Claude Obsidian: Persistent Wiki for LLM Memory
Claude Obsidian plugin builds a scalable wiki in Obsidian using hot.md summaries, index.md maps, and detailed pages to give Claude persistent memory across sessions, powered by /save, /autoresearch, and /canvas commands with minimal token costs.
Scalable Three-Layer Architecture for LLM Persistence
Adapt Andrej Karpathy's LLM Wiki pattern to create compounding knowledge in Obsidian: load a concise hot.md file (~500 words) every session with quick actions, active research summaries, and key notes; reference index.md for one-line summaries of all wiki pages; pull full wiki pages only as needed for specifics like concepts, sources, decisions, or projects. This keeps context relevant without bloating prompts—wiki scales to thousands of pages while token costs per session remain stable, enabling Claude to recall details from weeks or months prior, like 'best potatoes from two weeks ago,' turning ephemeral chats into a growing second brain.
Obsidian stores everything as plain Markdown files locally, supporting wikilinks, backlinks, graph views, and infinite canvases—used by 1.5 million for knowledge management, now AI-enhanced.
/save Command: Structure Conversations into Wiki
Capture any chat, files, or images with /save: Claude reads the full conversation, generates a dedicated wiki page with YAML frontmatter for metadata, places it in a use-case-specific folder, auto-generates cross-references and backlinks, then updates index.md and hot.md. Result: no more vanishing insights; knowledge integrates with colors, annotations, and interlinks for easy retrieval, compounding like interest across sessions.
/autoresearch and /canvas: Automate Research and Visualization
Run /autoresearch for autonomous deep dives (3-5 iterations): Claude performs broad searches, gap-filling sub-searches on trusted sources, files raw sources as structured pages, synthesizes findings into concept pages with to-dos, then updates index, hot.md, and graphs. Avoids 'tab graveyards' by turning web research into queryable wiki assets.
Use /canvas to generate visual boards: Claude positions flowcharts, text cards, wiki embeds, images, GIFs, or videos in named zones on Obsidian's infinite canvas—ideal for client pitches or audience explainers. Combine with image gen tools (e.g., Nano Banana) by prompting Claude to arrange 20+ generated assets with prompts. Retrieval cascades efficiently: hot.md → index.md → wiki pages, recalling past research instantly.
Two-Line Install for Immediate Use
Install via Claude plugin marketplace: claude plugin marketplace add AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian then claude plugin install claude-obsidian. Open Claude Code; wiki builds automatically. GitHub: https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian. Free, open-source for Claude Code (Anthropic's tool).