servers. Look for the MCP icon in Cursor's bottom panel - you should see server names with green checkmarks.

If you see errors: The most common issue is Python dependencies. First upgrade pip, then install packages:

python3 -m pip install --upgrade pip
pip3 install --user "mcp>=1.0.0,<2.0.0" pyyaml python-dateutil

Then restart Cursor.

<details> <summary><strong>Use Google Calendar? Connect it so Dex shows your meetings (Mac)</strong></summary>

If you use Google Calendar, you can have Dex show your real meetings when you run /daily-plan or ask "what's on my calendar today?" Two steps, one-time setup (Mac only):

Step 1 — Add Google to your Mac's Calendar app
Open the Calendar app (the one that came with your Mac). In the menu bar, click Calendar → Add Account… → choose Google → sign in with your Google account. Your Google events will sync into Calendar. Dex reads from this app, so once Google is here, Dex sees your meetings.

Step 2 — Let Cursor use your calendar
Open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Calendars. Turn Cursor on, then click Cursor and choose Full access (not "Add Only") so Dex can read your events. If macOS pops up asking "Cursor would like to access your calendars", click Allow.

That's it. The installer already set up the rest on Mac. Your meetings—including recurring ones like weekly 1:1s—will show on the correct days in Dex.

More detail and troubleshooting: Calendar_Setup.md (in your vault after setup).
On Windows? Calendar connection is supported on Mac via Apple Calendar. We don't have Windows instructions in this repo yet.

</details>

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Complete Step 3 now to configure your role - this is what makes Dex work.

<details> <summary><strong>Troubleshooting: Common Setup Issues</strong></summary>

Mac: "Command Line Developer Tools" prompt

If you see a popup asking to install "Command Line Developer Tools":

Click Install - This is safe and necessary for git to work
Wait 2-3 minutes - The installer downloads and installs automatically
Setup continues automatically - Once tools are installed, the script resumes

This only happens once. Future updates won't need this.

What if I accidentally clicked "Cancel"?

Run this command, then run ./install.sh again:

xcode-select --install

Windows: "python is not recognized" or "pip is not recognized"

This means Python wasn't added to your PATH during installation.

Fix:

Uninstall Python (Control Panel → Programs)
Download fresh installer from python.org
Run installer
⚠️ CHECK THE BOX: "Add Python to PATH" (on first screen)
Complete installation
Restart your terminal completely (close and reopen)
Run ./install.sh again

Windows: "git is not recognized"

Git for Windows isn't installed.