How to Export Brain Dump Notes to Obsidian (Complete Setup Guide)

Brain Dump and Obsidian are a powerful combination: Brain Dump captures your thoughts instantly by voice, and Obsidian connects them into a structured knowledge base. Since both apps use plain Markdown files stored in iCloud, they work together seamlessly with zero data migration.

Why Use Brain Dump with Obsidian

Brain Dump excels at frictionless voice capture. You don't have to think about file organization, tags, or structure — just speak and your words become Markdown.

Obsidian excels at connecting ideas. You can link notes, create graphs, use templates, and build a personal knowledge management system.

Together, they create a voice-first knowledge base:

• Capture raw thoughts by speaking (Brain Dump)
• Organize, link, and refine later (Obsidian)
• All your notes remain in plain Markdown files you control

Prerequisites

Before you begin, make sure you have:

• Brain Dump installed on iPhone or iPad
• Obsidian installed (mobile app, desktop app, or both)
• iCloud Drive enabled on all your devices
• At least a few voice notes already created in Brain Dump

Step-by-Step Setup Guide

Step 1: Locate Your Brain Dump Folder

On iPhone/iPad:

1. Open the Files app
2. Tap iCloud Drive
3. Look for the Brain Dump folder
4. Tap it to see all your voice-captured Markdown notes

On Mac:

1. Open Finder
2. In the sidebar, click iCloud Drive
3. Find the Brain Dump folder
4. Note the full path (usually /Users/YourName/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~com~braindump/Documents/)

Step 2: Set Up Obsidian to Read Brain Dump Notes

Option A: On iPhone/iPad (Recommended for Mobile-First Workflow)

1. Open Obsidian on your iPhone or iPad
2. If this is your first time, you'll be prompted to create or open a vault
3. Tap Open folder as vault
4. Navigate to iCloud Drive → Brain Dump
5. Tap Select or Use this folder
6. Obsidian will now treat your Brain Dump folder as a vault

Option B: On Mac (Best for Desktop Workflows)

1. Open Obsidian on your Mac
2. Click Open folder as vault
3. Navigate to your iCloud Drive Brain Dump folder path
4. Click Open
5. Obsidian will import all your Brain Dump notes

Option C: Use Obsidian Sync with iCloud

If you want to use Obsidian on both mobile and desktop:

1. Set up the vault on your iPhone using Option A
2. On Mac, open the same iCloud Drive Brain Dump folder using Option B
3. iCloud will sync changes between devices automatically

Step 3: Configure File Organization

Brain Dump uses automatic timestamp-based filenames like 2025-01-15-143022.md. Obsidian supports this format perfectly, but you can customize how notes appear:

In Obsidian Settings:

1. Go to Settings (gear icon)
2. Navigate to Files & Links
3. Configure these options:
   • Default location for new notes: Set to "Root of vault" or create a folder like _inbox
   • New link format: Choose "Relative path to file" or "Shortest path"
   • Use [[Wikilinks]]: Enable this for easier linking

Optional: Create Folders for Organization

• Create folders like journal/, projects/, ideas/ in Obsidian
• Move Brain Dump notes into these folders after refining them
• Brain Dump will continue to save new notes to the root folder

Step 4: Test the Integration

1. Open Brain Dump on your iPhone
2. Tap Record and say: "This is a test note for Obsidian integration"
3. Let Brain Dump transcribe and save the note
4. Open Obsidian
5. Find the newly created note (sort by "Modified" to see recent notes)
6. Tap or click the note to verify the content appears correctly

How to Link Notes Between Brain Dump and Obsidian

Both apps support standard Markdown links, so you can create connections that work in both places.

