A total synthesis of the tripeptide alkaloid (−)‐chaetominine (1) was achieved in 9.3 % overall yield starting from commercially available D‐tryptophan methyl ester, based on a short and straightforward (nine steps) sequence. The early stage introduction (first step) of the quinazolinone moiety and the late stage introduction (penultimate step) of the hydroxy group allowed a synthetic strategy devoid