# obsidian: sources

> every source cited in the obsidian history, with its date and type.

- [as we may think](https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1945/07/as-we-may-think/303881/) — the atlantic, vannevar bush (1945-07, primary). the memex — the founding image of knowledge as a trail network that every tool-for-thought inherits.
- [augmenting human intellect: a conceptual framework](https://www.dougengelbart.org/content/view/138/) — doug engelbart institute, doug engelbart (1962-10, primary). computers as intellectual prostheses — the report behind the mother of all demos.
- [the mother of all demos](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mother_of_All_Demos) — wikipedia (1968-12-09, reference). the 1968 nls demo: hypertext, the mouse, dynamic file linking, and real-time collaboration in one system.
- [communicating with slip boxes](https://luhmann.surge.sh/communicating-with-slip-boxes) — luhmann archive (surge.sh mirror), niklas luhmann (1980s, primary). luhmann's own account of the slip-box as a communication partner that surprises you.
- [zettelkasten](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zettelkasten) — wikipedia (2024, reference). the method lineage — ~90,000 cards behind ~70 books.
- [zettelkasten method overview](https://zettelkasten.de/overview/) — zettelkasten.de (2020, reporting). the practitioner canonization of luhmann's method for digital notes.
- [project xanadu](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Xanadu) — wikipedia (2024, reference). nelson's hypertext and transclusion vision — the field's canonical unfinished project.
- [notecards](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NoteCards) — wikipedia (2024, reference). xerox parc's hypertext personal knowledge base — its browser card is the graph view's direct ancestor.
- [wikiwikiweb](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WikiWikiWeb) — wikipedia (2024, reference). cunningham's 1995 wiki — linking before writing, camelcase as invitation.
- [wikihistory](https://wiki.c2.com/?WikiHistory) — c2.com, ward cunningham (2000s, primary). the first-party history of the first wiki.
- [how can we develop transformative tools for thought?](https://numinous.productions/ttft/) — numinous productions, andy matuschak and michael nielsen (2019-10, primary). the essay that named the movement and its ambition — tools that expand what people can think.
- [evergreen notes](https://notes.andymatuschak.org/Evergreen_notes) — notes.andymatuschak.org, andy matuschak (2020, primary). atomic, concept-titled, evolving notes as the unit of knowledge work — the practice obsidian hosts.
- [building a second brain](https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Building-a-Second-Brain/Tiago-Forte/9781982167387) — simon element, tiago forte (2022-06-14, primary). the mass-market second-brain method — capture, organize, distill, express.
- [linking your thinking](https://www.linkingyourthinking.com) — linking your thinking, nick milo (2020, primary). the community and education layer built around linking practice.
- [lyt conference 3 speaker page: kepano](https://www.linkingyourthinking.com/lyt-conference-3/kepano) — linking your thinking, linking your thinking (2023, primary). kepano's lyt conference bio — inkodye, lumi, then obsidian ceo; notably no ink & switch employment.
- [roam research — a note-taking tool for networked thought](https://roamresearch.com) — roam research, roam research (2019, primary). the wave's commercial spearhead — networked thought in the cloud.
- [roam (software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roam_(software)) — wikipedia (2024, reference). launch, pricing, the $200m seed, and the decline arc.
- [a $200 million seed valuation for roam shows investor frenzy for note-taking apps](https://boffosocko.com/2020/09/11/a-200-million-seed-valuation-for-roam-shows-investor-frenzy-for-note-taking-apps-the-information/) — boffosocko.com, chris aldrich (2020-09-11, reporting). the september 2020 ~$200m seed-valuation report — the peak marker of the tools-for-thought bubble.
- [roam research coverage](https://thehustle.co/09142020-roam-research) — the hustle, the hustle (2020-09-14, reporting). the #roamcult dynamics at peak hype.
- [the note-taking app wars](https://www.theverge.com/2023/8/25/23845590/note-taking-apps-ai-chat-distractions-notion-roam-mem-obsidian) — the verge, david pierce (2023-08-25, reporting). the note-taking wars field survey, including the storage-vs-thinking critique.
- [logseq](https://logseq.com) — logseq, logseq (2020, primary). the open-source sibling — local markdown/org files under agpl.
- [logseq](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logseq) — wikipedia (2024, reference). agpl, local files, positioning.
- [notion](https://www.notion.com) — notion, notion (2024, primary). the cloud workspace incumbent.
- [notion (productivity software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Notion_(productivity_software)) — wikipedia (2024, reference). the scale and collaboration counterpoint.
- [tana](https://tana.inc) — tana, tana (2022, primary). supertag graph-database notes — the wave's most aggressive structure-over-files bet.
- [tana outliner](https://outliner.tana.inc) — tana, tana (2025, primary). tana's agent and outliner surface.
- [capacities](https://capacities.io) — capacities, capacities (2022, primary). object-based notes — keeps the structure, drops the files.
- [heptabase](https://heptabase.com) — heptabase, heptabase (2021, primary). visual-spatial pkm — whiteboards and cards, now with an agent/cli surface.
