VDC Management · AI Operating System

Tools.

The tools and surfaces that make up VDC's working environment, and the discipline that governs how they connect. The agent reads this before proposing any new tool, integration, or automation.

The shape

A small, deliberate stack. AI conversation lives in claude.ai. The AIOS lives in a private GitHub repo. Business documents live in Google Workspace. Active operating work lives in Trello. Nothing else gets added without a reason that earns it.

AI surfaces

claude.ai
primary AI surface · both owners

The conversational AI surface for both Bill and Peter. Used in browser or via the Claude desktop app, depending on the device. This is where the everyday work happens: drafting, thinking, planning, prepping for meetings, working through problems with the agent.

Both owners hold Claude Pro accounts. The Anthropic GitHub connector is configured inside each owner's account and points at the private AIOS repo so that every conversation in claude.ai loads VDC's foundational context automatically.

Claude Code
power-user surface · Peter

The terminal-based Claude environment. Used by Peter when he wants direct access to the AIOS repo on his own machine and a more developer-flavored loop. Bill does not need this surface; his work happens entirely in claude.ai.

When Peter uses Claude Code, he reads from a local clone of the same AIOS repo claude.ai connects to. There is one source of truth across both surfaces.


Source of truth and data layers

The private GitHub repo (AIOS)
single source of truth · admins: Bill, Peter

The private repo holds the AIOS itself: the foundational context files, the agent definitions, the skills the AIOS provides, and the engagement-related project material that should travel with the system.

Bill and Peter are admins. Natalee is a collaborator who pushes updates. Both owners can read the repo through the GitHub connector inside claude.ai without ever opening GitHub directly.

Google Workspace Business Standard
business documents · HIPAA-covered

The partnership's email, calendar, and document infrastructure. A Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is signed with Google, which makes Workspace a HIPAA-covered environment for A New Life patient and operational documents.

Operational documents, intake forms, billing, contracts, and any patient-related material live in Google Drive, never in GitHub. The AIOS repo holds context and methodology; Drive holds business data.


Operating systems already running

Trello
A New Life launch tracker · three sections

The active operating tracker for the A New Life launch. Three sections, none more, none fewer:

  • Critical Path. Items that gate opening day. Sacred — only launch-blockers belong here.
  • Hiring Pipeline. Open roles, candidates, stages, and next actions.
  • Build Punch List. Physical items at the facility (furniture, signage, internet, phones).

Each card carries an owner, a due date, and a status (green, yellow, red). The agent never proposes adding a fourth section, never recommends migrating to another tool, and never duplicates Trello content into the AIOS repo.

CoWork
Anthropic task-queue product · A New Life launch brief

Anthropic's task-queue product, used by Brian to hold the Launch Tracker hydration brief. The brief sits in the queue with an activation prompt that tells CoWork where to look and what to execute.

The agent treats CoWork as a running process, not as a surface to design new work in. New CoWork briefs are written deliberately and only when the work behind them has been run manually enough times to be stable.

The Replit-hosted executive dashboard
pre-existing · not modified by the AIOS

A custom executive dashboard hosted on Replit, built before the AIOS engagement. It exists alongside the rest of the stack. The AIOS does not rebuild, replace, or reach into it. The agent never proposes work that touches the dashboard.

DigitalOcean VM
Peter's exploratory infrastructure

A Linux virtual machine Peter operates on DigitalOcean for power-user exploration. Adjacent to the rest of the stack, not yet integrated with it. The agent treats this as Peter's personal sandbox and does not assume the rest of the stack runs through it.


The discipline that governs the stack

Three rules, installed during the Builder Immersion Session and inherited by every agent that operates inside VDC's environment.

  1. Stay in claude.ai during high-stakes operating periods. When a launch, an open enrollment, or any other time-bound event is in flight, the rule is no new tools, no new automations, no new accounts, no new connectors. The cost of learning a new surface during a critical period is too high; the agent honors that and never recommends adding tooling under those conditions.
  2. Run a process manually three times before automating it. Automating an unstable process locks in the chaos. The agent does not propose automation, scripting, or CoWork briefs for any process that has not been executed manually three times the same way.
  3. One inbox for decisions. Single source of truth, not several. If a question lives in multiple places (Trello, Drive, email, a sticky note), the agent surfaces the duplication rather than averaging across it. The fix is always to choose one home, not to read all of them.

The shape of the stack reflects this discipline directly. Every tool above earned its spot by being the single right place for the work it holds. The agent's default disposition toward any new tool, any new integration, or any new automation is no, until the case for it has been made by the work itself.


Verification placeholders

Items to confirm or correct directly with Bill or Peter as the engagement progresses.

Sources for this document