Why Obsidian for Technical Notes
Obsidian stores notes as plain markdown files in a folder on your filesystem. No proprietary format, no lock-in. The local-first architecture means your vault works offline, syncs via any file sync service, and can be version-controlled with git. For technical notes that mix code blocks, math, and prose, markdown is the natural format.
Essential Plugins
Dataview - the most powerful plugin in the ecosystem. Lets you write queries over your vault’s frontmatter and file metadata, generating dynamic tables, lists, and indexes. A live index of all published notes sorted by modification date, or a dashboard that shows notes tagged #review. These are Dataview use cases.
Templater - template engine with dynamic variables. Create a template for a new project note that auto-fills the date, generates a slug from the title, and pre-populates standard sections. Saves setup time and enforces consistent structure.
Calendar - sidebar calendar view linked to daily notes. Useful for research journals or meeting notes where the date is the primary organizational axis.
Obsidian Git - auto-commit and push your vault to a git remote on a schedule. Gives version history and offsite backup without manual intervention.
Dataview Queries
List all notes tagged as README across the vault, with their path:
table file.path as path
where file.name = "README"
sort path descDashboard of all notes in the “Public” folder with creation and modification dates, organized by subfolder:
table file.ctime as creation, file.mtime as modification, split(file.path, "/")[1] as folder
from "Public"
where file.name != "README"
sort folder descDataview queries update automatically when you open the note or modify the vault. The index is always current.
Publishing Workflow
One practical workflow: maintain notes in Obsidian, then publish to a static site by syncing the vault folder to a build pipeline. This portfolio uses exactly that pattern. The vault is the source of truth, and a sync script copies published notes to the Astro content directory before each build.
For publishing individual notes to Medium, the markdown to Medium workflow preserves formatting reasonably well, though code blocks and tables sometimes need manual adjustment.
Useful Learning Resources
- Obsidian Plugins Overview - walkthrough of the core community plugins
- Dataview Plugin Deep Dive - building dynamic queries and dashboards
- Useful Templates for Obsidian - template patterns for recurring note types