NotchPadKeep the files where you work
A project folder already holds useful knowledge: a brief, research, decisions and a running checklist. Link its Markdown folder to a NotchPad project and work with those files in a Mac workspace. The originals remain on disk rather than becoming a one-time imported copy.
Use source and preview editing for Markdown documents. File watching helps pick up changes from other editors. Revision-conflict checks and recovery copies help protect work when the file changes outside NotchPad. Keep your own backups too: a linked file is not a backup.
Follow the connections between notes
Local links, wikilinks and aliases connect related documents. Backlinks help you find notes that point to the current document, and local images keep references close to the writing. Start with a short project index, then link only the notes you actually use.
Learn what a Markdown vault is and how to separate the files themselves from the features an app adds around them.
Put project context beside the files
Projects can also collect existing NotchPad rich notes, selected imported Claude Code or Codex chats, people and links. Keep a decision with its source passage so you can see why it was made. Memory Map shows saved relationships between project records; it is not an automatic map of every idea in your files.
Choose file editing or rich-note import
Link Markdown when the file on disk should remain the source. Import or paste Markdown into a rich note when you want a separate editable NotchPad note with formatted text. The rich-note library is not a plain Markdown vault. See the Markdown guide before moving a large collection.
Already using Obsidian?
NotchPad supports useful Markdown workflows, but does not promise full Obsidian compatibility. Plugins, themes, embedded queries and app-specific syntax can behave differently. Test a backed-up sample of your files and links first. Read the Obsidian and NotchPad comparison for the trade-offs.
Local files, deliberate sharing
Linked Markdown files are ordinary files, not encrypted by NotchPad. AI connections are optional and permissioned. A local MCP connection does not make the connected AI provider local: shared content may be sent to that provider. Read privacy details and AI connection controls.
Try the workflow with your own sample notes
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