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Guide · Obsidian · Beginners

How to install and set up Obsidian: a beginner's guide in 5 steps

Download Obsidian, open a folder, and you are set up in about five minutes. It is a free note app that keeps every note as a plain text file on your own disk. Below are the five steps and the three features I use every day.

Obsidian in five steps: install it, open a folder, learn three tricks
  1. Install Obsidian1 min
  2. Open a folder as a vault1 min
  3. Trust or restrict plugins10 sec
  4. Learn three tricks2 min
  5. Add plugins1 min

1. Install Obsidian

Download the version for your system and open it once. It is free: no account, no trial. This takes about a minute.

Download Obsidian →

2. Open a folder as a vault

Obsidian welcome screen with Create new vault, Open folder as vault and Open vault from Obsidian Sync
The welcome screen. Start fresh with Create new vault, or use Open folder as vault for a folder you already have.

A vault is a normal folder. Keep it somewhere you will not clean out, like Documents, and not in Downloads.

Got a vault as a ZIP? Unzip it first. On Windows, right-click it and choose Extract all. Obsidian cannot open notes from inside a ZIP.

Already use Obsidian? Click your vault name at the bottom left, then Manage vaults to find the same options.

3. Trust the author, or stay in Restricted Mode

Obsidian dialog: Do you trust the author of this vault, with Trust author and enable plugins and Browse vault in Restricted Mode
Obsidian asks this when a vault comes with community plugins.

Community plugins run code on your computer. Click Trust author and enable plugins only if you know where the vault came from. Otherwise pick Restricted Mode: your notes still work, the plugins stay off.

4. Three tricks worth learning

4.1 Hover a link to preview it

A hover preview in Obsidian showing the definition of a linked note without leaving the page

Point at any link and Obsidian shows that note in a popup. I revise this way: each of my notes starts with a one-line definition, so hovering over the links is enough. Nothing pops up? Hold Cmd on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows while you hover.

4.2 Open the graph

Obsidian graph view: every note is a dot, every link a line, coloured by folder

Press Cmd+G or Ctrl+G. Every dot is a note and every line a link. To see one folder only, type path:FolderName in the graph's search box.

4.3 Turn notes into a table with Bases

An Obsidian Bases table listing notes with columns for topic, difficulty and status

Give your notes properties at the top, like status: new or difficulty: 3. Bases, a built-in plugin, turns them into a table you can sort and filter. Change a note's status to done and the table follows.

5. Add plugins

Core plugins

Built in. The graph, link previews and Bases are all core.

Community plugins

Made by other people. They run code on your computer, per vault.

Restricted Mode

Turns community plugins off until you trust them.

To install one: Settings › Community plugins › Browse, search, then Install and Enable.

6. Add AI to Obsidian

Obsidian community plugin browser showing the Claudian plugin with its Install button
Claudian in the community plugin browser.

6.1 Chat with your notes: Claudian

Claudian puts Claude in a side panel that can read, search and edit your notes. It works in the desktop app only and needs Claude Code with a Claude plan, or an API key.

  • "Explain this lecture in plain words, then quiz me with five questions."
  • "Which notes connect these two topics?"
  • "Summarise every note marked exam-likely on one page."

It can create, edit and delete notes. Read what it proposes before you approve, and keep a backup.

6.2 Build the notes from your slides: vaultcraft

Starting from lecture PDFs instead of notes? vaultcraft writes a linked vault from them in a few minutes, and you open it in Obsidian. Read how it works and how it compares.

7. Use it on your laptop and phone

Obsidian has apps for iPhone and Android. To see the same notes everywhere, either pay for Obsidian Sync ($4/month billed yearly) or keep the vault folder in iCloud Drive or OneDrive and open that folder on each device.

Whichever you choose, keep a separate backup. A sync service that deletes a file deletes it everywhere.

8. Common problems and fixes

The sidebar shows one folder, or nothing

You opened the folder above your vault. Open the vault folder itself.

Notes vanished after cleaning Downloads

You were working on the copy in Downloads. Unzip again, move the folder to Documents and open it there.

The graph lost its colours or settings

The hidden .obsidian folder went missing. On a Mac, press Cmd+Shift+. in Finder to show hidden folders when you copy the vault.

Hovering shows no preview

Hold Cmd (Mac) or Ctrl (Windows) while you hover.

9. FAQ

Is Obsidian free?

Yes. Obsidian is free without limits and needs no sign-up, including for work. Sync and Publish are optional paid add-ons.

Where does Obsidian store my notes?

In the folder you choose, as plain Markdown files. You can open, copy or back them up like any other files.

Does Obsidian have built-in AI?

No. You add AI with community plugins such as Claudian or Copilot for Obsidian, or let an assistant like Claude write notes into your vault folder.

Is Obsidian better than Notion for students?

For your own notes, often yes: it is free, works offline and keeps files on your disk. For shared group projects, Notion is easier.

Can I use Obsidian on my phone?

Yes. There are apps for iPhone and Android. Use Obsidian Sync or a cloud folder to see the same vault on both.

Obsidian is ready. Now fill it from your slides.

an obsidian vault builder · study · work · research

Set up vaultcraft → How it works

Sources

Screenshots from my own vaults in Obsidian 1.12. Prices as listed on 17 October 2026.