obsidian

What this skill does

# Obsidian Knowledge Management Skill

Master Obsidian for building a personal knowledge management system with markdown-based notes, bidirectional linking, powerful plugins, and flexible sync strategies. This skill covers vault organization, linking strategies, plugin ecosystem, and backup workflows.

## When to Use This Skill

### USE Obsidian when:
- Building a personal knowledge base or second brain
- Implementing Zettelkasten or evergreen note systems
- Need local-first, privacy-focused note-taking
- Want full control over your data (plain markdown files)
- Creating interlinked notes with graph visualization
- Writing with markdown and want powerful editing
- Need offline access to all your notes
- Building project documentation alongside code
- Journaling with daily notes and templates

### DON'T USE Obsidian when:
- Need real-time collaboration (use Notion, Google Docs)
- Require database-style structured data (use Notion)
- Need web-based access without sync setup
- Team-wide knowledge base with permissions (use Confluence)
- Simple note-taking without linking (use Apple Notes, Bear)
- Need built-in task management with reminders (use Todoist)

## Prerequisites

### Installation

```bash
# Download from official site
# https://obsidian.md/download

# macOS via Homebrew
brew install --cask obsidian

# Linux (AppImage)
wget https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/releases/download/v1.5.3/Obsidian-1.5.3.AppImage
chmod +x Obsidian-1.5.3.AppImage
./Obsidian-1.5.3.AppImage

# Linux (Flatpak)
flatpak install flathub md.obsidian.Obsidian

# Linux (Snap)
sudo snap install obsidian --classic
```

### Create Your First Vault

```bash
# Create vault directory
mkdir -p ~/Documents/ObsidianVault

# Initialize vault structure
cd ~/Documents/ObsidianVault
mkdir -p "Daily Notes" "Templates" "Inbox" "Projects" "Areas" "Resources" "Archive"

# Create initial configuration
mkdir -p .obsidian
cat > .obsidian/app.json << 'EOF'
{
  "alwaysUpdateLinks": true,
  "newFileLocation": "folder",
  "newFileFolderPath": "Inbox",
  "attachmentFolderPath": "Attachments",
  "showUnsupportedFiles": false,
  "defaultViewMode": "source"
}
EOF

# Create .gitignore for vault
cat > .gitignore << 'EOF'
.obsidian/workspace.json
.obsidian/workspace-mobile.json
.obsidian/plugins/*/data.json
.trash/
*.sync-conflict-*
EOF
```

### Verify Setup

```bash
# Check vault structure
tree -L 2 ~/Documents/ObsidianVault

# Expected output:
# ObsidianVault/
# ├── .obsidian/
# │   └── app.json
# ├── Archive/
# ├── Areas/
# ├── Daily Notes/
# ├── Inbox/
# ├── Projects/
# ├── Resources/
# └── Templates/
```

## Core Capabilities

### 1. Vault Structure and Organization

**PARA Method Structure:**
```markdown
# Vault Organization with PARA Method
#
# Projects/ - Active projects with deadlines
# Areas/    - Ongoing responsibilities
# Resources/- Reference materials
# Archive/  - Completed or inactive items

# Example folder structure:
ObsidianVault/
├── Daily Notes/           # Daily journal entries
├── Inbox/                 # Quick capture, process later
├── Projects/
│   ├── Project-Alpha/
│   │   ├── Overview.md
│   │   ├── Tasks.md
│   │   └── Meeting Notes/
│   └── Project-Beta/
├── Areas/
│   ├── Health/
│   ├── Finance/
│   ├── Career/
│   └── Learning/
├── Resources/
│   ├── Books/
│   ├── Courses/
│   ├── Articles/
│   └── Recipes/
├── Archive/
│   └── 2025-Q1/
├── Templates/
│   ├── Daily Note.md
│   ├── Meeting Note.md
│   ├── Project.md
│   └── Book Note.md
└── Attachments/
    └── images/
```

**Zettelkasten Structure:**
```markdown
# Zettelkasten-style vault
ObsidianVault/
├── 0-Inbox/               # Fleeting notes
├── 1-Literature Notes/    # Notes from sources
├── 2-Permanent Notes/     # Your own ideas
├── 3-Structure Notes/     # MOCs (Maps of Content)
├── 4-Projects/            # Project-specific notes
└── Templates/
```

