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About Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management software. A second brain for custom-built solutions.
Even being an app that works on local files, its quite easy to setup a folder on a cloud based storage like Gdrive and have all your devices sync the files seamlessly.
Collaboration: While vaults can be accessed by multiple users, obsidian has no inherent support for collaboration, and therefore can be problematic in team settings.
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Filter reviews (30)
The best note taking app - hands down
Pros:
Word's cannot express my gratitude to the Obsidian app and the amazing community built around it. I use this app daily on my desktop and mobile with cloud syncing. It has allowed me to take notes on anything at any time, and most importantly, made it easy to review my notes so I can learn from them.
Cons:
Obsidian is unique in that there are new plugins being built all the time by the community. That help the app be more intuitive and feature rich. However I still feel their graph view has a lot of potential for improvement. I think the graph view right now is visually interesting to look at, but not nearly as effective as it could be. I'd like to be able to manipulate it more, and see more clearly the patterns between links, right now it becomes overwhelming as there is too many interlinked notes. It's difficult to gleam insights from them.
The best knowledge management software
Comments: I have been looking for years for a good (not even great) note-taking / knowledge management system. I have tried many different apps (like Evernote, Simplenote, Gnome Notes, Google Keep, etc.), but I did not like anything. I started considering writing my own app and was taking some notes. Then, Obsidian arrived and blew my mind. I increased my efficiency 100-fold after starting to use it for basically everything (from my notes on string theory and machine learning to my cooking recipes). I would never go back to any other system.
Pros:
The fact that it's very fast to take notes (simple markdown format, Latex included…) and to retrieve quickly something (through the fuzzy filename matching, full-text search or tags). That it's possible to sync across various devices (with an excellent mobile app) is outstanding. The extension system is very helpful to supplement features. Also having an open file format is reassuring in case the creators stop updating the app.
Cons:
The single most annoying aspect is the lack of proper bibliography / citations management. There is a plugin, but I don't like too much how it works. Otherwise, there is no default.
Alternatives Considered:
Best Notetaking App
Comments: Obsidian can take some getting used to but once you find your stride, it is such a powerful tool and customisable for your particlar ideosyncrasies.
Pros:
Obsidian is the best notetaking app that I have used and the ability to connect notes and organise them into a personal wiki makes it very useful
Cons:
The community is overwhelming because the numerous plugins can get out of hand.
You may need some tech knowledge to use it better
Pros:
I think Obsidian is ideal for text-centric tasks and it excels in note-taking and daily task tracking.
Cons:
It's missing the ability to create forms which might be a bummer for me. Setting up team collaboration isn't a walk in the park either – it lacks the seamless integration for smooth group work.
Excellent note taking software for markdown notes
Pros:
Easy to use for taking and editing notes. It was helpful in importing and reading markdown notes that I had exported from Mac Notes.
Cons:
Markdown based syntax does take some time getting used to
A must have for anyone who wants to retain and structure their knowledge
Comments: As a computer science student, I've found Obsidian to be a really helpful tool for knowledge management. Its features are super versatile, so it's great for organizing all sorts of information.The note-linking feature is one of my favorite things about Obsidian. It lets me connect notes and create a web of knowledge that helps me understand how different concepts relate to each other. The backlinking feature is also helpful because it shows me which notes link to a particular note.Obsidian's graph view is another cool feature. It gives me a visual representation of the relationships between notes, which helps me identify key concepts and how they're connected. And I like that I can customize the graph view to fit my specific needs.Obsidian's support for Markdown is also great. It makes it easy to format my notes and include images, tables, and other media.Overall, Obsidian's knowledge management features are really useful for my studies as a computer science student. It's a powerful yet easy-to-use platform for organizing and managing information.
