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Obsidian is now free for work
- s1291 2y agoUpdated link: https://obsidian.md/blog/free-for-work/ https://obsidian.md/blog/free-for-work/
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- hu3 2y agoCan you use something like iCloud, Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive to get sync for free? Does it work well? Many do that with Joplin.
- surrTurr 2y agoI use iCloud, had no problems so far - it's just markdown files anyways
- pier25 2y agoyep it's just text files anyway I use Sync
- gotimo 2y agoyou can use onedrive to sync the files, and there's also community-made plugins for onedrive and git
- Goofy_Coyote 2y agoI’m using github to sync 3 instances (iPhone, desktop and one web-based instance). It needs some upfront set up and configuration, and I had to buy a git client app for my iPhone (one time purchase), but it’s been working with near 0 maintenance for 3+ years now. I have versioning, and full auto sync (automatic commit, push and pulls).
- 0_____0 2y agoI synced using Google Drive on the desktop, and a third party app to pull and sync a local directory on my phone for mobile. Took a little bit of setup but it worked mostly fine. Now I run the paid sync subscription, and the main difference to me is that there's basically zero wait between replication across copies (unless your computer has been off for a while and it has to fetch a bunch at once). Eliminating merge issues and having everything "just work" was worth it to me.
- dSebastien 2y agoYes, it works great. I actually combine that, Git and Syncthing for different needs. Details here: https://www.dsebastien.net/how-i-synchronize-and-backup-my-obsidian-notes/ https://www.dsebastien.net/how-i-synchronize-and-backup-my-o...
- shikharbhardwaj 2y agoGit works well, but you don't get realtime/live sync. For my setup, I use the obsidian-livesync [1] plugin with a self-hosted CouchDB instance which has worked well for me. I periodically do commit things to a git repo as a backup if the live sync breaks somehow. [1]: https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync https://github.com/vrtmrz/obsidian-livesync
- Capricorn2481 2y agoYes, but I ended up going with Obsidian Sync for file history and "it just works." I tried Obsidian Git for automatic pulls, but frequently had file conflicts even if I wasn't working on files at the same time. Is there another sync tool designed for text that has file version history?
- deleted 2y ago[deleted]
- silvanocerza 2y agoYou can use iCloud but it's quite slow. There are different solutions really, some people use Git and treat the whole vault as a repo. Though I find it quite annoying to manage, also cause not every platform supports git. That's also why I started writing a plugin to sync with any GitHub repo, it uses the GH REST APIs so it can be used on any platform. https://github.com/silvanocerza/obsidian-github-sync https://github.com/silvanocerza/obsidian-github-sync I'm still actively developing it but the core features work nicely.
- srik 2y agoWorks okay with iCloud but follow their iCloud setup though; it’s important for a sync related issue.
- morganherlocker 2y agoI use syncthing. Works flawlessly and took just a few minutes to setup.
- fmorel 2y agoI have multiple vaults in my OneDrive, and use https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.onesyncv2 https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ttxapps.on... (OneSync) on Android to have them available there as well. It's been working great. If I was making edits more often, I might run into sync conflicts. But I mostly edit on my PC, then might make small edits to recipes while I'm working in the kitchen.
- nbutyllithium 2y agoExcellent development! I saw first Obsidian years ago but my main use case would have been for myself at work and I wasn't willing to battle the bureaucratic hoops at my job to try a product I wasn't sure I'd actually stick with long term (like my attempts with logseq). Ended up not even trying it on a personal level. Looking forward to seeing how it goes and who knows maybe I'll end up stick with it and battle to contribute some funds.
- tionis 2y agoI wonder if this is a prelude to make obsidian open-source. Would be pretty great.
- brendanfinan 2y agobased on the vibes I've seen on the forums, the team is very passionate about keeping Obsidian free, but averse to making it open-source
- tionis 2y agoI hope this doesn't destroy their financing. I would hate to see them go down, it's a wonderful piece of software.
- jjice 2y agoI have to imagine they ran the numbers and found that that wouldn't be an issue. I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of enterprise use was completely unlicensed before this.
