How to add images in obsidian

Obsidian is known for its innovative and intuitive approach to note taking. However, if you’ve ever tried to add images to your Obsidian notes, you may have encountered some difficulties. While this app works well with text, it may have problems with other forms of media.

Fortunately, there are some easy ways to incorporate imagery into your obsidian notes. This guide will show you how.

How to Add Images to Obsidian Quickly and Easily

There are several ways to insert images into Obsidian notes and this p will focus on the easiest and fastest way. It’s not the most efficient option (see below for more information on this), but it is the easiest and only involves two simple steps:

1. Open Obsidian and select the note where you want to add your image.
   
2. Next, simply drag and drop the image you want to add (in a common format, such as JPG or PNG) into the notes window.
   

Note: If you are in Source mode, the image will not actually appear on your page. Instead, you’ll see a piece of text, which will look like {{image.jpg}}. If you really want to see the image along with your text, you’ll need to switch to Editor mode.

How to store images in obsidian without causing clutter

The above method makes it easy to add images to any Obsidian note in a matter of seconds. But it has a disadvantage. Every time you drag and drop an image, Obsidian will automatically create a completely new note. This makes the sidebar look really cluttered and disorganized.

Not only that, but all images will also be added to your Obsidian vault. And if you want to browse the vault through File Explorer, it can be difficult to find the files you’re looking for among all those JPGs and PNGs.

Fortunately, there is an easy solution for this:

1. Open Obsidian and create a new folder. Call it “Attachments.”
   
2. Open the “Settings” menu and go to “Files and Links.”
   
3. Then, look for the option called “Default location for new attachments.” This is where all new photos and other attachments will be stored.
   
4. By default, it will be set to “Vault Folder”, but you can click and change it to “In the folder specified below”.
   
5. Next, select the “Attachments” folder you created earlier as the storage location for all images from that point on.
   
6. Try dragging and dropping a photo into a note to test it out.
   

Bonus: Once you configure attachment settings, videos and audio files will also automatically move to the “Attachments” folder as you add them. This is very useful if you plan to add other types of media to your notes in addition to images and photographs.

How to add images to Obsidian without taking up vault space

The above method is ideal for organizing your vault and sidebar, but there is still one issue we need to address. Every time you add an image (or any other attachment), it takes up space in your vault. Vaults have a limited amount of space, and if you add too many images or other files, you may run out.

Again, there is a solution for this. In fact, there is a way to add images, GIFs, and even short videos to Obsidian notes without taking up any space in the vault. Furthermore, this method is completely free and involves using the image sharing site, Imgur.

1. Open Obsidian and head to “Settings” and then find the “Community Plugins” tab.
   
2. Click “Browse” and type “Imgur” in the search bar to find the Obsidian Imgur plugin.
   
3. Click to install the plugin, then press “Enable” once the installation is complete.
   
4. Now, try adding an image to Obsidian using drag and drop.
   
5. You’ll see a pop-up window asking if you want to upload your image to Imgur or store it locally. Click the “Upload” button to submit the image to Imgur.
   
6. The image should now appear in your Obsidian window, but it will not be stored in the vault or take up storage space.
   

Note: By default, any images you upload this way will be sent anonymously to Imgur’s servers. However, you can also choose to connect your Imgur account to Obsidian and upload files to your own private space. That is how:

1. Find the “Imgur Plugin” options under “Settings”.
   
2. Change the “Image Upload Method” setting from “Imgur Anonymous Upload” to “Imgur Authenticated Upload”.
   
3. Finally, click “Authenticate” and log in through Imgur to connect your profile (if you don’t already have one, head to Imgur.com and follow the registration process).
   

It is definitely a good idea to use the authentication method, especially if you intend to use personal photographs or important work images.

Frequent questions

Where are images stored when I add them to Obsidian Notes?

By default, if you add an image to Obsidian, it goes into your Obsidian vault. Vaults can be stored on your local system or on a cloud platform, such as Dropbox or iCloud. You can also use community plugins, such as the Imgur plugin (detailed above), which allows you to store images on Imgur.com, without taking up their own space.

Can you drag and drop images from the web into Obsidian notes?

Unfortunately, while it’s possible to drag and drop images from the web, they won’t actually appear in your notes if you use this method. Instead of an image, you will see a link to the photo on the Internet. If you want the actual image to appear, you’ll need to download it to your system beforehand, then drag and drop it.

What are the benefits of adding images to Obsidian?

Images and photographs can liven up your Obsidian notes, making them more dynamic and providing key visual content you might need for certain types of posts. For example, if you’re writing a blog post on Obsidian or putting together some recipe instructions, images can complement the text. For work notes, you may also want to add charts and diagrams for future reference. This is why it is highly recommended to learn how images work in Obsidian and master them.

Bring your obsidian notes to life with images

With images, your Obsidian notes become even more useful and valuable. The process may take a little getting used to and involves some configuration in the menus. But once you’ve got it all figured out, you shouldn’t have any problems bringing your notes to life with visual content.

What is obsidian used for? Have you had difficulty adding images, videos, or other media to your notes? Let us know all about it in the comments p.