A beginner's guide to using

the Obsidian Notes

application
Discover the Power of Obsidian Notes for Writing,
Planning and Productivity

Original image by Robina Weermeijer

By Marc Littlemore
Updated: November 8, 2022 • 14 min read

Table of contents

What is the Obsidian Notes taking app?

What is Personal Knowledge Management?

How do I get started with Obsidian?

 How do I create a markdown file in Obsidian?

What are Obsidian backlinks?

What is the Obsidian graph view?

Conclusion

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about Obsidian notes

Useful resources to learn more about Obsidian notes

I write a lot of notes both in my job and in my personal life. I've tried a lot of
different note taking applications over the years and more recently I've
started using Obsidian Notes as my application of choice.

Let's look at how to use the Obsidian Notes application for writing clearer
notes.

What is the Obsidian Notes taking app?

The Obsidian app is a beautiful, FREE note taking application which allows
you to create and store your notes locally in the Markdown file format. It
allows you to link notes together and create a knowledge graph of
information.

Obsidian notes are stored locally as files on your computer rather than in
the cloud. Obsidian has a text editor which allows you to add markdown
formatting to your notes. It also has a preview mode which allows you to
see how your notes will look when they are rendered as HTML.

As a developer, Markdown is a format I write in regularly and this made the

Obsidian app a perfect tool for me.
 While you can use the Obsidian app to edit your notes,
markdown is a common format for software developers so
you can also edit your notes using any text editor that
supports the markdown format.

If you're a software developer, you can use a tool like Visual

Studio Code to edit your notes if you like.

Obsidian notes are stored locally

An important thing to know about the Obsidian app is that it stores your
markdown notes locally on your computer rather than in the cloud.
Obsidian notes are simply a folder of plain text files.

As the files are stored locally, you never have to worry about a service being
shut down or changing their pricing model. Markdown is an almost standard
format so you can move your notes to a new note-taking application if you
needed to.

The downside of the files being stored locally is that you're now responsible
for backing up your data. However, this is easily done using Google Drive,
Dropbox, OneDrive, or some other online storage method. If you're a
developer, you can even use a `git` repository to store your notes.

Obsidian links notes together in a knowledge

graph
Obsidian is a tool which claims to give you "a second brain, forever". This
means it can store all of your notes and help you to link each note's idea
together.

Linking your Obsidian notes together is known as a knowledge graph. It's a

series of interlinked notes which allows you to find common themes between
your notes. This knowledge graph is also found in the tool Roam Research.

Linked notes is one of the great ideas behind Obsidian and Roam Research.
By tagging concepts in your notes, and linking them to other notes using
internal links, you slowly build up a graph which helps to you to discover
similar ideas and thinking.

Here's an example of my current set of notes in Obsidian:

What is Personal Knowledge
Management?
This year I discovered the idea of personal knowledge management (PKM).
This is the idea of collecting and classifying your thoughts so that they can be
easily retrieved but also help you to make sense out of them. It hadn't
occurred to me that I should be bringing all of my notes together so that I
could build new ideas from them. I mostly used the search functionality in
any notes applications to find things I'd recorded when I needed them.
Reading about PKM brought me to a tool called Roam Research which
shared the idea of networked thought. It gives the user a way to link notes
together in a more coherent way to create a graph of connected thinking. I
used this for a while but I was looking for something in the open source
space. And then I finally discovered Obsidian.

Using Obsidian for the last 4 or 5 months has really helped me to organise
my notes and has started me on a journey to creating new ideas from
concepts I find rather than letting the notes wither away and die.

How do I get started with Obsidian?

At the time of writing this, Obsidian is a note-taking application that is
available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

You can easily download Obsidian from their website and then install it on
your local computer.
Once Obsidian is installed, you'll be asked to create or open a vault. An
Obsidian vault is simply a directory within which your notes will be stored as
Markdown files. Obsidians notes are just a folder of plain text markdown files.

Choose "create" if you don't have any files that you've already created.
Alternatively you can open a folder which contains existing Markdown files
and they will be imported into Obsidian as a new vault.

Once you're set up you can click on "create note" to create a new Markdown
file for a new note.

How do I create a markdown file in

Obsidian?
Each new note that's created is a Markdown file. Markdown syntax is
relatively easy to get started with. It's a plaintext file format with specific
syntax which maps to an HTML element.

Here's are some examples of Markdown syntax:

AN EXAMPLE MARKDOWN FILE example-markdown.md

# A main header

Some text as a paragraph. But this text is **bold** and this is in *italics

## A secondary header

Another paragraph with some `inline code` in it.

 A [link](https://another-website.com/) to an external URL.

What are Obsidian backlinks?

While Markdown supports hyperlinking to another internal or external page
using its link format, Obsidian adds the idea of the backlink.

Normal links in markdown files are mono-directional which means that a link
points to the new page only.

