Obsidian plugin
Aktar for Obsidian
Keep your notes small and your attachments in your own S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces or MinIO bucket. Paste or drop a file and it goes to the bucket, move the attachments you already have, and every link is a plain https:// URL that works with or without the plugin.
Free and open source. Desktop, iPhone, iPad and Android, Obsidian 1.11.4 or later.
Plain links, no lock-in
Aktar rewrites the embed to a standard Markdown image with the bucket's URL. The size and the caption stay, and so does how the note looks.
![[IMG_2041.png|300]]- Notes stay a few kilobytes and keep syncing the way they do now, with Obsidian Sync, iCloud, Git or anything else.
- The link works in any Markdown app, on GitHub, in a browser and in Obsidian without the plugin. Uninstall it and nothing breaks.
- Change your mind any time: Bring files back downloads them into the vault and turns the links back into ordinary attachment links.
Everything it does
The plugin uses the same destinations, path templates and rules as the Aktar apps, so a file uploaded from Obsidian lands where one from the Mac or the phone would.
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Paste and drop
A pasted or dropped file goes into the note as a placeholder at once and becomes a link when it's uploaded. Choose what goes to the bucket when you paste or drop: images, all files or nothing, and set a default width for new image embeds.
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Move existing attachments
Move the attachments of one note or of the whole vault. A dry run lists every file and every note that changes before anything happens. Links in front matter, code blocks and canvases are left alone, and so are their files. The local copies go to the trash, or stay if you prefer.
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Undo any move
Undo the last move to the bucket downloads the files back into the vault and puts every link back the way it was.
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Bring files back
Download a note's files from the bucket into the vault. The links become ordinary attachment links, written the way your Obsidian link settings say: wikilinks or Markdown, shortest or relative path.
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Move new attachments automatically
Photos attached on your phone, or files that other plugins save into the vault, move to the bucket once a note embeds them. Files no note links stay where they are. Limit it to one folder if you like.
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Private buckets
Your notes keep plain links, and the plugin shows the files through URLs signed on your device, valid for an hour. Nobody without your keys can open them.
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The library
A side panel with three views: which bucket files your notes use and where, the bucket's folders and files, and the upload queue. Find files no note links any more and delete them in one go, after a confirmation.
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Link actions
Right-click a link to copy it, copy a link valid for 1 hour, 1 day or 7 days, open it, bring the file into the vault, or delete it from the bucket. Before deleting, it tells you which notes link the file.
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Smaller photos
Convert photos to WebP before they go up, about a third the size of a JPEG at the same quality, and scale them down to 3840, 2560, 1920, 1280 or 1024 pixels. GIFs and SVGs aren't touched. Where a device can't make WebP (iPhone, iPad), photos become JPEG.
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No location in your photos
Where a photo was taken is removed before it leaves the device. The picture itself isn't touched.
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Works offline
Images you've seen are kept on the device, up to a size you choose, so notes show them without a connection. Uploads wait in a queue that survives going offline and restarting Obsidian, and go up on their own when the connection is back.
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Works with the Aktar app
On a Mac or PC with Aktar, pair the plugin with the app in one click. Uploads then go through Aktar, with its destinations, keys, history and hooks, and Obsidian never sees the keys.
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Publish a note
Turn a note into a web page in your bucket, with its images, and the link is copied. Choose a permanent link or one that works for 7 days (always 7 days in a private bucket). The page can't run scripts, and Take down removes it.
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Vault backup
A zip of the whole vault goes to your bucket every day or every week, under a name nobody can guess, keeping the newest 3, 7, 14 or 30. Turn it on for the one device that's on most. Obsidian's settings folder is left out unless you include it, since other plugins may keep passwords there.
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Your folder structure
Each vault gets a folder of its own in the bucket by default,
obsidian/{vault}/{year}/{month}/{short}.{ext}. Use the note's name or folder, dates, the original file name or a short code. Moved files get names that depend only on the file, so two synced devices moving the same file write the same object and the same links. -
On every device
The same plugin runs on Mac, Windows and Linux, and in Obsidian for iPhone, iPad and Android. Destinations sync with the vault; keys don't, and each device gets them once with a transfer code.