- [mem](https://get.mem.ai) — mem, mem (2024, primary). the 'ai chief of staff' repositioning — agent-first, files-never.
- [anyproto/anytype-ts](https://github.com/anyproto/anytype-ts) — github, anytype (2024, repo). local-first, e2e-encrypted, open-source object workspace — ~8.8k stars as accessed september 2026.
- [subconscious](https://subconscious.network) — subconscious.network, gordon brander (2026, community). the most direct ink & switch-lineage successor experiment; the domain sat parked/for-sale as accessed september 2026 — local-first without a business model dies.
- [obsidian](https://obsidian.md) — obsidian, obsidian (2020, primary). the product site — 'the free and flexible app for your private thoughts.'
- [about obsidian](https://obsidian.md/about) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). the manifesto and team roster — yours, durable, private, malleable, independent.
- [obsidian blog](https://obsidian.md/blog) — obsidian, obsidian (2020, primary). the company blog — launch posts, version announcements, and kepano-era letters.
- [obsidian forum](https://forum.obsidian.md/) — obsidian forum, obsidian (2020, primary). the community forum — the earliest public record of the beta period and the founders' own voices.
- [obsidian help](https://help.obsidian.md/) — obsidian, obsidian (2021, primary). the official help vault, itself an obsidian vault — documentation as product demonstration.
- [show hn: obsidian — a knowledge base that works on local markdown files](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=23324598) — hacker news, erica xu (2020-05-27, primary). the launch thread — erica's 'three fundamental values' comment is the cleanest statement of the fork.
- [obsidian on product hunt](https://www.producthunt.com/products/obsidian) — product hunt (2020-05-27, reporting). launch-day record; review themes already include weak search and mobile.
- [obsidian — a knowledge base from a local folder of plain text markdown files](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28894481) — hacker news (2021-10, community). the eighteen-month community verdict — extensibility as the differentiator.
- [obsidian 1.0](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33190433) — hacker news, erica xu (2022-10, primary). the 1.0 thread — 'over 670 plugins' and the org-roam origin of the first beta users.
- [obsidian for mobile](https://hunted.space/dashboard/obsidian/launches/obsidian-for-mobile) — product hunt (2021-07-12, reporting). mobile launch — #1 product of the day.
- [obsidian mobile v1.0.0 changelog](https://obsidian.md/changelog/2021-07-07-mobile-v1.0.0/) — obsidian, obsidian (2021-07-07, primary). the mobile v1.0.0 baseline.
- [the new obsidian icon](https://obsidian.md/blog/new-obsidian-icon/) — obsidian, steph ango (2023-06-01, primary). kepano's first company byline — the knapping metaphor, the 1960s/2060s durability line, and the june 2023 figures: ~1,000 plugins, 100k discord, 1m release downloads.
- [obsidian pricing](https://obsidian.md/pricing) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). the free-core-plus-services structure in one page.
- [obsidian license](https://obsidian.md/license) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). free for personal and commercial use.
- [obsidian privacy policy](https://obsidian.md/privacy) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). the no-analytics posture written as policy.
- [obsidian sync](https://obsidian.md/sync) — obsidian, obsidian (2021, primary). the e2e-encrypted paid sync — half of the revenue model that replaced venture capital.
- [sync headless docs](https://obsidian.md/help/sync/headless) — obsidian, obsidian (2025, primary). programmatic vault sync for automation and agents.
- [obsidian publish](https://obsidian.md/publish) — obsidian, obsidian (2021, primary). the vault-to-website paid service — the other half of the paid layer.
- [obsidian web clipper](https://obsidian.md/clipper) — obsidian, obsidian (2024-11, primary). the browser extension that saves pages as markdown — launched november 2024, with the interpreter feature.
- [obsidian cli](https://obsidian.md/cli) — obsidian, obsidian (2026, primary). 'read, search, and write to your vault programmatically. give agentic tools the ability to interact with your vault' — verbatim positioning.
- [obsidian 1.12 desktop changelog](https://obsidian.md/changelog/2026-02-27-desktop-v1.12.4/) — obsidian, obsidian (2026-02-27, primary). the desktop 1.12 changelog that introduced the cli publicly.
- [obsidian 1.9.10 changelog](https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-08-18-desktop-v1.9.10/) — obsidian, obsidian (2025-08-18, primary). the 1.9.10 changelog — bases shipped to all users august 18, 2025.
- [community plugins directory](https://community.obsidian.md/plugins) — obsidian community, obsidian (2026-09, primary). the live community directory — 7,701 plugins, 759 themes, 917 in the ai category as accessed september 2026.
- [community themes](https://obsidian.md/themes) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). the community theme directory — where minimal became the default aesthetic.
- [copilot plugin listing](https://community.obsidian.md/plugins/copilot) — obsidian community directory, brevilabs llc (2026-09, primary). 'run ai agents such as claude code, codex, and opencode inside your vault' — 1.9m downloads shown as accessed september 2026.
