Rank #6 of 6 in Notes & Knowledge Bases
Access
Install
npm install obsidian
vs Logseq
vs Anytype
vs Capacities
vs Reflect
vs PolyShowcase
Try itExperimental
See what an agent can do with Obsidian before you ever sign up. Pick a story: recorded sessions replay real probe-harness transcripts; sandboxed self-drive sessions are designed and gated (docs/TRY-IT.md).
$curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/master/community-plugins.json | python3 -c 'import json,sys; print("PA_PROBE_OK obsidian community plugins:", len(json.load(sys.stdin)))'recorded session — replayed, not liveVerified integrations
Connections to other tracked products — hover a chip for the verbatim evidence quote behind it.
By theme — the product's score on each story themeBy theme
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticnessevidence →
How well agents can access and operate the product
Ai in notes — stories about ai in notes in this arenaAi in notesevidence →
Stories about ai in notes in this arena
Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depthevidence →
How much of the product can run unattended
Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editingevidence →
Stories about capture editing in this arena
Import export — stories about import export in this arenaImport exportevidence →
Stories about import export in this arena
Linking graph — stories about linking graph in this arenaLinking graphevidence →
Stories about linking graph in this arena
Local first ownership — stories about local first ownership in this arenaLocal first ownershipevidence →
Stories about local first ownership in this arena
Mobile capture — stories about mobile capture in this arenaMobile captureevidence →
Stories about mobile capture in this arena
Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpennessevidence →
Open source, data portability, and self-hosting stories
Organization retrieval — stories about organization retrieval in this arenaOrganization retrievalevidence →
Stories about organization retrieval in this arena
Plugins extensibility — stories about plugins extensibility in this arenaPlugins extensibilityevidence →
Stories about plugins extensibility in this arena
Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy postureevidence →
Data-handling and privacy stories
Publish sharing — stories about publish sharing in this arenaPublish sharingevidence →
Stories about publish sharing in this arena
Sync collaboration — stories about sync collaboration in this arenaSync collaborationevidence →
Stories about sync collaboration in this arena
Story verdicts — every judged story with its evidenceStory verdicts
What’s free: 1 free · 1 paid · 0 enterprise · 29 not stated in evidence
Follow the green: where the map greys out is where Obsidian stops today. ✓ full · ~ partial · ! disputed · — none · n/a not applicable.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness
How well agents can access and operate the product
API surface
Drive the product through a documented public API
~6/10
unlocks → Webhooks · Scoped API keys · MCP server · Machine-readable spec · Versioning policy · API sandbox · Official CLI · Headless / CI
Subscribe to events via webhooks
—0/10
Build against official SDKs
~6/10
Issue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agent
—0/10
Connect an agent via an official MCP server
—0/10
Download a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent)
—0/10
Rely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy
—–
Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data
!3/10
Explore an interactive API reference with runnable examples
—–
Docs for agents
Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs
—–
Agentic features
Delegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product
—0/10
Operate the product with natural-language commands
—0/10
Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools
~3/10
Get AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product
—0/10
Set up automations that run autonomously in the background
—0/10
Ai in notes — stories about ai in notes in this arenaAi in notes
Stories about ai in notes in this arena
Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth
How much of the product can run unattended
Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editing
Stories about capture editing in this arena
Import export — stories about import export in this arenaImport export
Stories about import export in this arena
Linking graph — stories about linking graph in this arenaLinking graph
Stories about linking graph in this arena
Local first ownership — stories about local first ownership in this arenaLocal first ownership
Stories about local first ownership in this arena
Mobile capture — stories about mobile capture in this arenaMobile capture
Stories about mobile capture in this arena
Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness
Open source, data portability, and self-hosting stories
Organization retrieval — stories about organization retrieval in this arenaOrganization retrieval
Stories about organization retrieval in this arena
Attach typed properties and tags to notes and use them consistently for organization and retrieval
~5/10
Query my notes by their structured properties and render live database-style views (tables, boards, lists) from those queries
~7/10
Instantly search all my notes with full-text search plus filters on tags, properties, and paths — including offline
~4/10
Plugins extensibility — stories about plugins extensibility in this arenaPlugins extensibility
Stories about plugins extensibility in this arena
Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture
Data-handling and privacy stories
Publish sharing — stories about publish sharing in this arenaPublish sharing
Stories about publish sharing in this arena
Sync collaboration — stories about sync collaboration in this arenaSync collaboration
Stories about sync collaboration in this arena
Sorted by importance (agentic first) (high → low) · 55/55 stories · click a row’s chevron for the rationale and evidence
