What is all the fuss about Obsidian?

Picture the scene…Sunday evening, it’s getting close to my bedtime, I’m browsing the web, catching up on some gossip. I suddenly notice that I’ve read 1, 2, 3 blog posts in a row which mention/link-to/speak about Obsidian.

Half-asleep, I decide to finally figure this one out. Is it going to be another Vim versus Emacs perpetual debate? What sort of code editor is this thing? And why is the entire small web — it would seem — going nuts over this thing?

Appimage installed and…nothing. There is a freakishly enchanting mind map-type relationship graph and a blank page. Oh, I see, muttering to myself. It’s an implementation of a fancy markdown editor which can make a fancy graph. I use markdown. What else can this thing do?

I start typing in the middle window, and try adding a sub-heading using hard-core markdown syntax, like a proper purist. Erm, wait. Did it just…? Oh, wow! There I was, coming from painstakingly crafting markdown documents in gedit, expecting to have to install a plug-in to show the markdown rendered. This is markdown rendered-as-you-type! Auto-save in real-time, too…what on earth? This is actually quite nice!

I’m wide awake now.

I continue typing, then stop to explore the right-click menu as well as the settings.

I have a markdown cheat-sheet in my “drafts” folder which I constantly refer to for formatting the elements I don’t use too often. Obsidian has it all built-in and available on the right-click menu.

Personally, I don’t have a need for the relationship graph toy — it looks amazing — but it’s not for me.

OK. I get it, I finally get why everyone is raving about Obsidian.

I’m convinced

And, I’m impressed. You’ve recently made a quiet writing space, I remind myself. All that code… I imagine it alongside my markdown cheat sheet as iPhone apps, long-pressed, about to be uninstalled, and shaking with fear. You have served me well, my friends. It’s not you, it’s me. Yes, there is someone else, so we must go our separate ways.

Sleep creeps up to me, and slowly dims the lights. The darkness sets in and the dream-movie starts; there are no trailers. The dream-movie is filled with rocks, black and gleaming. I climb one, and gleefully slide down it’s shininess, arms open, gliding gracefully down into the blackness which is Obsidian.