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App 19,786 installs/mo

Obsidian for Mac

Knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files

Quick answer: Obsidian is a productivity app for macOS. Install it with brew install --cask obsidian. The licence is not declared in Homebrew metadata. It has 19,786 Homebrew installs in the last 30 days.

What Obsidian is

Obsidian is a productivity app for macOS: knowledge base that works on top of a local folder of plain text Markdown files.

It is distributed as a Homebrew cask, which installs a .app bundle into your Applications folder. The project is open source and lives at https://obsidian.md/.

How to install Obsidian

  1. Open Terminal (press ⌘ + Space and type “Terminal”).
  2. If Homebrew is not installed yet, run the installer below once.
  3. Run brew install --cask obsidian.

Homebrew installer, if you need it:

Prefer a graphical installer? Download it from the official site. MacPicks never hosts or mirrors binaries — the Homebrew command always pulls from the vendor's own release.

Alternatives to Obsidian

Compared within the same category and with a comparable install base, so the list stays useful rather than turning into a popularity chart.

LogseqPrivacy-first, open-source platform for knowledge sharing and managementAppOpen source358/moJoplinNote taking and to-do application with synchronisation capabilitiesAppOpen source463/moNotionApp to write, plan, collaborate, and get organisedApp5,017/moTyporaConfigurable document editor that supports MarkdownApp958/moAnytypeLocal-first and end-to-end encrypted notes appApp174/moZoteroCollect, organise, cite, and share research sourcesApp1,672/mo

Compare Obsidian with its alternatives in detail →

Frequently asked questions

How do I install Obsidian on Mac?

Run brew install --cask obsidian in Terminal. This requires Homebrew; if you do not have it, install it first with the command below.

Is Obsidian open source?

Homebrew's metadata does not declare a licence for this app, so the official site is the authoritative source.

Does Obsidian run on Apple silicon?

Yes, as a universal binary.

How popular is Obsidian?

It was installed 19,786 times in the last 30 days according to Homebrew analytics, ranking #101 in this catalogue.

What version of Obsidian is current?

The latest packaged version is 1.14.5.