- 1123581321 2y agoThis is a good change. Most people using it at work do it individually and don’t pay. But they do potentially pay for sync services.
- 0_____0 2y agoI run my life through Obsidian checklists. Sync is worth it for me and I bought a gift subscription for my partner as well.
- taude 2y agoanyone have any good tips or plugins so that I can have browser plugins on all my devices and save web pages from multiple devices to it? It's basically the only reason I still use Notion. (As a former emacs guy, I like a lot about Obsidian, most of the plug-in ecosystem, including it saving my data as just text.)
- 0_____0 2y agoI do this already. I use FF on Android and the desktop and the Obsidian Clipper works phenomenally for this.
- dSebastien 2y agoTry the Obsidian Web Clipper: https://www.dsebastien.net/supercharge-your-knowledge-capture-workflow-with-the-obsidian-web-clipper/ https://www.dsebastien.net/supercharge-your-knowledge-captur...
- input_sh 2y agoThere's an official web clipper now: https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-clipper https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-clipper You can use it on a phone as well via Firefox / Safari.
- _Algernon_ 2y agoAs someone paying personally for a commercial license that I use for work, I am not a fan. I like a clear business model otherwise I assume that I am the product being sold. Edit: They should make it open source if this is the path they take. Then users can personally verify that they (or their data) isn't being sold to the highest bidder.
- canadianwriter 2y agoThe data is local, obsidian is just a markdown viewer at it's core. They have sync but that's a paid for product. Their model is selling to large companies and sync users. Not data sales.
- Analemma_ 2y agoThey also offer optional E2E encryption of synced vaults, such that you can only open them with your local password. Of course we can't know for sure that they're not peeking at the data, but it all seems above-board and I don't think it makes any sense to try and have that as a business model.
- ihuman 2y ago> Their model is selling to large companies I'm not sure if that's the case now. Why would companies pay for licenses when they're optional and don't give any features?
- ffsm8 2y agoWhy should they have before? It was local and you could just use it?
- ihuman 2y agoBefore you were in violation of the terms of use, and most companies would rather pay for a license than risk a lawsuit
- Ferret7446 2y ago
- dSebastien 2y agoThis is awesome news for the community. With a built-in multiplayer mode, it would be epic.
- dSebastien 2y agoAlso for enterprises, being able to point to a different plugins source through config would be great. At work we're mirroring many things using JFrog Artifactory, giving us control and oversight
- dtkav 2y agoShameless plug(in) -- While not built-in, Relay [0] is a plugin that makes Obsidian multiplayer. Our broader goal is to make Obsidian great for work. You can make individual folders collaborative in your vault with several different parties. We use yjs CRDTs for real-time collaboration, and we're making the collaboration server (optionally) self-hosted. Check it out :) [0] https://system3.md/relay https://system3.md/relay
- whatever1 2y agoWhy guys? Let my employer pay for your work.
- 0cf8612b2e1e 2y agoIt might honestly be too cheap to deal with the pain of the bureaucracy. Small purchases still have to go though all of the compliance, legal, whatever nonsense required to send money. The difference between free and $0.01 is enormous.
- squigz 2y agoKYC and related laws are not 'nonsense'
- corysama 2y agoIf you like the product, but are not interested in paying for sync or publish, consider buying the one-time $25 "Catalyst" license just to support development.
- fnordlord 2y agoThanks for noting this. They sold at least one more license because of it. I've been a casual user for the last couple years so they've earned it in my book.
- pilina 2y agoYou are good salesman, you've made them at least $50 now. Definitely money well spent.
- scarlehoff 2y agoI'm so fed up with subscriptions that I didn't realize it was a one-time payment. Time to get my license :)
- silvanocerza 2y agoShameless plug, I'm working on a plugin to sync your vault with a GitHub repo. It's still under active development but it does the job. https://github.com/silvanocerza/obsidian-github-sync https://github.com/silvanocerza/obsidian-github-sync Feedback is more than welcome.