Pros:
Note-Linking: Obsidian's unique note-linking feature allows you to establish connections between notes, creating a web of knowledge that helps you better understand the relationships between different concepts. This can be especially useful for computer science, where there are often many interrelated concepts that need to be understood in order to fully grasp a topic.Backlinking: Obsidian's backlinking feature shows you which notes link to a particular note, further enhancing your understanding of the connections between different ideas. This can help you quickly identify related concepts and ensure that you have a comprehensive understanding of a topic.Markdown Support: Obsidian supports Markdown, which enables you to format your notes in a clear and concise manner, making it easy to read and understand them. This can be especially useful for computer science, where there are often complex concepts that need to be explained in a clear and concise manner.Customizability: Obsidian is highly customizable, allowing you to tailor it to your specific needs. This can be especially useful when integrating Obsidian with other services, or extending its capabilities.
Cons:
Learning Curve: Obsidian has a bit of a learning curve, especially if you're not familiar with Markdown or haven't used a similar note-taking app before. It can take some time to learn all the features and figure out the best way to use it for your specific needs. The onboarding process is one of the easiest compared to other similar solutions, but sometimes one is tempted to spend time on perfecting the obsidian enviroment instead of taking notes.Collaboration: While vaults can be accessed by multiple users, obsidian has no inherent support for collaboration, and therefore can be problematic in team settings.PDF ANnotation: Obsidian has no good solution to annotate, only link, to specific parts of a pdf. This can be frustrating, but is a technical limitation at the current time. However, there are workarounds using different services like readwise.
Great tool, although not very attractive to use
Comments: The interface is quite unpleasant and takes getting used to. There is a lack of detailed tutorials from the company, if it weren't for its disinterested community that shares tips and videos on YouTube it would be very difficult to learn how to take advantage of this tool. But, on the other hand, it is getting better every time, since it is updated frequently. I hope you continue to invest in this tool as it is the best in its field in my opinion. I've tried Logseq, Notion, etc., and I'm sticking with Obsidian.
Pros:
I love that it allows markdown and hosting all your notes on your own computer. It has a large number of plugins and a community willing to help each other.
Cons:
If you want synchronization between devices you will have to pay (there is a free option through Google Drive but it is not very effective). And the payment option is quite expensive per year.
Obsidian best tool to keep knowledge
Comments: it is great, I use it in my work to keep all the knowledge i gather from the task I do, and also in my personal life to study, as you have this digital record to come back and review, for me is better tool than One note or Evernote, and if you dont have something you want, there are additional modules you can add for free.
Pros:
i loved the linkage of data using the brackets, this makes more easy to construct complex information articles, especially when you have abstract information that you need to deconstruct for understand.
Cons:
that you have to pay for the multi--device link a subscription, I think it should be a one time payment.
Alternatives Considered:
Great knowledge management tool, little pricey, a lot of manual work
Pros:
I love how fast it is. Since everything lives locally, you don't have to worry about pages not loading or missing internet access. Pages are cached in the background and can load instantly when you want to, making context switching instant and producing content super fast.
Cons:
The idea of knowledge graph is more or less a "marketing concept" (according to [sensitive content hidden] of Reflect, [sensitive content hidden]). Not sure about the usability of it. But also since everything is done locally, it's a lot of work to back things up or sync across devices -- something you'd expect the product to handle like Notion.
Obsidian for Personal Information Management (PKM)
Comments: A learning curve, but plenty of info and demos out there to help. a great information storage device.
Pros:
Obsidian is free to use, and I sync it between all of my devices via iCloud. It's a great way to store lots of information and to cross-link everything. Before, I used to add snippets to lots of note-taking apps and forget where I had put it.
Cons:
It has a learning curve based on mark down language, but the plugins that you can add to it can make it more user friendly. It is not a million miles away from how Notion works.
Alternatives Considered:
Amazingly customisable note-taking tool
Pros:
Obsidian has many great features I love - the ability to customise it for your specific needs it fantastic. The search and linking functionality allow me to quickly and easily get whatever data I need. The extensive range of community add-ons mean that extra features are just a couple of clicks away.
Cons:
Hard pressed to think of anything, it's an almost perfect tool!