Creating Links in Brain Dump

When you record a voice note in Brain Dump, you can:

• Mention other notes by name: "See my note on [[Project Planning]]"
• Brain Dump doesn't auto-create Wikilinks, but you can edit notes in Obsidian later to add them

Creating Links in Obsidian

1. Type [[ and start typing a note name
2. Obsidian will autocomplete from your Brain Dump notes
3. These links work when viewing notes in both apps

Best Practice: Use Consistent Note Titles

• In Brain Dump settings, enable Auto-title from first line
• This creates more readable filenames that work well with Obsidian's linking
• Example: A note starting with "# Project Planning" becomes a file Brain Dump can link to

Workflow Examples

The Voice-First Journaler

1. Morning: Record daily thoughts in Brain Dump while walking
2. Evening: Open Obsidian, review today's voice notes
3. Weekend: Link related ideas, add tags, create a summary note

The Knowledge Worker

1. During meetings: Quick voice notes in Brain Dump for action items
2. After meetings: Open Obsidian, organize notes into project folders
3. Weekly review: Use Obsidian's graph view to see connections between voice notes

The Writer

1. Inspiration strikes: Capture story ideas, character descriptions, plot points by voice
2. Writing session: Open Obsidian, pull relevant voice notes into your manuscript outline
3. Drafting: Use Brain Dump's voice notes as raw material to refine in Obsidian

Troubleshooting Common Issues

Q: My Brain Dump notes don't appear in Obsidian A: Possible solutions:

• Make sure Obsidian is pointed to the correct iCloud Drive folder
• Check that iCloud sync is working (go to Settings → [Your Name] → iCloud → iCloud Drive)
• Force quit both apps and reopen them
• On Mac, make sure iCloud Drive is fully synced (check the cloud icon in Finder)

Q: Links I create in Obsidian don't work in Brain Dump A: Brain Dump supports standard Markdown links [text](path) but not Wikilinks [[note]] by default. When viewing notes in Brain Dump:

• Standard Markdown links work as expected
• Wikilinks appear as plain text but remain functional in Obsidian

Q: Can I use Obsidian templates with Brain Dump? A: Yes! Set up Obsidian templates and apply them to Brain Dump notes after they're created. This is great for:

• Adding consistent frontmatter
• Inserting daily note templates
• Standardizing meeting note formats

Q: What happens if I delete a note in Obsidian? A: Since both apps read the same iCloud files, deleting in Obsidian removes it from Brain Dump too. Make sure to use Obsidian's trash or backup important notes.

Advanced Tips

Use Dataview to Query Voice Notes Install Obsidian's Dataview plugin to create dynamic lists of your voice notes:

dataview
LIST
FROM ""
WHERE file.ctime > date(today) - dur(7 days)
SORT file.ctime DESC

Set Up Daily Notes Configure Obsidian's Daily Notes plugin to create a daily index note, then link relevant Brain Dump voice captures to each day's entry.

Use Tags Retroactively Review your voice notes in Obsidian and add tags like #idea, #todo, #journal for better organization and searchability.

Create MOCs (Maps of Content) Build index notes in Obsidian that link to related voice notes, creating a structured knowledge base from your raw voice captures.

Related Guides

• Organize notes with iCloud topic folders — Structure your Brain Dump notes before importing to Obsidian
• Voice dictation tips — Improve transcription quality for cleaner Obsidian notes
• Backup with Git — Version control your Obsidian vault of voice notes

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need Obsidian Sync? No. Since Brain Dump uses iCloud Drive, native iCloud sync handles everything. Obsidian Sync is only needed if you want to sync to Android or non-Apple devices.

Can I use Brain Dump with Obsidian on Windows? Yes, but you'll need to install iCloud for Windows and point Obsidian to the synced Brain Dump folder.

Will this work with Obsidian Publish? Yes! Any Brain Dump notes in your Obsidian vault can be published using Obsidian Publish.

What about Obsidian plugins? All Obsidian plugins work with Brain Dump notes. Recommended plugins:

• Dataview: Query and list your voice notes dynamically
• Calendar: Visualize when you captured notes
• Templater: Add templates to voice notes retroactively
• Advanced Tables: Format Brain Dump data as tables

Last updated: January 2025. Tested with Brain Dump 2.x and Obsidian 1.5+