Set it up
Install Aktar from Obsidian's community plugins (Settings › Community plugins › Browse) and turn it on. Then add a destination one of three ways.
From an Aktar app
- In Aktar on your Mac, PC, iPhone or Android phone, open a destination and choose Share. Copy the transfer link.
- In Obsidian, open Settings › Aktar › Add from Aktar app. The link is filled in from the clipboard.
- Type the 12-character code Aktar shows. The keys come along encrypted, and the destination is ready.
Pair with Aktar on this computer
- Install Aktar for Mac 0.19 or Windows 0.12 or later, and add a destination there.
- In Obsidian, open Settings › Aktar › Aktar app and click Connect.
- Click Connect in the dialog Aktar shows. Its destinations appear in the plugin, and uploads go through the app.
Enter it by hand
- Choose Add manually in Settings › Aktar.
- Enter the endpoint, bucket, region, public URL and keys. The setup guides show where to find them for each provider.
- Test the connection and save.
Commands
Every action is in the command palette, so you can give it a hotkey in Settings › Hotkeys. The most used ones are in the editor's right-click menu too.
- Upload a file into this note
- Pick a file and upload it into the note at the cursor.
- Move this note’s attachments to the bucket
- Moves the open note's attachments, after a dry run.
- Move attachments to the bucket…
- Moves attachments from the whole vault or a folder, after a dry run.
- Bring this note’s files back into the vault
- Downloads the open note's bucket files into the vault and turns the links into attachment links.
- Undo the last move to the bucket
- Puts the last move back: the files come back and the links go back the way they were.
- Open the library
- Opens the library in the side panel.
- Publish this note as a web page
- Turns the open note into a web page in your bucket and copies its link.
- Take down this note’s web page
- Removes the open note's web page from the bucket.
- Back up the vault now
- Zips the vault to the bucket now, whatever the schedule.
- Retry uploads
- Tries the uploads that are waiting again.
- Save failed uploads into the vault instead
- Saves uploads that keep failing into the vault, so nothing is lost.
- Add a destination from an Aktar app
- Adds a destination from a transfer link and code.
Your keys stay on the device
Destinations are saved in the plugin's settings, which sync with the vault. The keys never go there. They're kept in Obsidian's secret storage on each device, which doesn't sync, so a vault you share or put in Git carries no keys.
A device that has a destination but not its keys says so, and asks for a transfer code. Paired with the Aktar app, Obsidian never sees the keys at all.
What it connects to
Only the storage endpoints and public URLs of the destinations you add, and on desktop the Aktar app on 127.0.0.1 if you pair with it. There's no Aktar server in between, no account, no analytics and no telemetry.
It lists the vault's files to know which notes link which file, and only the files you upload, move or back up go to your bucket. It reads the clipboard once, when you open Add from Aktar app, to fill in a transfer link.
Requirements
- Obsidian 1.11.4 or later on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad or Android
- A bucket on Amazon S3, Cloudflare R2, Backblaze B2, DigitalOcean Spaces, MinIO or another S3-compatible service, with a public URL or kept private
- Optional: Aktar for Mac 0.19 or Windows 0.12 or later, to pair in one click
Questions
Do my notes still work without the plugin?
Yes. Every link is a plain Markdown link to your bucket, so notes show their images in any Markdown app, on the web and in Obsidian without Aktar. Only files in a private bucket need the plugin, since they need a signed URL.
What happens to the files in my vault?
When they move, the local copies go to Obsidian's trash, or stay if you choose Keep it in the vault too. Files that no note links, and files linked from front matter, code or canvases, stay where they are.
Can I go back?
Yes. Undo the last move, bring a single note's files back, or bring files back one at a time from a link's menu. The files come down from your bucket and the links become ordinary attachment links again.
Does it work with Obsidian Sync, iCloud or Git?
Yes. It doesn't replace your sync, it makes what syncs smaller. Two devices that move the same file write the same object and the same link, so they don't fight over it.
What does it cost?
The plugin is free and open source. You pay your storage provider for what you store, and with Cloudflare R2 there's no charge for downloads.