Use ModelBrain with an Obsidian vault

If ModelBrain is not set up yet, start with the quickstart. Then, on macOS or Windows, open the ModelBrain menu, choose Add Vault… and pick the folder your Obsidian vault lives in. In ModelBrain, a vault is just a folder you have added, so the word means the same thing in both apps.

From a terminal, the same thing is:

The first word after sync is a short name you choose for the folder. Use it later to pause, resume or remove it. The full command set is in Add, remove and rescan folders.

The first pass reads every note and runs in the background, so a large vault can take a while before everything is searchable. After that, only notes that changed are read again. Sync is not instant: a saved note takes a little while to show up in answers. The table further down says what has been measured and what has not.

In a connected assistant, ask the way you would ask a person who had read your vault. Here is an illustration of the kind of exchange to expect. The notes and the answer are made up for the example.

"What did I decide about the pricing page, and where did I write it down?"

…the assistant calls ModelBrain…

"You decided to keep the monthly price visible and drop the
comparison table. That is in Projects/Website/Pricing decisions.md."

Answers point back to the note they came from, so you can open it in Obsidian and check. If the answer is not in your notes, reasoning mode says so instead of guessing. See reasoning mode, explained for how that works.

Folders such as node_modules and files that look like secrets (.env, keys, anything named credentials) are excluded automatically too. The full list is on the folders page.

• Edit a note and the next sync replaces the old text with the new. ModelBrain does not keep earlier versions, so what your assistant sees is what the note says now.
• Delete a note and it is dropped from ModelBrain on a later sync, not the instant you delete it.
• Keep something private by leaving it out of the folder you add. If your vault holds a mix, add a subfolder instead of the whole vault, or keep the private notes in a separate vault.
• Stop at any time. Pause Syncing holds updates, Stop Syncing keeps what was already read searchable, and “Remove Vault and Forget Its Contents…” deletes it from ModelBrain for good. Your Obsidian files are never changed or removed by any of these.

Each line below is backed by an automated test that runs against a sample vault. A line only says Tested when the whole behavior passes. Anything not fully checked says so.

For local use, nothing leaves your computer. ModelBrain reads the files where they sit, and the index lives on your machine. ChatGPT connects through a relay and needs a free account, covered in ModelBrain and ChatGPT. Sync between computers is a separate, optional feature that is not launched yet.

ModelBrain is an independent product from NexSpark and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Obsidian. Obsidian is a trademark of its owners.