Obsidian and AI: a vault, or one approved source?
Many people connect an Obsidian vault to an AI so it can read their notes. For one person thinking alone, that can be enough. This page shows where it gets hard with several AI tools and several people, and how the two fit together.
Think in a vault, decide in one source
- Your vaultNotes, drafts, old ideasWhere you think
- YouCopy what is settledAnd approve it
- CurrentApproved DirectionWhat connected AI reads
In short
- A vault is a good place to think. It does not say which note is approved or current.
- An AI that reads a vault reads whatever the connection exposes, drafts and old ideas included.
- Think in the vault. Keep what is settled in one approved source that every AI reads.
The habit
Why people connect a vault to an AI
The notes are already there: ideas, research, meeting notes, plans. Letting an AI search and summarise them saves a lot of copying and pasting.
For your own notes and your own thinking, that is a sensible thing to do.
Your notes stay yours
Obsidian keeps notes as plain files on your device, so you keep them whatever happens to any one tool.
Good for thinking
Links, tags and search help you find and connect ideas as they grow.
Community connections exist
Plugins and servers made by the community let AI tools read a vault. They differ a lot, so check each one before you give it access.
Where it gets hard
A vault and an approved source do different jobs
A vault holds everything you write. That is its strength, and the reason an AI cannot tell from the vault alone what is settled.
A vault with an AI connection
- The AI reads what the connection exposes, drafts and old ideas included
- No built-in “approved” or “current”, unless you add your own convention
- Whether the AI can write into your notes depends on the plugin
- Chat apps in the browser often need a bridge to reach a vault on your device
One approved source
- AI reads only approved Direction as Direction
- Each read can name the version it used
- Work comes back as a Draft with the tool’s name on it
- Tools that support MCP connect with one address, and ChatGPT from its plugin marketplace
Drafts
What an AI can see of a Draft in VisionBoard
A Draft is never part of the approved Direction a connected tool reads. A tool can still see its own work.
Not part of the Direction
Searching and reading approved context returns approved material only.
A tool sees its own Drafts
A tool can list the Drafts it saved and the reviews still waiting, each with its status.
A Draft opens by its ID
A tool that has the ID of an item can open it. It comes back marked with its status, so a Draft reads as a Draft.
You approve
A tool never approves its own work. Nothing becomes current until you do.
Together
Think in the vault, decide in one source
Explore in your vault
Keep linking, drafting and researching where you like to think. Nothing there needs approval.
Copy what is settled
Put goals, voice, product facts and decisions into a Vision and approve them. You copy the text yourself.
Let every AI read the approved version
Add VisionBoard from the ChatGPT plugin marketplace, or use one address in Claude, Codex or another tool that supports MCP. Review what comes back as Drafts.
Useful questions.
Is VisionBoard an alternative to Obsidian?
No. Obsidian is for your own notes and thinking. VisionBoard keeps what is approved and current, for people and for AI. Many people can use both.
Can VisionBoard read my Obsidian vault?
No. VisionBoard does not connect to a vault. You copy the text of a note into a Vision when it is settled, and approve it there.
Is an Obsidian MCP server safe to use?
We have not tested any of them. They are community-made and differ in quality. Before you connect one, check who maintains it, what it can read, whether it can change your notes, and how you switch it off.
Do I need more than a vault for my AI memory?
If it is only you and your own notes, a vault may be enough. When other people rely on what the AI says, or when you use several AI tools and need to know which version is current, an approved source helps.
Can an AI see my Drafts?
Not as Direction. Connected tools read approved material only. A tool can see the Drafts it saved itself, and can open an item if it has its ID. Either way a Draft comes back marked as a Draft, and only you can approve it.
One source
Give every AI
the same direction.
One active Vision free. No credit card required.
Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, Codex and Obsidian are trademarks of their respective owners.