Obsidian is phenomenal and Obsidian Sync is worth the cost.
Comments: Great
Pros:
I love that I can structure my notes however I'd like: I can put things in a traditional hierarchy with folders, I can relate notes together with embedded links and connections, and I can create notes associated with neither. For me, I get the benefits of OneNote (hierarchy), Roam Research (association), and Apple Notes (randomly throwing a note in that you can't associate with anything else). Obsidian Sync is by far the best way to sync your vaults. I used iCloud at first, which worked well on apple products, but worked terribly on windows. Sync made it all real-time with no note duplication.
Cons:
To use the great functionality, you have to learn Markup and you have to understand how the software works (vaults, local storage, and sync). Having a normal text formatting tab (like OneNote) and improving the sync interface/wizard would make this app absolutely incredible.
A full featured truly cross-platform knowledge management package
Comments: Obsidian has proven to be the OneNote alternative which treats Linux as a firstclass platform. Also, having seen hosted/proprietary services disappear over the year it is a great comfort knowing I own my own notes and will be able to access them without any special software.
Pros:
For those working across PC, Mac, Linux and mobile Obsidian offers parity of functionality on each platform making switching effortless.A wide range of options for backend storage ensure that you can keep ownership of your notes whether on a public cloud, private cloud or local files. And the notes remain human readable and editable even without the package making them future proof.The active community provides a wide range of add-ons that enhance the functionality and customise it to your needs. You can also tailor the add-ons and settings for each collection of notes.
Cons:
Owning your own notes requires you to invest some time and effort in configuring the backend storage, and not all options are supported on all operating systems. However the developers offer foolproof cloud hosting as a paid alternative.
Obsidian keeps me sane
Comments: 3+ years and I am still learning and exploring the options available enjoying my writing and research as I go.
Pros:
Simple, flexible, extensible, and just works.Offline, online, phone, desktop, laptop it doesn't matter.
Cons:
Syncing between devices requires a cloud service or payment of Obsidian sync.
My favorite app
Comments: In general the use of Obsidian has been very good, after several configurations and a lot of help from the community I have managed to have a knowledge management system which adapts to my learning style and that I enjoy using it, besides that visually I have configured it so that even using it is a pleasant experience.
Pros:
During the time I've been using the program I've loved the possibilities of customization that you have and the infinite number of plugins to accomplish tasks from the most specific to some more general, also in the aesthetic part also has many configuration options, from the options within the application, as well as using your own CSS files. Finally, the community that has formed around the application is a great addition because being mostly open source everyone can contribute to improve the use, from developing plugins, themes or usage systems.
Cons:
I think one of the biggest disadvantages of obsidian is that in large vaults it can have a lot of performance drops and sometimes navigating between different notes is slow, also for new users it can be challenging to use because of all the possibilities it offers.
The App for Zettelkasten
Comments: Very good app for note taking and use with the Zettelkasten method.
Pros:
This is the only app I found realy useful to use with the Zettlekasten note taking method. Even being an app that works on local files, its quite easy to setup a folder on a cloud based storage like Gdrive and have all your devices sync the files seamlessly. With the community plugins its very easy to customize Obisidian for any workflow you use for your writing.
Cons:
The mobile app UX could be improved. It takes some time to get used to navigate and use it.
One of the first knowledge management tools I've tried and it has improved so much since
Comments: Obsidian in general is a nice user experience, particularly for a single person or a small team where you don't need real-time collaboration. However, I like to run meetings with live notes and Obsidian can't do this. It does have ObsidianSync and Git support, but those cannot support real-time editing. I understand this may be trade-off between local first storage and real-time collaborative support, but there are alternatives out there that are trying to make that work. Otherwise, Obisidian is very nice product for knowledge management.
Pros:
Local first, offline use. Excellent graph and document organization. Multi-platform including mobile. LaTeX support for technical elements.
Cons:
Lack of real-time collaboration -- very important for my use case. Education discounts are not that great.
