jacobinwwey_obsidian-NotEMD/website/docs/intro.mdx

---
id: intro
title: Introduction to Notemd
description: AI-powered knowledge base builder for Obsidian with persistent note transformations, workflows, and spec-first diagrams
keywords: [notemd, obsidian, AI, LLM, knowledge base, wiki-links, Copilot alternative, Smart Connections alternative, obsidian AI plugin, auto wiki-link, concept notes]
author:
  '@id': 'https://jacobinwwey.github.io/obsidian-NotEMD/#person-jacobinwwey'
concepts: [Notemd, Obsidian, LLM, Knowledge Management, Wiki-Links, Copilot Alternative, Smart Connections Alternative, AI Plugin]
citations:
  - title: Obsidian
    url: https://obsidian.md
---

import TLDR from '@site/src/components/TLDR';

# Introduction to Notemd

<TLDR>
**Notemd** (Note + EMD — Enhanced Markdown Documents) is an open-source Obsidian plugin that transforms LLM-powered reading into persistent knowledge. Unlike chat-based AI where insights vanish after the session, Notemd writes results **directly into your vault** as wiki-links, concept notes, research summaries, translations, workflows, and diagrams. It is built for researchers, students, and knowledge workers who want reading, research, and visual explanations to accumulate into a structured, evolving knowledge graph.
</TLDR>

## What is Notemd?

Notemd integrates **30+ Large Language Models** (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek, Qwen, Ollama, and more) into your Obsidian workflow to automate knowledge extraction, organization, translation, research, and diagram generation.

### Key Difference: Ephemeral vs. Persistent Knowledge

| Aspect | Chat-based AI (ChatGPT, etc.) | Notemd |
|--------|-------------------------------|--------|
| **Where results go** | Chat history (disappears) | Your Obsidian vault (persists) |
| **Format** | Plain text answers | Structured files: `[[wiki-links]]`, concept notes, diagrams |
| **Long-term value** | Must re-ask each time | Accumulates into a knowledge graph |
| **Offline access** | Requires internet | Works fully offline with Ollama |

## Core Capabilities

### 1. **Automatic Wiki-Linking**
- LLM identifies key concepts in your notes
- Inserts `[[wiki-links]]` at each occurrence
- Optionally creates linked concept notes
- Synonym suppression to avoid duplicates

### 2. **Concept Note Generation**
- Extracts core concepts from papers, articles, notes
- Generates dedicated concept files with backlinks
- Customizable output paths and templates

### 3. **Web Research Integration**
- Query Tavily or DuckDuckGo from within Obsidian
- LLM summarizes results with source citations
- Appends research findings to current note

### 4. **Multilingual Translation**
- Translate selections or entire notes
- Supports 21+ UI languages
- Independent output language configuration
- Batch translation support

### 5. **Diagram Generation**
- **Mermaid**: Flowcharts, sequence, class, state, ER, Gantt
- **JSON Canvas**: Obsidian native layouts
- **Vega-Lite**: Data charts, time series, scatter plots
- **HTML / Editable HTML/SVG**: Self-contained figure artifacts with semantic annotations
- **Draw.io / Drawnix artifact boundaries**: Maintainer-facing export paths from the same semantic figure model
- **Circuit diagrams roadmap**: circuitikz/TikZJax support is being designed around golden references, constrained prompts, render feedback, and topology/layout validation rather than raw unconstrained LLM TikZ
- **Preview diagnostics**: Render artifacts can surface compile/render smoke diagnostics, and non-inline sources can be inspected without requiring a plugin-side LaTeX runtime
- Syntax auto-fix for Mermaid errors

### 6. **One-Click Workflows**
- Chain multiple actions into sidebar buttons
- DSL-based workflow definition
- Example: `add-links > extract-concepts > research > diagram`

## Who Should Use Notemd?

✅ **Researchers** reading papers and building literature reviews
✅ **Students** organizing study notes and creating concept maps
✅ **Knowledge workers** who want reading insights to persist
✅ **Bilingual professionals** needing translation + wiki-linking
✅ **Privacy-conscious users** wanting local LLM support (Ollama)
✅ **Power users** who customize prompts and workflows

## Why Notemd + Obsidian?

**Obsidian** is a local-first, markdown-based knowledge base. **Notemd** adds AI superpowers:
- Your data stays in your vault (not a cloud service)
- Works offline with local models
- Free and open source (MIT license)
- Integrates with existing Obsidian plugins
- Scales to tens of thousands of notes

