Connect Obsidian Notes to Armbrain

Obsidian saves your notes as Markdown (.md) files in a folder called a vault. Armbrain can read those notes when the vault folder is synced through Google Drive or Dropbox.

This setup sends the vault to your personal mind, where your own frameworks, ideas, and working notes belong. It does not create a separate Obsidian connector.

Before You Start

You need:

• An Obsidian vault on your computer
• Google Drive for desktop or Dropbox syncing that vault folder
• Armbrain connected to Claude

Obsidian Sync is not supported for this connection. Obsidian's first-party Sync service does not give Armbrain a Google Drive or Dropbox folder it can read. To use this guide, your active vault folder must sync through Drive or Dropbox instead.

Back up your vault before moving it. After the move, open the moved folder as a vault in Obsidian and confirm that your notes are present before continuing.

Option 1: Google Drive

1. Put the vault in Google Drive

1. Close Obsidian.
2. In Finder or File Explorer, move the entire vault folder into a folder synced by Google Drive.
3. Open Obsidian and choose Open folder as vault.
4. Select the vault in its new Google Drive location.
5. Create or edit a test note, then wait until the same note appears in Google Drive.

If your vault is already visible in Google Drive, skip this step.

2. Copy the folder link

1. Open the vault folder at drive.google.com.
2. Copy the folder URL from your browser's address bar.

The URL should look like:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/your-folder-id

3. Connect the folder to your personal mind

In Claude, say:

Switch to my personal mind.

Wait for Claude to confirm the switch. Then say:

Connect this Google Drive folder to my personal mind:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/your-folder-id

If Armbrain returns a Google sign-in link, open it and approve read-only Drive access. Armbrain may reuse an existing Google authorization instead, in which case no second sign-in is needed.

Option 2: Dropbox

1. Put the vault in Dropbox

1. Close Obsidian.
2. In Finder or File Explorer, move the entire vault folder into your Dropbox folder.
3. Open Obsidian and choose Open folder as vault.
4. Select the vault in its new Dropbox location.
5. Create or edit a test note, then wait until the same note appears at dropbox.com.

If your vault is already visible in Dropbox, skip this step.

2. Find the Dropbox folder path

Write down the path from the root of your Dropbox account to the vault. For example:

/Obsidian/My Vault

Use the folder path, not a Dropbox sharing link.

3. Connect the folder to your personal mind

In Claude, say:

Switch to my personal mind.

Wait for Claude to confirm the switch. Then say:

Connect the Dropbox folder "/Obsidian/My Vault" to my personal mind.

Open the Dropbox sign-in link Armbrain returns and approve access.

A personal mind can watch one configured Dropbox path at a time. Reconnecting Dropbox on the same personal mind changes that watched path, so check an existing Dropbox connection before replacing it.

Confirm It Is Working

Armbrain checks connected Drive and Dropbox folders about every 10 minutes.

1. In Obsidian, add a distinctive sentence to a note.
2. Confirm the updated note appears on drive.google.com or dropbox.com.
3. Wait for the next Armbrain check.
4. While your personal mind is active, ask Claude to search for the idea in that sentence.

Obsidian's YAML frontmatter - the metadata block between --- lines at the top of a note - is removed before Armbrain extracts memories. The note body is ingested normally. Obsidian wikilinks such as [[Campaign Plan]] remain readable text; linked notes are ingested as their own files.

The hidden .obsidian settings folder is not useful memory content. Its unsupported configuration files are skipped automatically.

Troubleshooting

My notes do not appear

• Confirm the note is visible on drive.google.com or dropbox.com. If it is only on your computer or only in Obsidian Sync, Armbrain cannot read it.
• Confirm you connected the vault folder itself, not its parent or a sharing link.
• Wait at least 10 minutes, then ask Claude to check the connector status.
• If authorization expired, reconnect the existing Drive or Dropbox source.

The notes went to a client mind

The folder is pinned to whichever mind was active when you connected it. Disconnect the folder, switch to your personal mind, and connect it again before more notes are ingested. Memories already stored in the client mind are not moved automatically.

I use both Drive and Dropbox

Choose one cloud copy as Armbrain's source. Connecting both copies can make the same vault changes arrive through two different sources.