- synthesis12 2y agoHow is this different from the widely used https://github.com/Vinzent03/obsidian-git https://github.com/Vinzent03/obsidian-git?
- silvanocerza 2y agoThat uses git to sync, mine uses the GitHub API. This way it works both on desktop and mobile with no issues, cause you don't need git.
- runjake 2y agoHow are you differentiating from the other current leaders[1][2]? 1. https://github.com/Vinzent03/obsidian-git https://github.com/Vinzent03/obsidian-git 2. https://github.com/kevinmkchin/Obsidian-GitHub-Sync https://github.com/kevinmkchin/Obsidian-GitHub-Sync
- silvanocerza 2y agoMain difference is that I don't use Git, but GitHub API. You don't have the full flexibility of a git repo but you can use it easily on different platforms. Works the same way on desktop and mobile too. Most of those plugins don't work that well on mobile.
- terrabitz 2y agoNice, that's a big differentiator! I use git sync with my mobile vault, but it's very hacky (using a Termux cronjon) and it's often flaky. Plus I have to open up Termux any time I need to troubleshoot, which is a bit annoying.
- throw0101c 2y agoHow do the use-cases for Obsidian differ from Zotero? * https://www.zotero.org https://www.zotero.org
- Analemma_ 2y agoZotero is a file manager with support for research-related tasks like indexing and bibliography generation, Obsidian is a programmable notebook. They can both be used "for research" but they're fundamentally different products.
- bjoli 2y agoI am not really comfortable relying on a tool that has a free tier and a subscription. I really like the app, but I will never again have the rugged pulled out under me with a quadrupling of license costs. Do the make any kind of promises wrt the free tier?
- hoten 2y agoWhat does it matter if the data is portable? https://help.obsidian.md/import https://help.obsidian.md/import Promises aren't ironclad anyhow.
- DannyPage 2y agoAt its core, it’s just a text editor. You don’t need any subscription. It’s Local-first, uses Markdown, and if you want to sync or publish, there’s plenty of other tools for that purpose that don’t require an account, like Syncthing or Github Pages.
- bjoli 2y agoIt is different enough that it will lock me to a certain workflow. Obsidian is great, because it is not like other apps. Using it daily will mean moving to another app will be some work.
- kepano 2y agoThere are no "tiers" with Obsidian. The app is free without limits. You don't even need to sign up. You own your data locally. You can pay for the add-ons like Sync and Publish if you want, but there's also third-party alternatives to those.
- jjice 2y agoThey have "Multiplayer" on their current roadmap [0]. I assume this is to help reduce friction in getting their Sync offering for teams. I personally like the move a lot and I hope this works well for them. The model of selling their add-on services seems to have worked for them well so far, and I hope it continues. It's a very functional free core with their paid add-ons being very additive and well made. [0] https://obsidian.md/roadmap/ https://obsidian.md/roadmap/
- dtkav 2y agoIf you want to try out multiplayer in Obsidian today, there are a few plugins like Relay (disclaimer: I'm a dev), Peerdraft, and Screengarden. I'm not sure exactly what the Obsidian team has planned but hopefully we can make them interoperable. Our plugin stores yjs CRDTs in indexeddb today, but I'd love to create some kind of file-over-app CRDT persistence standard that could go alongside markdown files to make markdown collaboration and edit history vendor agnostic. If anyone would be interested in that type of thing, let me know! (email in bio)
- Derbasti 2y agoThe commercial license used to be de-facto optional, now it is explicitly so. Good for them to officially acknowledge that reality. I bet they realized that payment was never enforceable, so it just didn't make sense to keep up the fiction.
- crooked-v 2y agoI feel like the Obsidian Publish pricing model is a bit off. Having it "per site" feels like nickel-and-diming for small things that's kept me on Notion for a lot of miscellaneous web-published projects. It would be more appealing for at least me if it was something with a higher flat rate that then doesn't care about the exact divisions between your projects.
- srid 2y agoYou can always publish on GitHub Pages using a suitable tool, like https://emanote.srid.ca/ https://emanote.srid.ca/ Disclaimer: I'm the author of Emanote