Drive the product through a documented public API G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 3 | partial | 6/10 | Tprobed | |
Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 3 | partial | 3/10 | Tprobed | |
Connect an agent via an official MCP server G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 3 | none | 0/10 | ||
Delegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product G Agentic features | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 3 | none | 0/10 | ||
Build against official SDKs G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | partial | 6/10 | Tprobed | |
Run the product headlessly / in CI for automation G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | disputed | 4/10 | Dcontradicted | |
Download a machine-readable API spec (OpenAPI or equivalent) G Api quality | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Get AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product G Agentic features | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Issue scoped/least-privilege API credentials for an agent G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Operate the product with natural-language commands G Agentic features | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Set up automations that run autonomously in the background G Agentic features | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Subscribe to events via webhooks G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Use an official CLI G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Explore an interactive API reference with runnable examples G Api quality | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | untested | none yet | |
Point an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs G Agent access | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | untested | none yet | |
Rely on versioned APIs with a documented deprecation policy G Api quality | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 2 | none | untested | none yet | |
Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data G Api quality | ai-native user | Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productAgenticness | 1 | disputed | 3/10 | Dcontradicted | |
Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't ship C Plugins | power-user | Plugins extensibility — stories about plugins extensibility in this arenaPlugins extensibility | 3 | full | 9/10 | Tprobed | |
Export all of my data in open formats and leave G | ai-native user | Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness | 3 | full | 9/10 | Xcommunity | |
My notes live in local files or a local-first store that I own and can read without the app, and everything keeps working fully offline C Ownership | power-user | Local first ownership — stories about local first ownership in this arenaLocal first ownership | 3 | full | 9/10 | Xcommunity | |
An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't read C Sync | power-user | Sync collaboration — stories about sync collaboration in this arenaSync collaboration | 3 | full | 8/10 | Xcommunity | |
I get an automatic daily note for each day, pre-filled from a template, as the default landing place for journaling and capture C Daily notes | power-user | Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editing | 3 | full | 8/10 | Xcommunity | |
Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preserved C Migration | switcher | Import export — stories about import export in this arenaImport export | 3 | full | 8/10 | Xcommunity | |
Link notes with [[wiki-style]] links and see every backlink and unlinked mention of a note in context C Links | researcher | Linking graph — stories about linking graph in this arenaLinking graph | 3 | full | 8/10 | Xcommunity | |
Query my notes by their structured properties and render live database-style views (tables, boards, lists) from those queries C Queries | power-user | Organization retrieval — stories about organization retrieval in this arenaOrganization retrieval | 3 | partial | 7/10 | Xcommunity | |
Prevent my data from being used to train AI models G | ai-native user | Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture | 3 | partial | 6/10 | Xcommunity | |
Instantly search all my notes with full-text search plus filters on tags, properties, and paths — including offline C Search | researcher | Organization retrieval — stories about organization retrieval in this arenaOrganization retrieval | 3 | partial | 4/10 | Cclaimed | |
My coding agent or assistant can read AND write my notes headlessly — through a documented local API, vendor API, or MCP server — without me touching the GUI C Agent ops | ai-native user | Ai in notes — stories about ai in notes in this arenaAi in notes | 3 | partial | 4/10 | Tprobed | |
Define rules that trigger actions automatically on events G | ai-native user | Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth | 3 | none | 0/10 | ||
Self-host the core product G | ai-native user | Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness | 3 | none | 0/10 | ||
Clip web pages, articles, and highlights from my browser straight into my notes with an official clipper or capture flow C Capture | researcher | Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editing | 2 | fullfree | 9/10 | Cclaimed | |
Export my entire knowledge base at any time in open formats, so leaving is as easy as arriving C Migration | switcher | Import export — stories about import export in this arenaImport export | 2 | full | 9/10 | Xcommunity | |
My notes are stored or exportable in open, documented formats (Markdown, JSON) so my archive outlives the vendor C Ownership | researcher | Local first ownership — stories about local first ownership in this arenaLocal first ownership | 2 | full | 9/10 | Xcommunity | |
Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docs C Plugins | developer | Plugins extensibility — stories about plugins extensibility in this arenaPlugins extensibility | 2 | full | 8/10 | Tprobed | |
