505 words (approximately 3 mins)

Abstract

Obsidian is a Markdown-powered note taking tool.

Callouts

To create a callout, add [!info] to the first line of a blockquote, like so:

> [!info]
> Here's a callout block.
> It supports **Markdown**, [[Wikilinks]], and [[Embedded files|embeds]].
> ![[Somefile.jpg]]

Callout Types

There are the callout types and their aliases:

  • abstract (summary, tldr)
  • info
  • todo
  • tip (hint, important)
  • success (check, done)
  • question (help, faq)
  • warning (caution, attention)
  • failure (fail, missing)
  • danger (error)
  • bug
  • example
  • quote (cite)

Folding

Fallouts are made foldable by adding a + (expanded by default) or - (collapsed by default) after the type identifier:

> [!faq]- Foldable callout
> More info here.

Nesting

Callouts can be nested:

> [!info] This callout has another nested in it.
> > [!faq] And here it is.

Titles

The title of the callout is its type identifier by default. Change this by adding text after the type identifier:

> [!tip] Custom title
> Custom text.

Diagrams

Embedding Web Pages

To embed a web page:
<iframe src="https://www.example.com/"></iframe>

To embed a YouTube video or a Tweet, use the Markdown syntax for external images:
![](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=id)

Formatting

  • ~~Strikethrough~~
  • ==Highlight==
  • %% Comments
  • Horizontal rule ---

Footnotes

This is a footnote[^1].

This is another footnote[^fn].

[^1]: This is the referenced text.  
[^fn]: This referenced text spans multiple lines
  due to the two spaces at the beginning of this one.

Images

  • Link to images: ![Description](https://example.com/image.png)
  • Link to and resize an image: ![Description|100x150](https://example.com/image.png)

Linking

Obsidian supports WikiLink and Markdown links. The WikiLink format is shown below.

  • Link to a note: [[Note name]]
  • Link to a note with custom display text: [[Note name|custom text here]]
  • Link to a note’s heading: [[Note name#Abstract]]
  • Link to a note in another vault: [Note](obsidian://open?valut=ValutName&file=Note.md)

In the note, add a block identifier:

This is some note. ^some-identifier

To link to the block:

[[Note name#^some-identifier]]

Embedding

To embed a note in another note, add an exclamation mark in front of an internal link:

![[Some note]]

Embedding Files

The following files can be embedded:

  • Markdown (md)
  • Image (avif, bmp, gif, jpg, jpeg, png, svg, webp)
  • Audio (flac, m4a, mp3, ogg, wav, webm, 3gp)
  • Video (mkv, mov, mp4, ogv, webm)
  • PDF (pdf)

Files are embedded just like notes:

![[filename.ext]]

Math Expressions

Obsidian supports math expressions via MathJax and LaTeX.

Create a multi-line math expression:

$$
\begin{vmatrix}a & b\\
c & d
\end{vmatrix}=ad-bc
$$

Create an inline math expression: $e^{2i\pi} = 1$

Tags

Tags can be used as keywords or topics for notes.

  • Tag names can include alphanumeric characters, underscore, and hyphen.
  • They must contain at least one non-numeric character.
  • Tags are case-insensitive.

Creating Tags

Tags are created like so: #meeting

Tags can also be created with the tags property in frontmatter:

---
tags:
 - meeting
 - boring
---

Tags can be searched using the tag: search operator.

Nested Tags

Tags can be nested like so: #inbox/to-process

Tasks

A line can be marked as a task with Ctrl + L.
Tasks can be searched via task-todo:<search term> for open tasks and task-done:<search term> for closed tasks.