Create a vault

Understand what an Obsidian vault is and learn how to create a new one, open an existing folder, or manage multiple vaults.

A vault is a folder on your local file system where Obsidian stores your notes. Because a vault is just a plain folder of Markdown files, you own your data completely — you can open it in any text editor, back it up with any tool, and move it wherever you like.

You can keep all your notes in a single vault, or create separate vaults for different projects or areas of your life.

Obsidian does not store your notes in the cloud or in a proprietary format. Everything lives in a regular folder on your device.

Create a new empty vault

When you open Obsidian for the first time, it asks you to add a vault. To create a brand-new vault:

1. Click Create

   To the right of Create new vault, click Create.

2. Name your vault

   In the Vault name field, enter a name for your vault.

3. Choose a location

   Click Browse to select the folder where your vault will be created.

4. Confirm

   Click Create. Obsidian will open the new, empty vault.

Open an existing folder as a vault

If you already have a folder of Markdown files you want to use — for example, notes from another app — you can open it directly as an Obsidian vault:

1. Click Open

   To the right of Open folder as vault, click Open.

2. Select the folder

   In the file browser, navigate to and select the folder you want to use.

3. Confirm

   Click Open. Obsidian will treat that folder as your vault and display all Markdown files inside it.

You don’t need to do anything special to prepare a folder. If it contains .md files, Obsidian will recognise them immediately.

Manage multiple vaults

You can switch between vaults or create additional ones at any time using the vault switcher.

• To open the vault switcher on desktop, click the vault icon at the bottom-left of the sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+, (Cmd+Shift+, on macOS).
• From the vault switcher you can create a new vault, open an existing folder, or switch to any vault you’ve previously opened.

Each vault has its own settings, plugins, and configuration. Changing the theme or installing a plugin in one vault does not affect other vaults.

How Obsidian stores data

Obsidian creates a hidden .obsidian folder inside your vault to store settings, plugins, themes, and workspace state. Your actual notes remain as plain .md files at the top level and in any subfolders you create.

This design means:

• Your notes are readable by any Markdown editor.
• You can use standard file-system tools (Finder, Explorer, rsync, Git) to back up or move your vault.
• Deleting the .obsidian folder resets Obsidian’s settings but leaves your notes untouched.

Next steps

Create your first note

Start writing in your new vault.

Link notes

Connect your notes to build a network of ideas.