## Getting Started

1. **Install**: Settings → Community Plugins → Browse → "Notemd"
2. **Configure**: Add your LLM provider API key (or use local Ollama)
3. **Try it**: Open a note → Right-click → "Process file (add links)"
4. **Explore**: Check the sidebar for one-click workflows

👉 [Installation Guide](./getting-started/installation) | [Quick Start Tutorial](./getting-started/quick-start)

## Diagram Capability Direction

Notemd's diagram work is moving away from "ask the model to write one syntax string" and toward a layered pipeline:

```mermaid
graph LR
    A[Source Note] --> B[DiagramSpec]
    B --> C[Target Adapter]
    C --> D[Rendered Artifact]
    D --> E[Semantic Verification]
    E --> F[Preview or Export]
```

The current implementation already supports Mermaid, JSON Canvas, Vega-Lite, HTML fallback, editable HTML/SVG, Draw.io XML artifacts, a minimal Drawnix JSON subset, preview diagnostics/source-only fallback, and an offline `CircuitSpec -> circuitikz` prototype for common-source and CMOS inverter golden templates. Circuit diagrams are a harder class: circuitikz can express accurate electrical topology, but unconstrained LLM output often produces unreadable routing or non-rendering LaTeX. The next direction is to keep circuitikz constrained with golden-reference templates, node-grid layout rules, render diagnostics, and screenshot feedback loops.

Read the details in [Diagrams](./features/diagrams).

## Architecture

```mermaid
graph LR
    A[Obsidian Note] --> B[Notemd Plugin]
    B --> C{Task Selection}
    C -->|Add Links| D[LLM Provider]
    C -->|Research| E[Search API]
    C -->|Translate| D
    C -->|Diagram| D
    D --> F[Structured Output]
    E --> D
    F --> G[Update Vault]
    G --> H[Wiki Links]
    G --> I[Concept Notes]
    G --> J[Diagrams]
    G --> K[Research Summaries]
```

## Notemd vs Other Obsidian AI Plugins

Most Obsidian AI plugins are conversation-first (you ask, AI answers, insights stay in chat). Notemd is **write-first**: AI processes your notes and writes structured results directly into your vault.

| Capability | Notemd | Copilot | Smart Connections | Text Generator |
|-----------|--------|---------|-------------------|-----------------|
| Auto wiki-link insertion | Yes | No | No | No |
| Concept note generation | Yes (with backlinks + dedup) | No | No | No |
| Diagram generation | Yes (Mermaid, Canvas, Vega-Lite, HTML, editable artifacts) | No | No | No |
| Web research integration | Yes (Tavily + DuckDuckGo) | No | No | No |
| Batch folder processing | Yes | Limited | No | Limited |
| Per-task model routing | Yes (7 tasks, independent models) | No | No | No |
| One-click workflow chains | Yes (DSL) | No | No | No |
| Translation (batch) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Chat with vault | No | Yes | No | No |
| Semantic similarity search | No | No | Yes | No |
| Template-based generation | No | No | No | Yes |
| LLM providers | 36 (cloud + gateway + local) | 3-5 | 2-3 | 3-5 |
| Fully offline | Yes (Ollama) | Partial | Partial | Partial |

**When to choose Notemd**: You want AI to build a persistent knowledge graph — not just chat about your notes.

**When to choose Copilot**: You want a conversational AI assistant inside Obsidian.

**When to choose Smart Connections**: You want to discover existing relationships between notes via semantic search.

## Philosophy

**Notemd believes that AI should augment human knowledge work, not replace it.** The plugin:
- Keeps you in control (review before applying changes)
- Preserves context (all results link back to source)
- Respects privacy (local LLM support, no telemetry)
- Stays extensible (open APIs, custom workflows)

## Open Source

- **License**: MIT
- **Source**: [github.com/Jacobinwwey/obsidian-NotEMD](https://github.com/Jacobinwwey/obsidian-NotEMD)
- **Community**: [Discord](https://discord.gg/qnGgsQ9W) | [GitHub Discussions](https://github.com/Jacobinwwey/obsidian-NotEMD/discussions)
- **Contribute**: PRs welcome, see [CONTRIBUTING.md](https://github.com/Jacobinwwey/obsidian-NotEMD/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md)

---

**Next**: [Installation →](./getting-started/installation)