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The Reality of Obsidian: A Critical Analysis of an Overhyped Markdown Editor

Strip away the exaggerated marketing and community fervor surrounding Obsidian, and what remains is a markdown editor with linking features. This article provides an honest analysis of Obsidian's actual capabilities and limitations from a developer's perspective.

The Essence of Obsidian: Nothing More, Nothing Less Than a Markdown Editor

Here are Obsidian's core features:

  • Renders markdown files (.md) for viewing
  • Creates links to other files using [[filename]] syntax
  • Visualizes link relationships as a graph
  • Supports plugin installation

That's it. You can achieve similar functionality by installing Markdown Preview Enhanced in VS Code.

# Sufficient markdown workflow with VS Code
code --install-extension yzhang.markdown-all-in-one
code --install-extension shd101wyy.markdown-preview-enhanced
code --install-extension foam.foam-vscode

The "Second Brain" Marketing Myth

"Second Brain" is a marketing term coined by Tiago Forte. In reality, it's no different from organizing files in folders.

Inflated Expectations vs Reality

Marketing: "All your knowledge connects to create new insights!"
Reality: You create hundreds of notes but never look at them again.

Marketing: "The knowledge graph visualizes your thinking!"
Reality: You look at spaghetti-like tangled lines and think "Wow, that's complex."

Marketing: "Systematize your knowledge with atomic notes!"
Reality: You're just creating multiple short memos that make searching harder.

The Impracticality of Graph View

Obsidian's iconic graph view is visually impressive but has almost no practical value.

// What graph view actually does
nodes.forEach(note => {
    note.links.forEach(link => {
        drawLine(note.position, link.target.position);
    });
});
// That's all there is to it

Most users marvel at the graph for the first few days, then never use it for actual work. As files accumulate, the graph becomes an unreadable spider web.

The Plugin Ecosystem Trap

Obsidian's "extensibility" is often just another name for complexity.

Plugin Hell

You start simple, but soon find yourself in this situation:

Installed plugins reach 47. You add query functionality with Dataview, create templates with Templater, view calendars with Calendar, manage tasks with Tasks, draw with Excalidraw, edit tables with Advanced Tables... and there are 41 more plugins.

Each plugin has its own settings and shortcuts, and you end up spending more time managing plugins than learning Obsidian itself.

The Reality of Local Storage

While emphasizing "data ownership," there are actually several problems.

The Synchronization Nightmare

Looking at synchronization options, each has its problems. Obsidian Sync costs $8/month, iCloud only works properly on MacBooks. Dropbox is a master at creating conflicted files, Git is too complex for general users. Syncthing configuration is rocket science level.

To use it conveniently, you need to use a paid service, which negates the advantage of being a "free" tool.

However, for single-device users who don't need synchronization, it's the best management method that can integrate with LLMs. I maximize my use of Obsidian as a simple markdown editor.

Mobile Experience Limitations

The mobile app is a degraded copy of the desktop version.

  • Most plugins don't work properly
  • File navigation is inconvenient
  • Typing experience is inferior to native note apps
  • Synchronization delays and conflicts are frequent

Real Alternatives

For Developers

# Option 1: VS Code + Extensions
mkdir ~/notes
cd ~/notes
git init
code .

# Option 2: Just markdown + grep
echo "# Today's Note" > $(date +%Y-%m-%d).md
grep -r "search term" ~/notes/

For General Users

  • Notion: Actually has many useful features (databases, collaboration, templates)
  • Apple Notes / Google Keep: Simple with perfect synchronization
  • OneNote: Free placement of notes and drawings

Who Benefits?

Productivity YouTubers/Bloggers

They get views with titles like "How I Use Obsidian to 10x My Productivity." In reality, they only open Obsidian when filming videos.

Plugin Developers

They create complex plugins and receive sponsorships. Users get trapped in increasingly complex systems.

Obsidian Company

They advertise as "free" but actually generate revenue through paid services like Sync ($8/month) and Publish ($16/month).

What Obsidian Actually Does Well

To be fair, there are things Obsidian does well:

  • Fast file search: Local files mean fast searching
  • Markdown rendering: Clean rendering
  • Customization: Change themes freely with CSS
  • Offline work: Works without internet

But are these special enough to justify all that complexity?

Conclusion: A Tool Is Just a Tool

Obsidian isn't a bad tool. But it's also not a "revolutionary knowledge management system." It's just a markdown editor with linking features.

What really matters isn't the tool but the habit. If you consistently record daily, organize periodically, and can find things when needed, it doesn't matter whether it's Notepad or Obsidian.

Don't waste time building complex systems. Use that time to actually create, learn, and record. The simpler the tool, the better.