In the previous note, we talked about my wish to create a single knowledge system that would help me reach my goals faster.
I felt discomfort again, but this time it was more about being curious to get to know the program better
How I installed Obsidian
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I went to the site — Obsidian — Sharpen your thinking — and clicked “Get Obsidian for Windows”
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I created my first knowledge vault, choosing the folder where it would be stored
Obsidian
— is a powerful note-taking app, but with a unique feature: it uses Markdown, which makes it easy to create formatted text with links. But its main advantage is the system of links between notes.
Symbols in Markdown
Before I describe what Markdown is and which symbols it has, I want to mention a couple of things:
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I quickly adapted to Markdown symbols and can type them by hand.
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And I’d recommend you install the CMENU plugin, which adds a toolbar (for bold, italics, quotes, code and so on)
The CMENU plugin is a little toolbar
📄 What is Markdown?
Markdown is a simple markup language that lets you format text quickly without unnecessary visual complexity.
Instead of buttons and menus — you use symbols right in the text.
Obsidian now lets you format text into Markdown via right-click, without knowing the syntax
But you can also use it by hand:
| Element | Markdown syntax | How it looks |
|---|---|---|
| Heading 1 | # Heading | # Heading |
| Heading 2 | ## Subheading | Subheading |
| Bold text | **bold** | bold |
| Italics | *italics* | italics |
| Lists | - Item or 1. Item | • Item |
| Link | [text](https://url.com) | text |
| Inline code | `code` | code |
| Quote | > quote | |
| Horizontal line | --- | _______ |
| Checkbox | - [ ] task | ☐ task |
🗃 How notes are stored in Obsidian
Obsidian is not a cloud, not a database and not a website.
It’s an ordinary folder on your computer, where:
- Each note is a separate
.md(Markdown) file — you can open it like a plain notepad - All files are stored locally, you fully own your data
- It can easily be synced via Git, iCloud, Dropbox or Obsidian Sync
- No dependence on the internet or servers
📌 Obsidian turns ordinary Markdown files into a powerful system of thinking, links and automation. And all of it — on your device.
Keep going?