What is Obsidian?
Obsidian is a new-age note-taking and documentation application. The self-anointed second brain uses Markdown to store the notes created by the user locally. The application is known for being highly customizable, allowing users to integrate plugins and several themes and even incorporating custom CSS, enabling users to create a truly personalized experience for themselves.
Why do we love it?
Unlike most knowledge base software, Obsidian approaches documentation through a gardener approach instead of an architect approach. The goal is to make information stored anywhere within the knowledge base available to users without friction and complex navigation. As the user skips from one idea to another in their brain, so can Obsidian, creating a network of information that users can navigate seamlessly.
Obsidian achieves this through a three-pronged approach:
Graph View
Obsidian lets users view their entire knowledge base through an interactive web-like graph. This graph contains all the knowledge created by a user in the application and can present maps of different ideas.
Backlinks
The app allows users to link different pages to one another, creating a logical sequence to understand and recollect an idea. The backlinks help provide context and comprehensive insights into the origin of an idea.
Outgoing Links
Users can also create outgoing links that can lead to different ideas. Users can use this to navigate to ideas outside of a current knowledge base, to turn mentions of different ideas into links to reach them.
Obsidian for web
Although the app has become one of the most sought-after note-taking apps, users have often had contention regarding installation. Users can only use the app on native machines, i.e., you need to install it on your device. And Obsidian has done this deliberately.
One of the reasons the founders built the application this way is that the company’s vision does not incorporate support for the cloud. They strongly believe that the users’ data must sit on the local machine, not in a cloud server.
As a result, Obsidian is unavailable as a web app and cannot be used through an internet browser.
Communities across Obsidian’s Forum, Reddit, and other channels have requested that Obsidian release a web version. However, it has not borne fruit.
Why do we need it?
Since the app can only be accessed when installed on the native machine, the capabilities of such a diverse knowledge base are hindered. Here is why we need Obsidian for the web.
Accessibility
The local installation requirement of Obsidian does not allow users to move with their data. Since Obsidian stores all the data on the local machine, users cannot access it remotely over the internet while on the move.
The local installation requirement of Obsidian does not allow users to move with their data. Since Obsidian stores all the data on the local machine, users cannot access it remotely over the internet while on the move.
Adaptability
Another major issue is switching platforms. As all the data of the knowledge base is stored on a local machine, migrating the data to a new system becomes a significant hassle. It also makes the Obsidian platform restrictive, and cross-platform access to the knowledge base is unavailable.
Continuity
As the size of the vault grows, users may notice their system slowing down. This often requires users to upgrade their systems and migrate their data to a different machine.
Further, if the user's local machine gets damaged or the data is corrupted, the entire knowledge base of the user is lost. Unless the user regularly maintains a backup file, chances of data loss remain high.
However, the wait is over, and today, we bring you the good news.
Obsidian is live on Neverinstall!
It had been a few months since we released a new app on the platform, and we looked for the perfect addition to the platform. And we decided on Obsidian.
Earlier this week, we released Obsidian on our platform, allowing users worldwide to create their knowledge base on the app through their internet browser, storing their files on our servers which users can access from anywhere.
Why is Obsidian on Neverinstall better?
Here is why Obsidian is better with Neverinstall and how we make the experience better for you.
Access anywhere, on any device
Through Neverinstall, users can access Obsidian on any device and from any location over their internet browser. Since the users’ data is stored on our servers, users can simply log in to their account and start using Obsidian from where they left off.
Neverinstall also makes Obsidian platform-agnostic. Users can use any device with an internet browser to access the app.
No download, no installation
Neverinstall has pre-installed Obsidian on the platform. Therefore, users do not need to download or install the application on their local machine. A user can simply log in to Neverinstall and start using the application.
No hardware limitations
As the size of a Vault in Obsidian grows, its performance (and the machines’) starts deteriorating. This requires either the user to reduce the size of their Vault or upgrade their local machine.
Suggested read - An IDEal environment
However, on Neverinstall, all the heavy lifting is handled on our servers, delivering consistent and unhindered performance no matter the size of your knowledge base.
Experience Obsidian like never before. Sign up now!