- [the future of obsidian plugins](https://obsidian.md/blog/future-of-plugins/) — obsidian, obsidian (2026-05-12, primary). 4,000+ plugin and theme projects, 120m downloads, a 2,300-submission review queue cleared by automation — because coding agents are now writing the plugins.
- [why obsidian is not open source](https://help.obsidian.md/why-obsidian-is-not-open-source) — obsidian help, obsidian (2024, primary). the official closed-core rationale.
- [obsidian roadmap](https://obsidian.md/roadmap) — obsidian, obsidian (2024, primary). declared work — mobile startup time among it.
- [obsidian (software)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obsidian_(software)) — wikipedia (2024, reference). the tertiary record — founders, dynalist lineage, release history.
- [dynalist](https://dynalist.io/) — dynalist, dynalist inc (2015, primary). the outliner shida li and erica xu built before obsidian — the direct prequel and the funding runway.
- [dynalist & obsidian](https://blog.dynalist.io/obsidian/) — dynalist blog, dynalist team (2020-05-30, primary). 'obsidian public beta was launched two days ago… obsidian values connections more, whereas dynalist values structures more… we will develop and maintain dynalist as usual.'
- [about the makers](https://talk.dynalist.io/t/about-the-makers/98) — dynalist forum, shida li and erica xu (2016-11-09, primary). the autobiographical thread — omniflow as a student side project, the hn launch, the division of labor.
- [no monthly blog update thread](https://talk.dynalist.io/t/7497) — dynalist forum, erica xu (2021-02, primary). 'dynalist is my hobby work' — the february 2021 thread on priorities, a newborn, and the discord shift, later clarified.
- [why is obsidian named so?](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/4837) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020-08-27, primary). the canonical name answer — 'if your raw, unstable thoughts are lava, then obsidian is… well, obsidian. it is your crystallized (and beautiful) knowledge.' plus minecraft.
- [open sourcing of obsidian](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/1515) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020-08-04, primary). the four-point closed-source rationale — 'the cost to benefit ratio is very low for our small team of 2.'
- [note aging](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/467) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020-05-25, primary). an early feature musing — 'discover areas in your knowledge base that haven't been reviewed.'
- [u/silver.json](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Silver.json) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020-05-19, primary). the discourse api record — forum user #2, invited by licat, account created the forum's founding day.
- [u/licat.json](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/Licat.json) — obsidian forum, shida li (2020-05-19, primary). the discourse api record — forum user #1, 194 accepted answers, 'solution institution' badge.
- [topics created by silver](https://forum.obsidian.md/topics/created-by/Silver.json) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020, primary). she seeded the forum's structure — and the gems-of-the-year and obsidian october machinery.
- [silver posts by likes](https://forum.obsidian.md/search.json?q=%40Silver) — obsidian forum, erica xu (2020, primary). her highest-liked posts — the privacy/auto-updater answer and the markdown data-ownership reply.
- [licat posts](https://forum.obsidian.md/search.json?q=%40Licat) — obsidian forum, shida li (2020, primary). the technical reply corpus — plugin sandboxing, api design, yaml debates. 'there is ABSOLUTELY NO SECURE WAY to run plugins without severely crippling the plugin api.'
- [ceo announcement thread](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/53919) — obsidian forum, obsidian forum (2023-02, community). the community reception thread for the ceo announcement.
- [translated fork my brain interview](https://forum-zh.obsidian.md/t/topic/41971) — obsidian zh forum, obsidian zh forum (2024-10, community). the translated fork my brain interview — the full superfan-to-ceo narrative and the team roster.
- [zh reposts of founder interviews](https://forum-zh.obsidian.md/t/topic/41964) — obsidian zh forum, obsidian zh forum (2024-10-28, community). translated reposts of the ness labs interview — evidence of reach english search misses.
- [exploring the power of note-making with the co-founder of obsidian](https://nesslabs.com/obsidian-featured-tool) — ness labs, anne-laure le cunff (2021, interview). the primary erica xu interview — origin story, team-of-two-plus-two-cats, plugin philosophy, 'the ide for thought.'
- [steph ango](https://stephango.com/) — stephango.com, steph ango (2019, primary). kepano's personal site — the largest single corpus in this dossier.
- [about me](https://stephango.com/about) — stephango.com, steph ango (2024, primary). bio, the interview table, and the colophon — the career record: inkodye, lumi, obsidian. no ink & switch.
- [what i'm doing now](https://stephango.com/now) — stephango.com, steph ango (2024, primary). the now page — ceo plus the lumi and well made recap.
- [projects](https://stephango.com/projects) — stephango.com, steph ango (2024, primary). the complete dated project list, 2002–2026 — winamp skins to obsidian cli-era tools.


Published by @ben in profile revision 1.
Original document: https://hraness.com/obsidian/sources
Original credited author: Hraness
AI-drafted at Ben Guo's direct request and credited to Hraness; every claim links to its cataloged source.

## Structured source and record data

````json
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````