Define reusable templates (with variables like date and title) and apply them when creating recurring kinds of notes C Editor | power-user | Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editing | 2 | full | 8/10 | Cclaimed | |
Publish selected notes as a browsable website — a digital garden with working links — without leaving the app C Publish | researcher | Publish sharing — stories about publish sharing in this arenaPublish sharing | 2 | full | 8/10 | Cclaimed | |
Run the whole system without the vendor's cloud — local-only mode or a self-hosted sync backend I operate myself C Self host | developer | Local first ownership — stories about local first ownership in this arenaLocal first ownership | 2 | partial | 7/10 | Xcommunity | |
Control data retention and deletion G | ai-native user | Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture | 2 | partial | 6/10 | Cclaimed | |
Drive the app from outside — create or open notes via a URI scheme, deep links, or a local endpoint — to wire it into my scripts and workflows C Automation hooks | developer | Plugins extensibility — stories about plugins extensibility in this arenaPlugins extensibility | 2 | partial | 6/10 | Tprobed | |
Full-featured iOS and Android apps give me my whole knowledge base — capture, search, and linking — not a stripped-down companion C Mobile | power-user | Mobile capture — stories about mobile capture in this arenaMobile capture | 2 | partial | 6/10 | Xcommunity | |
View a note's version history and restore earlier versions or recover deleted notes C Sync | power-user | Sync collaboration — stories about sync collaboration in this arenaSync collaboration | 2 | fullpaid | 6/10 | Cclaimed | |
Attach typed properties and tags to notes and use them consistently for organization and retrieval C Metadata | power-user | Organization retrieval — stories about organization retrieval in this arenaOrganization retrieval | 2 | partial | 5/10 | Xcommunity | |
Choose where my data is stored (region/residency) G | ai-native user | Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture | 2 | partial | 5/10 | Cclaimed | |
Connect external LLMs and AI tools to my notes through first-party connectors or an ecosystem of AI plugins C Ai assist | ai-native user | Ai in notes — stories about ai in notes in this arenaAi in notes | 2 | partial | 5/10 | Tprobed | |
Write and format notes with headings, callouts, tables, code blocks, and embedded media in a fast keyboard-driven editor C Editor | power-user | Capture editing — stories about capture editing in this arenaCapture editing | 2 | partial | 5/10 | Cclaimed | |
Do everything through the API that I can do in the UI G | ai-native user | Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness | 2 | partial | 4/10 | Tprobed | |
Share a vault or space with collaborators and edit notes together without stepping on each other's changes C Collaboration | researcher | Sync collaboration — stories about sync collaboration in this arenaSync collaboration | 2 | disputed | 4/10 | Dcontradicted | |
A built-in AI assistant can answer questions, summarize, and draft grounded in my own notes — with clear controls over what data it sees C Ai assist | ai-native user | Ai in notes — stories about ai in notes in this arenaAi in notes | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Perform bulk operations across many items at once G | ai-native user | Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Read the product's source under an open license G | ai-native user | Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesOpenness | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Reference or transclude an individual block or section of one note inside another and have it stay in sync C Links | power-user | Linking graph — stories about linking graph in this arenaLinking graph | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Schedule recurring jobs or workflows G | ai-native user | Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth | 2 | none | 0/10 | ||
Opt out of telemetry and usage tracking G | ai-native user | Privacy posture — data-handling and privacy storiesPrivacy posture | 2 | none | untested | none yet | |
Explore my knowledge base as an interactive graph of notes and connections, filtered to what I care about C Graph | researcher | Linking graph — stories about linking graph in this arenaLinking graph | 1 | full | 8/10 | Xcommunity | |
Version, review, and roll back my automations G | ai-native user | Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedAutomation depth | 1 | none | 0/10 |
Opportunities — the stories that would move this product's scores, from its own judged verdictsOpportunitiestop 8 of 37 stories with headroom
What would move Obsidian’s scores — derived from its own judged verdicts, biggest headroom first. Each line quotes what the judge found missing; shipping it (or evidencing it publicly) is the fix.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productDelegate tasks to a built-in AI assistant inside the product
nonemoves Built-in AIimpact 45
There is no evidence of a built-in AI assistant in Obsidian; all AI-related capability mentioned (e.g., Text-Generator plugin) is explicitly a third-party community plugin, not a native feature, and the probe confirms no official vendor MCP server or AI tooling.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productConnect an agent via an official MCP server
nonemoves agent-readyimpact 45
Obsidian is a note-taking platform (not itself an agent), so an official MCP server is a fair ecosystem question, but the evidence explicitly states Obsidian ships no official CLI or vendor MCP server, with MCP integrations existing only as community projects.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productPlug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools
partialq3/10moves agent-readyimpact 31.5
Missing: official MCP client documentation, first-party plugin support, hands-on evidence of using MCP tools inside Obsidian.