Obsidian backlinks allow bi-directional linking. This means that if page A links
to page B, Obsidian also knows that page B is linking back to page A. This
allows ideas to start linking together as you write new notes which creates a
knowledge graph of linked notes.

Obsidian backlinks are created using the Wikilink format using double
brackets. Here is an example of how to create a note which links to another
page:

OBSIDIAN BACKLINKS EXAMPLE obsidian-backlink.md

# My new note

I want this note to link to [[another note]] using Obisidian backlinks.

By default, Obsidian will link to a new note but it won't create it until you
follow the link. Pressing `CMD + click` (Mac) or `CTRL + click` (Windows)
on the link will take you to a new page and then the note is created in your
vault.

What are Obsidian mentions?

Obsidian backlinks are really useful for seeing which ideas link together in
your notes. For each note, it has the concept of linked and unlinked
mentions.

Obsidian linked mentions

Obsidian linked mentions are backlinks in a note that contain an internal link
to the active note. This are created when you explicitly link one page to
another using the `[[backlink]]` format.

Obsidian unlinked mentions

Obsidian unlinked mentions are backlinks in a note that contain references to

the page from another note but you haven't explicitly linked to it. Using these
unlinked mentions, you can quickly see how ideas from multiple notes are
related and could be linked together.

The idea of linked and unlinked mentions are really useful to see how your
notes are related to each other. You can use these backlinks to expand your
thoughts and allow you to create new ideas from them.

Here's an example of some linked and unlinked mentions from when I was
building a Google Firebase project and documenting my learning:
What are Obsidian tags?
In addition to linking notes together, Obsidian allows you to use tags. Tags
are another kind of link.

Adding tags to a note can make them easier to find in searches if you have a
large vault of notes. They're helpful for adding context to your notes and
allowing you to group them together. In your Markdown files you add a new
tag using a Twitter-style hashtag.

For example, in my own Obsidian vault, I use `#toread` or `#towatch` to

gather blog posts or YouTube videos I should watch and take notes from.

OBSIDIAN TAGS EXAMPLE obsidian-tags.md

 # An example note

Here are a list of tags for this note:

#toread #towatch #a-long-tag-name

Should I use Obsidian tags or links?

You can and should use both tags and links in your notes.

Links are connections from one Obsidian note to another note. And as I
mentioned earlier, they're bi-directional so the notes are both linked together
with a backlink.

Tags are connections from a note to an idea. A tag is a link but it has no note
linked to it.

So you don't really have to choose between links and tags. Why not use
both?

I find that tags are useful for grouping notes together and links are useful for
connecting ideas together. They are complimentary and you can easily use
both together.

Differences between Obsidian tags and links

While you can use both tags and links together, there are a few important
things to remember.
 When you change the name of a file within Obsidian, all links to that
folder will automatically change to be pointing to the right place. This
won't happen with tags.

Clicking on a tag will open a search for all of the files that contain that
tag.

Clicking on a link will open the linked note if it exists or create a new one
if it doesn't.

What is the Obsidian graph view?

Obsidian allows you to create an unlimited vault of notes but its power
comes in linking these notes together.

The Obsidian graph view allows you to visualise connections between your
notes and encourages you to explore how your thinking is linked together.

To see the graph view click on "open graph view" in the Obsidian sidebar.
This extended view allows you to filter by specific keywords or tags that you
use in your notes.

Here's an example of notes related to my use of Obsidian:

Conclusion
I've only scratched the surface with what Obsidian can do for your personal
knowledge management system.

Obsidian has a fantastic plugin system which allows more functionality to be

added to it. These plugins are built by the Obsidian team and also from other
developers.

It also has a wonderful community around it and each of the Obsidian forum
members are incredibly helpful. They all want others to learn how to get the
best out of Obsidian. You can find their forums here.

Obsidian is constantly being improved by the developers with new releases

coming out every couple of weeks. Before you know it you'll be heading
down the rabbit hole of building a second brain and Zettlekasten like I have.

Take a look at Obsidian if you're considering levelling up your note taking

system and let me know what you think.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ) about

Obsidian notes

What is Obsidian notes?

Obsidian is a powerful note-taking application that allows you to create a
folder of plaintext files for your notes. It's a great tool for personal knowledge
management and allows you to create one or more vaults of notes that are
linked together.

How to backlink in Obsidian?

To create a backlink in Obsidian, you use the Wikilink format using double
brackets. For example, to link to another note called "another note" you
would use `[[another note]]`. This links your current note to "another note"
and also provides a backlink from "another note" to your current note.

Is Obsidian Notes better than Notion?

Notion is a powerful web application which allows you to write notes, create
tasks, and manage projects of content. While it has similarities with Obsidian
in its ability to create notes, it's a very different tool for managing projects
and content with a focus on collaboration.
Obsidian is a private and secure way to store your own notes and ideas on
your local computer.

Are Obsidian notes safe?

