Obsidian is a free note-taking app that stores text as Markdown files locally on your own device and connects them into a searchable knowledge network via links. This guide shows concretely how to create your first vault, how templates and plugins work, and what Obsidian ultimately costs. The date above marks the last revision.
What a vault is and why it matters
A vault is technically nothing more than a normal folder full of .md files – no proprietary database, no cloud requirement. Every file can be opened with a plain text editor and stays readable for decades, regardless of whether Obsidian still exists in ten years. The software has been developed since 2020 by Dynalist Inc., led since 2023 by CEO Steph Ango, and runs natively on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. There is deliberately no official web version, since the local-first approach is central to the concept.
Creating a vault and linking your first note
After installation, Obsidian shows a start screen with a “Create new vault” option: set a name and location, done – no account required. In your first note, it is enough to put a term in double square brackets, such as [[Project idea]]: Obsidian automatically creates the target note if it does not exist yet and records the reference in both directions. The backlinks panel then automatically shows which other notes point to a given note. The graph view visualizes this network as an interactive point cloud and surfaces topic clusters that would stay hidden in a plain folder structure – a principle that echoes the analog Zettelkasten method, where knowledge grows through linking rather than categorization.
Structure without compulsion: folders, tags, or maps of content
The most common beginner mistake is building a perfect folder hierarchy from day one – that gets in the way of the free linking that makes Obsidian powerful. It works better to simply write and link at first and let structure emerge afterward. The concept of Maps of Content (MOCs) has proven effective: one overview note per topic that links out to the relevant individual notes instead of forcing them into fixed folders. Tags work well as a complement for cross-cutting attributes like status or note type, such as #draft or #booknote, while folders remain useful mainly for broad categories like “Archive” or “Templates.”
Setting up templates and daily notes
The core “Templates” plugin lets you build a template once and insert it again via command: in settings under “Templates,” enter the name of a template folder, create a Markdown file there with placeholders like {{date}} or {{time}}, then run “Templates: Insert template” from the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P). Anyone who needs more dynamism reaches for the community plugin Templater: it supports function calls like tp.date.now(“YYYY-MM-DD”, 1) for tomorrow’s date, enabling templates that recalculate every time they are used. Paired with the core “Daily notes” plugin, a note for the current day is created at the push of a button – a solid fixed entry point for journaling or task lists.
Installing community plugins – step by step
Community plugins are disabled by default and must be explicitly turned on: open settings, click “Turn on community plugins” under “Community plugins,” then select “Browse,” search for a plugin, click “Install,” and then “Enable.” For getting started, Dataview – which builds searchable tables and lists from note properties – and Templater for dynamic templates are both worthwhile. Because a buggy plugin can corrupt data and a malicious one could even steal it, it is worth sticking to established, widely used plugins, keeping regular backups, and avoiding third-party plugins entirely in particularly sensitive vaults.
Keyboard shortcuts for everyday use
These standard shortcuts (Windows/Linux; swap Ctrl for Cmd on Mac) save the most time day to day:
| Action | Shortcut |
|---|---|
| Quick switcher (open note) | Ctrl + O |
| Command palette | Ctrl + P |
| New note | Ctrl + N |
| Search entire vault | Ctrl + Shift + F |
| Toggle edit/read mode | Ctrl + E |
| Open graph view | Ctrl + G |
| Navigate back/forward | Ctrl + Alt + Arrow keys |
Setting up AI extensions in practice
AI features also run as community plugins and install through the same browse dialog. Smart Connections searches the vault semantically – by meaning rather than exact keywords – and runs entirely locally, so no data leaves the device. Copilot for Obsidian adds a chat feature (“Vault QA”) that lets you ask natural-language questions against your own notes; it can connect to a cloud model like OpenAI or Claude via an API key, or run a local model through Ollama instead. For sensitive notes, the local option is the more privacy-friendly choice, since no content is sent to an external provider.
Cost overview
The core application stays permanently free, even for commercial use. Only optional add-on services cost money:
| Service | Price | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Core application | free | All basic features, private and commercial |
| Obsidian Sync | from 4 USD/month (billed annually) | End-to-end encrypted sync between devices, including version history |
| Obsidian Publish | from 8 USD/month (billed annually) | Publish notes as a public website or digital garden |
| Commercial License | 50 USD per user/year | Optional license to support development |
Anyone who skips both Sync and Publish can still sync vaults manually through their own cloud storage, such as Dropbox or iCloud, or version them with Git.
The biggest difference from Notion or Evernote is not price but storage location: Obsidian keeps data locally in open files, while cloud-based alternatives manage content in a proprietary format on someone else’s servers. That makes Obsidian more independent of its vendor, but it also puts more responsibility for backup and syncing on the user.
