# Obsidian So [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) is a note taking app based around Markdown. Markdown is a well established style of formatting text so that it's both readable by people, and able to be formatted by computers to look pretty. Most of the formatting tricks my friends and I use in Discord [are markdown](https://www.markdownguide.org/tools/discord/) (though some are custom to Discord)! It's got tons of built in features, and also community plugins, so you can tailor Obsidian to help you take notes in the way your brain works, or the ways you need to for work, or whatever your needs are. ### So why does that matter? Why use Obsidian? - Focused on local files, but can be synced between devices. - If the app went away tomorrow, you'd still be able to access all your notes, unlike with Evernote, Apple Notes, Google Docs, etc. - You can customize it to how it works for you. ### How to use it? Download it and start using it! As you encounter issues or things you wish you could do, look online, in the settings or in the community plugins to see if there's a way to do that. I ***do not*** recommend watching or following someone else's full tutorial for the best way to setup Obsidian. That's probably the best way *for them* and likely isn't the best way for you. It's very easy to over-configure Obsidian and give yourself way more tools than you'll actually need or want. I **do** recommend looking up specific things you might want or need. For instance I wanted a list view for my checklists, so I installed the Kanban plugin. ## How I use it I most often use bottom-up organization, meaning I take notes in one folder, and then create categories and groupings as I see the need to cleanup. Anytime I have tried to create a structure before creating content has ended up far too complicated. I use the Periodic Notes plugin to create me a Monthly note, which I use a scratchpad for anything that I need. I use the Kanban plugin for my To Do list, my Packing Lists, and my Shopping Lists. I specifically like the Kanban plugin, since it lets me view the same note in multiple ways. I can look at it as a plain text file, as a vertical list, or horizontal kanban board. That helps my ADHD brain not get bored with what I'm working with, so things don't become background noise on my to do list as often. ### Plugins These are the plugins I use most frequently, this list occasionally changes over time. Kanban Paste Image Rename Paste URL into Selection Advanced Tables Periodic Notes ### Syncing Notes between Devices I sync this for free to myself using Syncthing, tho there are many other options if you need notes synced between devices. I can't make any recommendations other than Syncthing because I haven't tried the others.