Automation depth — how much of the product can run unattendedDefine rules that trigger actions automatically on events
nonemoves PA Scoreimpact 30
Obsidian's evidence shows a plugin API, a URI protocol for triggering actions, and a large community plugin ecosystem, but there is no documented built-in rule engine or automation system that fires actions automatically on events (e.g., note-created, tag-added triggers).
Openness — open source, data portability, and self-hosting storiesSelf-host the core product
nonemoves PA Scoreimpact 30
Obsidian's core app is closed-source (obsidian-comm-12) and Sync/Publish are proprietary paid cloud services with no documented self-hosted server alternative; the only 'local' aspect is that vault files live on-device, which is not the same as self-hosting the product's infrastructure.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productPoint an agent at llms.txt or agent-oriented docs
nonemoves agent-readyimpact 30
The axis applies to this product kind (peer products hold positive or none verdicts on this story), so lack of evidence for an applicable capability is "none", never "na".
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productGet AI-generated insights and suggestions from my data inside the product
nonemoves Built-in AIimpact 30
Obsidian's core product has no first-party AI-generated insights or suggestions feature; the only AI capability comes from third-party community plugins (e.g., Text-Generator), and community evidence explicitly notes 'no decent RAG functionality among Obsidian AI plugins,' indicating this is not a native, reliable capability of the product itself.
Agenticness — how well agents can access and operate the productSet up automations that run autonomously in the background
nonemoves Built-in AIimpact 30
The evidence pack shows Obsidian's plugin architecture, URI protocol for triggering actions, and a large community-plugin ecosystem, but nothing demonstrates autonomous background automation (e.g., scheduled/triggered agent-like workflows running without user interaction).
Showing the top 8 of 37 — every none/partial verdict in the story verdicts table is headroom.
Think a verdict is wrong? Every verdicts-table row has a Flag link — see the methodology.
Coverage map — which docs area, API section, or community source covers which judged storiesCoverage map3 surfaces · 34 covered stories
Where the cited evidence behind each covered verdict came from — the same citations the verdicts table shows, no extra judging.
GitHub README34 stories
- Run the product headlessly / in CI for automation
- Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their tools
- Drive the product through a documented public API
- Build against official SDKs
- Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data
- My coding agent or assistant can read AND write my notes headlessly — through a documented local API, vendor API, or MCP server — without me touching the GUI
- Connect external LLMs and AI tools to my notes through first-party connectors or an ecosystem of AI plugins
- Clip web pages, articles, and highlights from my browser straight into my notes with an official clipper or capture flow
- I get an automatic daily note for each day, pre-filled from a template, as the default landing place for journaling and capture
- Define reusable templates (with variables like date and title) and apply them when creating recurring kinds of notes
- Write and format notes with headings, callouts, tables, code blocks, and embedded media in a fast keyboard-driven editor
- Export my entire knowledge base at any time in open formats, so leaving is as easy as arriving
- Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preserved
- Explore my knowledge base as an interactive graph of notes and connections, filtered to what I care about
- Link notes with [[wiki-style]] links and see every backlink and unlinked mention of a note in context
- My notes live in local files or a local-first store that I own and can read without the app, and everything keeps working fully offline
- My notes are stored or exportable in open, documented formats (Markdown, JSON) so my archive outlives the vendor
- Run the whole system without the vendor's cloud — local-only mode or a self-hosted sync backend I operate myself
- Full-featured iOS and Android apps give me my whole knowledge base — capture, search, and linking — not a stripped-down companion
- Do everything through the API that I can do in the UI
- Export all of my data in open formats and leave
- Attach typed properties and tags to notes and use them consistently for organization and retrieval
- Query my notes by their structured properties and render live database-style views (tables, boards, lists) from those queries
- Instantly search all my notes with full-text search plus filters on tags, properties, and paths — including offline
- Drive the app from outside — create or open notes via a URI scheme, deep links, or a local endpoint — to wire it into my scripts and workflows
- Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't ship
- Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docs
- Choose where my data is stored (region/residency)
- Prevent my data from being used to train AI models
- Control data retention and deletion
- Publish selected notes as a browsable website — a digital garden with working links — without leaving the app
- Share a vault or space with collaborators and edit notes together without stepping on each other's changes
- An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't read
- View a note's version history and restore earlier versions or recover deleted notes
Hacker News19 stories
- Build against official SDKs
- Test against a sandbox environment without touching production data
- Connect external LLMs and AI tools to my notes through first-party connectors or an ecosystem of AI plugins
- I get an automatic daily note for each day, pre-filled from a template, as the default landing place for journaling and capture
- Export my entire knowledge base at any time in open formats, so leaving is as easy as arriving
- Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preserved
- Explore my knowledge base as an interactive graph of notes and connections, filtered to what I care about
- Link notes with [[wiki-style]] links and see every backlink and unlinked mention of a note in context
- My notes live in local files or a local-first store that I own and can read without the app, and everything keeps working fully offline
- My notes are stored or exportable in open, documented formats (Markdown, JSON) so my archive outlives the vendor
- Run the whole system without the vendor's cloud — local-only mode or a self-hosted sync backend I operate myself
- Full-featured iOS and Android apps give me my whole knowledge base — capture, search, and linking — not a stripped-down companion
- Export all of my data in open formats and leave
- Attach typed properties and tags to notes and use them consistently for organization and retrieval
- Query my notes by their structured properties and render live database-style views (tables, boards, lists) from those queries
- Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't ship
- Prevent my data from being used to train AI models
- Share a vault or space with collaborators and edit notes together without stepping on each other's changes
- An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't read
Probe proofs — replayable recordings from the probe harnessProbe proofs
Replayable recordings from our probe harness — see the Prove-It protocol to submit one.
$curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/master/community-plugins.json | python3 -c 'import json,sys; print("PA_PROBE_OK obsidian community plugins:", len(json.load(sys.stdin)))'reproduced$ curl -s https://raw.githubusercontent.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/master/community-plugins.json | python3 -c 'import json,sys; print("PA_PROBE_OK obsidian community plugins:", len(json.load(sys.stdin)))'
PA_PROBE_OK obsidian community plugins: 7275
Claims vs evidence — vendor claims reconciled against independent verdictsClaims vs evidence
12 of 18 testable claims verified · 2 contradicted → integrity 44/100
30 distinct capability claims found in Obsidian’s own claimed-docs/GitHub materials, reconciled against our judge’s independent verdicts.
12
Verified
4
Unverified
2
Contradicted
15
Undersold
Verified (23)
“Can import notes from Notion via a dedicated Importer plugin, converting to Markdown”
Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preservedfullproof ↗
“Notion import preserves databases and formulas by converting them into Bases”
Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preservedfullproof ↗
“Can import notes from Airtable, Microsoft OneNote, and Evernote”
Import my existing notes from Notion, Evernote, Roam, or plain Markdown with structure, links, and attachments preservedfullproof ↗
“Notes are stored as local, non-proprietary plain-text Markdown files giving full data control and offline use”
My notes live in local files or a local-first store that I own and can read without the app, and everything keeps working fully offlinefullproof ↗
“Notes are stored as local, non-proprietary plain-text Markdown files giving full data control and offline use”
My notes are stored or exportable in open, documented formats (Markdown, JSON) so my archive outlives the vendorfullproof ↗
“Vault notes are stored as Markdown-formatted plain text files”
My notes live in local files or a local-first store that I own and can read without the app, and everything keeps working fully offlinefullproof ↗
“Vault notes are stored as Markdown-formatted plain text files”
My notes are stored or exportable in open, documented formats (Markdown, JSON) so my archive outlives the vendorfullproof ↗
“Graph view core plugin visualizes relationships between notes in a vault”
Explore my knowledge base as an interactive graph of notes and connections, filtered to what I care aboutfullproof ↗
“Daily notes core plugin opens or creates a note based on today's date”
I get an automatic daily note for each day, pre-filled from a template, as the default landing place for journaling and capturefullproof ↗
“Bases core plugin creates database-like views of notes”
Query my notes by their structured properties and render live database-style views (tables, boards, lists) from those queriespartialproof ↗
“Plugins can be used to add support for additional file formats or third-party service integrations”
Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't shipfullproof ↗
“Custom Obsidian URI protocol lets external tools trigger actions like opening or creating notes”
Drive the app from outside — create or open notes via a URI scheme, deep links, or a local endpoint — to wire it into my scripts and workflowspartialproof ↗
“Obsidian Sync encrypts the remote vault and all communication with Obsidian's servers”
An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't readfullproof ↗
“Mobile toolbar provides a customizable row of icons for editing notes on mobile”
Full-featured iOS and Android apps give me my whole knowledge base — capture, search, and linking — not a stripped-down companionpartialproof ↗
“Developers can compile a sample plugin from source and load it into Obsidian”
Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docsfullproof ↗
“Plugins can be built to extend Obsidian's functionality using TypeScript”
Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docsfullproof ↗
“Vault interface lets code interact with files and folders in the vault, enabling plugin development”
Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docsfullproof ↗
“Linking notes together creates a network of knowledge (bidirectional links)”
Link notes with [[wiki-style]] links and see every backlink and unlinked mention of a note in contextfullproof ↗
“End-to-end encryption is the default sync mode, so not even the Obsidian team can access notes”
An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't readfullproof ↗
