claude-inner-dialog/docs/GETTING-STARTED.md

Getting Started

This guide walks you through setting up your AI therapist from scratch. No technical experience needed.

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Step 1: Get Claude Code

Claude Code is what lets your AI therapist read your profile, remember past sessions, and save notes. You need it before you can set up your therapist.

Option A: Claude Pro ($20/month, simplest)

1. Go to claude.ai and sign up for Claude Pro
2. Download Claude Code from claude.ai/code
3. Run the installer
4. Open Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows)
5. Type claude and press Enter
6. Sign in with your Claude account when prompted

Done! Move to Step 2.

Option B: Pay-per-use (no subscription)

1. Go to console.anthropic.com
2. Create an account and add a payment method
3. Click API Keys → Create new key
4. Copy the key (it starts with sk-ant-)
5. Download Claude Code from claude.ai/code
6. Run the installer
7. Open Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows)
8. Type claude and paste your API key when prompted

Typical cost: $5-20/month depending on how often you chat.

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Step 2: Download Inner Dialogue

Open Terminal (Mac) or PowerShell (Windows) and run these commands:

git clone https://github.com/ataglianetti/inner-dialogue.git
cd inner-dialogue

Don't have git? Go to the GitHub page, click the green "Code" button, choose "Download ZIP", and extract it somewhere you'll remember.

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Step 3: Run Setup

From the inner-dialogue folder, type:

claude

Your therapist is waiting. Say hello when you're ready.

Claude will guide you through setup by asking a few questions:

1. Therapist name — What to call your AI therapist (e.g., Sage, Willow, Quinn)
2. Communication style — Choose from 8 styles (Warm, Direct, Coach, and more)
3. Therapeutic approaches — Choose from 12 evidence-based approaches (CBT, ACT, DBT Skills, IFS, and more)
4. Storage location — Where to save your session files
5. Import history (optional) — Bring in notes from ChatGPT or other tools

Importing Existing Notes

If you've been using ChatGPT or other tools for therapy-like conversations, you can import that history.

Supported Formats

• ChatGPT exports — ZIP file from Settings → Data Controls → Export
• Markdown files — Any .md files (journal entries, notes, previous AI conversations)
• Text files — Plain .txt files
• PDF files — Will be read and processed

During Setup

1. When asked about importing, say yes
2. Provide the file path(s) to your export files
3. Your therapist processes the files during your first session

What Happens to Imported Files

Your therapist does two things with imported content:

1. Builds your profile — Key patterns, background, recurring themes, and important context get extracted into profile.md. This is read every session.

2. Creates session history — Conversations are converted to session files (sessions/YYYY-MM-DD.md) with their original dates. These become part of your session history.

How It Works Over Time

• Your profile (patterns, background) is always referenced
• Recent sessions are read at startup for continuity
• Older imported sessions naturally fade as new sessions accumulate
• Nothing is deleted—older context can still be referenced when relevant

This mirrors how memory works: core patterns stay present, recent details are fresh, older specifics are available but not top-of-mind.

Adding Context Later

After setup, you can still add to your history:

• Add notes directly to profile.md for persistent context
• Drop new files in sessions/ with appropriate dates
• Tell your therapist "I want to add some background" and share it in conversation

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Step 4: Start a Session

At the end of setup, Claude will ask if you want to start your first session. Say yes!

Future Sessions

Easiest way: Double-click the launcher script in your therapy folder:

• Mac/Linux: start-session.command
• Windows: start-session.bat

Tip: Drag this to your Dock (Mac) or taskbar (Windows) for one-click access.

Or use Terminal:

cd ~/Sage && claude

(Replace Sage with your therapist's name/folder)

During a Session

Just talk naturally. Say hello, share what's on your mind. Your AI therapist will:

• Welcome you or pick up where you left off
• Remember everything from previous sessions
• Save notes when you're done

To end a session, say goodbye or just close the window.

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Viewing Your Notes

Your sessions are saved as regular text files. You can open them with any text editor (TextEdit, Notepad, etc.).

For a nicer reading experience, try Obsidian (free):

1. Download Obsidian
2. Open your therapy folder as a "vault"
3. Browse sessions, search across notes, see connections between topics

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Troubleshooting

"command not found: claude" Make sure you installed Claude Code and restarted your terminal.

Claude doesn't seem like a therapist Make sure you're in your therapy folder before running claude. Check that CLAUDE.md exists in that folder.

Setup didn't start automatically Make sure you're in the inner-dialogue folder (not your therapy folder) when first running claude.

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Updating Your Therapist

Inner Dialogue periodically receives updates—improved safety protocols, refined therapeutic techniques, bug fixes. Here's how to get them:

Check for Updates

During any session, just say: "update my therapist" or "check for updates"

Your therapist will:

• Fetch the latest versions from GitHub
• Compare your installed versions with the latest
• Show what's changed
• Apply updates you approve

No need to keep the Inner Dialogue repo after setup—your therapist folder is self-contained and updates directly from GitHub.

What Gets Updated

Component	Updated?	Notes
Safety protocols	Yes (recommended)	Crisis resources, safety guidelines
Modalities	Yes	Therapeutic technique refinements
Session structures	Yes	Session flow improvements
Your profile.md	Never	Your personal data is untouched
Your sessions/	Never	Your session history is untouched
Your CLAUDE.md	Never	Your therapist's persona stays the same

Safety Protocol Updates

Always accept safety protocol updates. These contain crisis resources and guidelines that should never be stale. Claude will specifically recommend these updates.

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Migrating from an Older Version

If you set up your therapist before version 1.0.0 (the split-file architecture), you can migrate to the new format:

1. Open the inner-dialogue repo in Claude Code
2. Say: "migrate my existing therapist"
3. Claude will:
   • Read your existing CLAUDE.md to understand your setup
   • Create the new .therapy/ folder structure
   • Preserve all your sessions and profile data

Benefits of migrating:

• Smaller CLAUDE.md = faster session startup
• Independent component updates
• Better organized files

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Customizing After Setup

You can change your therapist's configuration anytime—just ask during a session. Your therapist knows where to find the source files.

Switch Communication Style

Say: "switch persona"

Choose from 8 styles including Warm 4o-Style, Direct & Challenging, Warm & Supportive, Coach, Grounded & Real, Contemplative & Spacious, Philosophical & Existential, and Creative & Playful.

This changes how your therapist communicates without affecting their memory of you.

Add or Remove Therapeutic Approaches

Say: "add modality" or "remove modality"

Choose from 12 evidence-based approaches: CBT, ACT, CFT, DBT Skills, IFS, Lifespan Integration, Motivational Interviewing, Narrative Therapy, Polyvagal-Informed Work, Psychodynamic, SFBT, and Somatic Experiencing.

Change Session Structure

Say: "change session structure"

Switch between Structured, Moderate, or Freeform session styles.

Self-Contained After Setup

After setup completes, your therapist folder is fully self-contained. You can safely delete the inner-dialogue repo if you want—all customization options are stored in your therapist's .therapy/library/ folder, and updates are fetched directly from GitHub.

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More Questions?

See the FAQ in the README for common questions about cost, privacy, and customization.