More than just notetaking
Pros:
Obsidian is a feature-rich and very customizable note-taking and knowledge-management software that stores files in a simple folder structure.
Cons:
If you are not familiar with markdown, it can be quite confusing when special characters do special things.
Great Tool for Quick Note Taking
Pros:
The application is very light and easy to use, and provides easy sync across many platforms. It also has amazing vim support, which is very convenient for vim enthusiasts.
Cons:
As the application is made to be lightweight, it might not feel as organized as something like Notion, and the formatting options are not as easy to find and implement as Notion.
My knowledge management software of choice
Comments: Learning curve might be off-putting for some (plugins, Markdown basics etc.)
Pros:
I settled on Obsidian after long research, and even though there was a learning curve, it was 100% a great choice. I love using it, it looks clean, it's super fast, it works offline, it's super customizable and you can make it exactly what you need it to be. Usually if there is a feature missing in the functionality, it's solved by community plugins.
Cons:
- search is terrible, if the search term is more than one word you can forget about it - tables are unusable even with community plugins - the mobile app could definitely use some work
Obsidian has been a game changer
Comments: I've started using Obsidian to brainstorm novels. Before I was trying to use file cards, but that just got too confusing. I always felt like I had to keep the entire story in my head at once, which is impossible. Now I can put all the pieces into Obsidian and focus on one part at a time without worrying about losing track of the rest.
Pros:
When I discovered Obsidian, my life changed. Not only is it a great way to keep track of all my research, but I can also use it for journaling, brainstorming, and even household management. It's a real pleasure to use, and has changed how I think about information management.
Cons:
There are so many community plugins available that it can be overwhelming. The good news is, you don't have to use them if you don't want to. It's just so easy to go down that rabbit hole and try out new things.
Note "Vaults"
Comments: I did like Obsidian and how full it was. I stored notes and segments of legislation that I needed to reference frequently. I could find any note with the open display.
Pros:
Notes are stored in Obsidian "Vaults", this certainly makes me feel more secure! Obsidian asks if you'd prefer internal or external storage, notes can be read offline too. Notebooks aren't displayed in a grid pattern like apps on your phone, they're displayed as dots and can be moved as you'd like. I like this and it's really ideal for a large number of notes. Obsidian can actually function as a knowledge base too. When clicking on a dot, a text preview is displayed. The background is dark and text is white, if your eyes strain easily or you have a lot of screen time during your work day this is great. Obsidian has quick access to most format options and text tools, I like the quick access reference tool.
Cons:
I found it to be confusing, using it certainly wasn't effortless. The icons are very light grey and most of them don't connect to the action you'd expect. I spent a lot of time looking and I deleted notes without meaning to.
Time to Build your second brain
Pros:
Until I discovered obsidian I never knew the concept of second brain and why would we need one. After researching a lot on it, had many tools on hand that can be used to build one for my own.Finally settled on obsidian just for it's privacy and future proof. This tool just uses plain markdown text files to create your notes. This makes your notes future proof as the usability of files are not depending upon the software itself. The files can be opened by any notepad software.The main reason I chose obsidian over others is this helps you to create more rather than copy notes.Not to mention their linking feature which helps you to link various ideas which in turn results in creating a new idea.
Cons:
sync across devices is payable one. You can find a workaround for this but still I prefer to choose obsidian sync and am fine to pay for it as I feel that I support their development.
Awesome product, with some solid design decisions, actively developed
Pros:
- owning my data (stored locally as markdown files)- great set of note editing features. Not as fancy as, e.g. Notion, but right enough for me.
Cons:
Nothing major really. Maybe the fact that Sync is a paid option, and quite expensive for small text-only vaults.
Aesthetic and modern
Pros:
A very aesthetic and modern knowledge management software that is very easy to use. The ability to easily use markdown to format your content is amazing. The software makes it very easy to split content between folders and notes.
Cons:
Some great features are behind a paywall which is a bit annoying but understandable. It would be good to have a basic feature such as cloud sync available for free.