Obsidian Bases let you turn any set of notes into a powerful database. With bases you can organize everything from projects to travel plans, reading lists, and more. You can filter your notes by properties and create dynamic formulas.
A huge congratulations to the Obsidian team for another exciting update! 🙌
I've been a consistent Obsidian user since early 2021 (I still use it daily!) and it's been incredible seeing the features that have emerged since then. I'm very excited to experiment with Bases now that it has fully launched and appreciate the rich documentation that you've provided so far as I do so. There's an incredible amount of potential with these databases.
Here's to what's ahead and congrats again on the launch! 🚀
Obsidian Bases surprised me with just how transformational it is. But first, it's blazing fast (makes Notion feel slow-motion), it treats your all your notes as a single database that you can easily slice and dice (again, at blazing speeds). But once I found out what you can do with Bases in the sidebar, allowing them to dynamically display all the links (and the relevant information) related to the active note, it blew my mind. Obsidian, you've done it again.
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Turning my chaotic notes into structured databases without leaving Obsidian. Dynamic formulas + plain text freedom? This is the flex we needed. Already brewing a reading tracker!
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@Obsidian has fundamentally changed how I think about knowledge management. The local-first approach is brilliant - your notes are yours, accessible offline, and not held hostage by subscription models or server downtime.
What sets Obsidian apart isn't just the linking and graph view (though those are game-changing), it's the philosophy: your thoughts shouldn't be trapped in proprietary formats or dependent on someone else's servers. The plugin ecosystem is incredible - it's like having a Swiss Army knife that you can customize infinitely.
The new Bases feature is particularly exciting because it bridges the gap between freeform thinking and structured data. Finally, we can have database functionality without sacrificing the flexibility of markdown or being locked into rigid templates like other tools.
We're launching Kipps.AI tomorrow - AI voice agents for Enterprises - and we actually use Obsidian internally for our knowledge base and product documentation. There's something powerful about tools that adapt to how you think rather than forcing you into predefined workflows.
Question for the community: How are you planning to use Bases? I'm thinking of combining it with the daily notes feature to create a dynamic project tracking system.
Obsidian represents the future of personal knowledge management - tools that empower rather than constrain. Well-deserved success! 🧠✨
Obsidian earns raves for local-first reliability, speed, and Markdown flexibility, with many praising its powerful linking, graph view, and an extensive plugin ecosystem that scales from simple notes to full knowledge systems. Some mention a learning curve and occasional friction on mobile or search, but most say it “just works” and adapts to varied workflows. Maker reviewers add depth: makers of
Markdown language acceptance, preference for keyboard control of applications, command-centred UI, scale for customisation and community plug-ins
How customizable are themes without editing code?
You can download themes that others have created. I can't code, but it's pretty basic code so you can customise it quite easily.
Does mobile editing feel fast and dependable?
I haven't tried it yet, but I intend to once I get Obsidian Sync.
Does Obsidian replace your previous note-taking tool effectively?
Yes, it does. I need to do more work to maintain Obsidian, but it's necessary work that's good practice for strong organisational skills and effectiveness in the long-term.
Infinitely customizable - if you want to make it an incredibly stripped down snippet collector, Zettelkasten, or series of shower thoughts with nothing but Markdown, you can. If you want to install 60 community plugins and move on to the ones that aren't in the Community store yet, customize it with CSS, and have a widget-y dashboard with buttons and dropdown menus, you can do that too. (I'm somewhere in between.) But more to the point, it's a heck of a lot better than spreading all my notes to myself between 30232340 notepad .txt files in different folders, Notion, Docs and Notes on my phone.
Has it fixed the ADHD and the tendency to pick up every new productivity software? Nope, but that's my own issue. Has it greatly helped with consolidating and getting me into a routine? It sure has -- and it also has the really cool bonus of encouraging wikilinks within notes, which scratches a hypertext itch I forgot I had. (Also, there's a really robust TTRPG community within the Obsidian forums/Discord and a whooole subsection of user-made tips for GMs and players, so that's a nice little bonus for those of you into that hobby.)
What's great
note-taking (1)community support (1)markdown support (21)strong community (1)community plugins (41)customization (28)
I’ve been using Obsidian daily for over a year now. There’s no onboarding funnel, no update pop-ups, no pressure to upgrade. It just works, and it keeps working.
You let some tools into your life without thinking too hard about it. Obsidian was like that, although I did spend probably an entire week customizing it, iterating upon a template until I figured out how to structure my daily notes versus larger long-term projects. I mean, I was not really just getting into a note-taking app, I was actually looking for a new way to structure my thoughts and create meaningful habits around journaling.
I really like that Obsidian doesn't get in the way once you customize it how you like. It's usually the first thing I open in the morning, so I can plan the whole day ahead of me, journal my thoughts, and take notes for my meetings without it being overly complicated.
Raycast
Super interesting interview with Obsidian's CEO @kepano on Decoder with @caseynewton yesterday — and just in time for the launch of Bases in v1.9.10.
Are there other Markdown-based, plaintext apps that include database functionality?
This seems significant!
If you're an Obsidian person, what will you use Bases for?
Ideaverse Pro
A huge congratulations to the Obsidian team for another exciting update! 🙌
I've been a consistent Obsidian user since early 2021 (I still use it daily!) and it's been incredible seeing the features that have emerged since then. I'm very excited to experiment with Bases now that it has fully launched and appreciate the rich documentation that you've provided so far as I do so. There's an incredible amount of potential with these databases.
Here's to what's ahead and congrats again on the launch! 🚀
Ideaverse Pro
@keatonkeaton Agreed on the documentation; it has been very helpful to rapidly learn the ins and outs.
Ideaverse Pro
Obsidian Bases surprised me with just how transformational it is. But first, it's blazing fast (makes Notion feel slow-motion), it treats your all your notes as a single database that you can easily slice and dice (again, at blazing speeds). But once I found out what you can do with Bases in the sidebar, allowing them to dynamically display all the links (and the relevant information) related to the active note, it blew my mind. Obsidian, you've done it again.
Turning my chaotic notes into structured databases without leaving Obsidian. Dynamic formulas + plain text freedom? This is the flex we needed. Already brewing a reading tracker!
@Obsidian has fundamentally changed how I think about knowledge management. The local-first approach is brilliant - your notes are yours, accessible offline, and not held hostage by subscription models or server downtime.
What sets Obsidian apart isn't just the linking and graph view (though those are game-changing), it's the philosophy: your thoughts shouldn't be trapped in proprietary formats or dependent on someone else's servers. The plugin ecosystem is incredible - it's like having a Swiss Army knife that you can customize infinitely.
The new Bases feature is particularly exciting because it bridges the gap between freeform thinking and structured data. Finally, we can have database functionality without sacrificing the flexibility of markdown or being locked into rigid templates like other tools.
We're launching Kipps.AI tomorrow - AI voice agents for Enterprises - and we actually use Obsidian internally for our knowledge base and product documentation. There's something powerful about tools that adapt to how you think rather than forcing you into predefined workflows.
Question for the community: How are you planning to use Bases? I'm thinking of combining it with the daily notes feature to create a dynamic project tracking system.
Obsidian represents the future of personal knowledge management - tools that empower rather than constrain. Well-deserved success! 🧠✨
CrePal
Ductts
I'm really excited about this. I use Obsidian for pretty much everything and I'll be interested to see how this changes my workflows.