Migration: From Obsidian
The shortest migration on the list — Obsidian and Binderus both use plain Markdown files in a folder. In most cases you literally just point Binderus at your existing Obsidian vault.
Step 1 — Point Binderus at your vault
- Open Binderus.
- When prompted for a data directory (or via Settings → General), pick the same folder you've been using as your Obsidian vault.
- That's it. Notes, folders, links, tags, attachments — all work as-is.
Syntax compatibility
| Construct | Obsidian | Binderus |
|---|---|---|
| Wiki links | [[Page]] | [[Page]] ✓ |
| Block references | [[Page^block]] | [[Page^block]] ✓ |
| Heading links | [[Page#Heading]] | [[Page#Heading]] ✓ |
| Embeds | ![[Page]] | ![[Page]] ✓ |
| Tags | #tag | #tag ✓ |
| Frontmatter | YAML | YAML ✓ |
| Callouts | > [!note] | > [!note] ✓ |
| Math (KaTeX) | $inline$ / $$block$$ | $inline$ / $$block$$ ✓ |
Obsidian plugin equivalents
Most things Obsidian's core plugins do, Binderus does natively. A few power-user plugins map differently:
| Obsidian plugin | Binderus equivalent |
|---|---|
| Daily Notes (core) | Built-in via slash command, or use a daily-notes community plugin |
| Templates (core) | Slash commands + a templates folder |
| Graph view (core) | Not built-in |
| Dataview (community) | Not built-in |
| Templater (community) | Use frontmatter + slash commands |
| Excalidraw (community) | Embed images; canvas plugin coming |
| Calendar (community) | Daily-notes plugin handles a subset |
| QuickAdd (community) | Native command palette + slash commands |
Step 2 — Configure to taste
- Pick a theme in Settings → General → Theme (10 built-ins; Nord, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, GitHub Dark, etc.).
- Set your Enter-key behavior to match your Obsidian habit (Paragraph mode is the closer match to Obsidian's default).
- Pick Tree View in the sidebar if you've been using Obsidian's File Explorer; Flat List for a Bear-style experience.
Caveats
.obsidian/folder: Binderus ignores it but it stays in your vault. Delete after you're sure you won't go back.- Vault-level settings (hotkeys, plugin lists): not portable — Binderus stores its own settings under
.binderus/. - Obsidian Sync: if you've been paying for it, you can cancel and switch to a free alternative — see Sync.
Easiest migration on the docs. Most users finish in under 5 minutes.