Obsidian
Your private, extensible knowledge base.
Knowledge base app backed by plain Markdown files with a graph view, linking, and 1000+ plugins.
About Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management and note-taking app that stores your notes as plain Markdown files on your own device. Unlike Notion (cloud-based), Obsidian is fully local-first — your notes are just `.md` files you own and control.
The key concept in Obsidian is linking thoughts: you can [[wiki-link]] between notes to build a personal knowledge graph. The Graph View visualizes all your notes and their connections, revealing patterns in your thinking. The Canvas feature lets you lay out notes spatially like a whiteboard.
The plugin ecosystem is enormous — over 1,500 community plugins add features like daily notes, task management, Kanban boards, spaced repetition flashcards, and code execution. Sync and Publish are paid cloud services for sharing vaults privately across devices or publishing notes to the web.
For developers who want a second brain that they fully own, with no lock-in, Obsidian has become the tool of choice.