By default Obsidian stores everything locally in a folder of plaintext files. This
means that your notes are only accessible on your computer and not on the
internet. This makes it a very secure and private way to store your notes.

You can sign up to Obsidian's paid service Obsidian Sync if you want to
synchronise your notes to the cloud and share them with multiple computers.
This is private and encrypted so it's still a safe way to store your notes.

Is Obsidian hard to learn?

The hardest part of learning Obsidian is understanding the Markdown format.
If you're unfamiliar with it, spend a couple of hours creating notes and
reading a Markdown formatting guide. Once you've got the basics down,
you'll be able to create notes quickly and easily in Obsidian.

Obsidian's backlinks are really easy to learn and once you understand how
they work, you'll be able to create connections between your notes in
seconds.

The most complicated part of Obsidian is deciding how you want to organise
your notes. This is up to the individual to decide and experiment with. There's
no right or wrong way to do it. You can use tags, backlinks, folders, or a
combination of both to organise your notes.
Is Obsidian good for note-taking?
I love it for note-taking! 😄

You can keep it simple and write a note in Markdown format. You can link
those notes together and create a vault of information. You can link those
notes together and start to see how your thinking is linked.

Does Obsidian have a mobile app?

Yes! Obsidian has a mobile app and it works in the same way as the desktop
application.

You can down load the Obsidian mobile app here.

Who is Obsidian notes best for?

Obsidian is a powerful note-taking application for many different sorts of
people. Not everyone will use it in the same way, but it's useful in different
ways.

Obsidian for software engineers

I'm a software engineering manager but I still have to stay technical. I use
Obsidian to take notes on the latest technologies and frameworks I'm
exploring. I also use it to take notes with my team when I conduct 1:1s, for
meeting notes, and for any notes that I take as I read books or watch videos.

Obsidian for university students

Obsidian is the perfect tool for taking notes for university students. You can
create a vault for all of your subjects or you could split it into separate vaults
for the different areas of your course.

The ability to link your notes together will really help you to understand how
your studies are linked together. This will be especially useful when you come
to revise for your exams.

Obsidian for academics and researchers

Obsidian is the perfect tool if you work in academia and are researching and
writing a new paper. You can create a vault for your research and create new
notes for all of your ideas.

Linking your Obsidian notes together will really help to ensure you have
citations in your papers and you can easily find the sources you used.

Obsidian for writers

Obsidian is the perfect tool for writers. You can create new notes for articles
that you find on the internet or for any videos that you watch.

Take notes of the ideas that you find and start to link them together using
Obsidian backlinks. By capturing snippets of linked notes, you can easily
research and write your next article.

Useful resources to learn more about

Obsidian notes
Francesco D'Alessio from Keep Productive has a great getting started guide
for Obsidian:

OBSIDIAN: Getting Started, Facts & Pricing

Nick Milo has a really helpful set of videos on using Obsidian. He also has a
course called Linking Your Thinking which helps you to build your own
personal knowledge management system.

Obsidian for Beginners: Start HERE — How to Use the Obsidian App for Notes
Justin DiRose from Effective Remote Working has a great set of videos on
learning Obsidian too so start here:

Obsidian-Based Note-Taking Workflow - Raindrop, Drafts, Kindle - Effective Rem

I'm Marc Littlemore.

I’m a Senior Software Engineering Manager who works with high

performing development teams and loves to help to grow other
software leaders and engineers.

Want to learn more about technical leadership and intentional remote

working to grow your career?

👉🏻 You should sign up for my weekly newsletter here.

 3 1 6 3

LIKES

MENTIONS

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REPLIES

Brian To Is
2021-
Shipping Wisdom 03-17
14:56
Bombs🚢💣

Thanks! I'm loving the videos

already.

Marc 2021-03-17
15:02
Littlemore 🤖
No problem. Would love to hear
how you're using it too. I've found it
really valuable to link people and
ideas together when I'm trying to
write. I need to get better at
collating the ideas once I record
them though.

Brian To Is
2021-
Shipping Wisdom 03-18
02:14
Bombs🚢💣

For now just getting a hang of

markup. Alongside researching
more into the workflow and overall
system of my notes before
commiting to just linking randomly.
You wouldn't have a flow chart
would you ? 😂

Marc 2021-03-18
06:41
Littlemore 🤖

Have you seen Nick’s Linking Your

Thinking toolkit vault? It’s helpful to
explore that. He has the idea of
Maps of Content (MOC) that act as
 index pages. Worth taking a look at.
forum.obsidian.md/t/lyt-kit-now-…

Claire 2022-04-07
07:56
Knight

Didn’t realise you were a fellow user

of this too!

Marc 2022-04-07
15:50
Littlemore 👋🏻

I started using it a while ago and I

went down the personal knowledge
management rabbit hole for a
while. We can geek out about it
next time we catch up. 🤓

REPOSTS
by Gavin
https://twitter.com/MDCore/status/151
1979550066024451

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