**Naming Conventions:**
```markdown
# Date-based naming for daily notes
Daily Notes/2025-01-17.md

# Timestamp-based for Zettelkasten
202501171430 - Concept Name.md

# Descriptive naming for permanent notes
How to Structure a Knowledge Base.md

# Project-prefixed naming
Project-Alpha - Meeting 2025-01-17.md

# Use lowercase with hyphens for consistency
my-note-about-something.md
```

### 2. Linking and Backlinking

**Basic Linking:**
```markdown
# Internal links
[[Note Name]]
[[Note Name|Display Text]]
[[Folder/Subfolder/Note Name]]

# Link to heading
[[Note Name#Heading Name]]
[[Note Name#Heading Name|Custom Text]]

# Link to block
[[Note Name#^block-id]]

# Embed notes
![[Note Name]]
![[Note Name#Heading]]
![[image.png]]
![[document.pdf]]

# External links
[External Link](https://example.com)
```

**Block References:**
```markdown
# In source note (Source Note.md)
This is an important concept. ^important-concept

This paragraph explains something crucial about the topic.
It spans multiple lines. ^key-explanation

# In referencing note
As mentioned in [[Source Note#^important-concept]], this concept is key.

# Embed the block
![[Source Note#^important-concept]]
```

**Linking Best Practices:**
```markdown
# Note: The Power of Compound Interest.md

## Summary
Compound interest is the concept where interest earns interest over time.

## Related Concepts
- [[Time Value of Money]] - foundational concept
- [[Investment Strategies]] - practical applications
- [[Rule of 72]] - quick estimation method

## Sources
- [[Book - The Psychology of Money]]
- [[Article - Warren Buffett on Compounding]]

## Applications
See [[Personal Finance MOC#Investment Strategies]] for implementation.

## Tags
#finance #investing #concepts
```

**Alias Usage:**
```yaml
---
aliases: [PKM, Knowledge Management, KM]
---

# Personal Knowledge Management

This note can now be linked via:
- [[Personal Knowledge Management]]
- [[PKM]]
- [[Knowledge Management]]
```

### 3. Tags and Properties (Frontmatter)

**YAML Frontmatter:**
```yaml
---
title: Complete Guide to Obsidian
date: 2025-01-17
updated: 2025-01-17
type: reference
status: active
tags:
  - obsidian
  - knowledge-management
  - productivity
author: Your Name
rating: 5
source: https://obsidian.md
related:
  - "[[Markdown Basics]]"
  - "[[Note-Taking Methods]]"
cssclass: wide-page
---

# Complete Guide to Obsidian

Content starts here...
```

**Common Property Patterns:**
```yaml
# For book notes
---
title: "Book Title"
author: "Author Name"
type: book
status: reading  # reading, completed, abandoned
started: 2025-01-01
finished:
rating:
genre: [non-fiction, productivity]
---

# For meeting notes
---
title: Weekly Team Sync
type: meeting
date: 2025-01-17
attendees:
  - Alice
  - Bob
  - Charlie
project: "[[Project Alpha]]"
action-items: true
---

# For project notes
---
title: Project Alpha Overview
type: project
status: active  # planning, active, on-hold, completed
start-date: 2025-01-01
due-date: 2025-03-31
priority: high
stakeholders:
  - Team Lead
  - Product Manager
---
```

**Tag Hierarchies:**
```markdown
# Use nested tags for organization
#status/active
#status/completed
#status/on-hold

#type/note
#type/literature
#type/project

#area/health
#area/finance
#area/career

#source/book
#source/article
#source/podcast
#source/video

# In a note:
#project/alpha #status/active #priority/high
```

### 4. Templates

**Daily Note Template:**
```markdown
---
date: {{date}}
type: daily
tags:
  - daily-note
---

# {{date:dddd, MMMM D, YYYY}}

## Morning Review
- [ ] Review calendar
- [ ] Check priorities
- [ ] Set daily intention

## Today's Focus
> What is the ONE thing I can do today that will make everything else easier?

1.

## Tasks
### Must Do
- [ ]

### Should Do
- [ ]

### Could Do
- [ ]

## Notes & Ideas


## Meetings
```dataview
TABLE WITHOUT ID
  file.link as "Meeting",
  attendees as "Attendees"
FROM #meeting
WHERE date = date("{{date:YYYY-MM-DD}}")
```

## Journal


## Evening Review
- What went well today?
- What could be improved?
- What did I learn?

---
**Links:** [[{{date:YYYY-MM-DD|yesterday(-1)}}]] | [[{{date:YYYY