“Community plugin ecosystem lets users extend Obsidian with community-built plugins”
Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't shipfullproof ↗
“Obsidian Sync is an add-on service to privately sync notes across devices”
An official sync service keeps my notes updated across all my devices with end-to-end encryption the vendor can't readfullproof ↗
“Plugins let users extend Obsidian with custom features for a tailored note-taking experience”
Browse and install from a large catalog of community plugins/extensions to add features the core app doesn't shipfullproof ↗
“Plugins let users extend Obsidian with custom features for a tailored note-taking experience”
Build my own plugins against a documented extension API/SDK with samples and developer docsfullproof ↗
Unverified (5)
“Templates core plugin inserts pre-defined text snippets into notes”
Define reusable templates (with variables like date and title) and apply them when creating recurring kinds of notesfullproof ↗
“Obsidian Publish is a cloud hosting service to publish notes as a wiki, knowledge base, or digital garden”
Publish selected notes as a browsable website — a digital garden with working links — without leaving the appfullproof ↗
“Publishing selects notes and hosts them at a publish.obsidian.md site with one click”
Publish selected notes as a browsable website — a digital garden with working links — without leaving the appfullproof ↗
“Web Clipper browser extension saves highlighted web content into the vault”
Clip web pages, articles, and highlights from my browser straight into my notes with an official clipper or capture flowfullproof ↗
“Version history lets users view or restore previous versions of a note”
View a note's version history and restore earlier versions or recover deleted notesfullproof ↗
Contradicted (2)
“Obsidian Sync offers a headless client to sync vaults without the desktop app, for CI pipelines and agents”
Run the product headlessly / in CI for automationdisputedproof ↗
“Obsidian Sync allows collaborating on a shared vault with a team”
Share a vault or space with collaborators and edit notes together without stepping on each other's changesdisputedproof ↗
Undersold (15)
Plug MCP servers into this product so it can use their toolspartialproof ↗
Drive the product through a documented public APIpartialproof ↗
My coding agent or assistant can read AND write my notes headlessly — through a documented local API, vendor API, or MCP server — without me touching the GUIpartialproof ↗
Connect external LLMs and AI tools to my notes through first-party connectors or an ecosystem of AI pluginspartialproof ↗
Write and format notes with headings, callouts, tables, code blocks, and embedded media in a fast keyboard-driven editorpartialproof ↗
Export my entire knowledge base at any time in open formats, so leaving is as easy as arrivingfullproof ↗
Run the whole system without the vendor's cloud — local-only mode or a self-hosted sync backend I operate myselfpartialproof ↗
Do everything through the API that I can do in the UIpartialproof ↗
Attach typed properties and tags to notes and use them consistently for organization and retrievalpartialproof ↗
Instantly search all my notes with full-text search plus filters on tags, properties, and paths — including offlinepartialproof ↗
Choose where my data is stored (region/residency)partialproof ↗
Prevent my data from being used to train AI modelspartialproof ↗
Claims outside our story set (3)
Real capability claims found in Obsidian’s own materials, but no story in this arena’s taxonomy covers them yet — that’s feedback on the taxonomy, not a mark against the product.
“Themes and snippets can be designed for Obsidian using CSS”
source ↗“Vault can sync via Dropbox, iCloud, OneDrive, Git, and other third-party services besides Obsidian Sync”
source ↗“Restricted Mode is on by default to prevent third-party code execution from plugins”
source ↗
Business model
The app is free for personal and commercial use; optional paid add-ons are Obsidian Sync (from $4/mo) and Obsidian Publish (from $8/site/mo), plus a one-time Catalyst supporter license.
pricing ↗Score trend
How this product’s scores have moved as evidence and verdicts are re-derived — a point per change, not per day.
Try Experimental
Run it in the microterminal →Recorded agent sessions — and a live MCP handshake where the vendor ships one.
Flag
⚑ Flag a verdictThink a verdict is wrong? Opens a prefilled GitHub issue — or use the ⚑ next to any verdict above.
For agents