PDF to Obsidian
Turn a PDF into a real Obsidian note — properties, headings, attachments and page markers — so it can be searched, linked and quoted like the rest of your vault.
Drop a PDF to turn into a note — anywhere on this page
What the note looks like
--- title: "Why Most Published Research Findings Are False" source: "research-paper.pdf" pages: 6 created: 2026-10-01 tags: - pdf --- %% page 1 %% # Why Most Published Research Findings Are False ### Summary There is increasing concern that most current published… ![[why-most-published-research-page-2-1.png]]
The properties show up in Obsidian's Properties panel and are queryable with Dataview — source keeps track of where a note came from, pages tells you how long the original was. Edit the tags before converting, or in the note afterwards.
Converting a whole folder of PDFs for a vault? Batch PDF to Markdown does them all in one go. The Obsidian guide covers how to organise imported notes once they are in.
Frequently asked questions
Still stuck? Ask us.
How do I import a PDF into Obsidian as a note?
Drop the PDF above. You get a Markdown note with properties at the top; if the PDF has images, download the ZIP and unzip it anywhere inside your vault — the note and its attachments folder go together. Obsidian picks the note up immediately.
Why not just keep the PDF in the vault?
Obsidian can display a PDF, but it cannot link to a heading inside it, show it in the graph, or search it alongside your notes as reliably. As Markdown, the content becomes part of the vault: backlinks, headings in the outline, block references, and plugins like Dataview all work.
What are the page markers?
Obsidian comments — %% page 12 %% — placed where each page of the PDF begins. They are hidden in reading view but searchable, so when you quote the note you can still cite the original page.
How are images named?
Each image is prefixed with the note's name (my-paper-page-3-1.png) and embedded with ![[…]]. Obsidian resolves embeds by file name across the whole vault, so the prefix keeps two imported PDFs from fighting over “page-1-1.png”.
Does it work with scanned PDFs?
Yes — scanned pages go through OCR in your browser, in the language you pick. Nothing is uploaded.
Limitations
- Highlights and annotations made in a PDF reader are not carried over.
- The note title comes from the first heading found, or the file name — rename freely.
- Equations are kept as the text the PDF contains, not converted to LaTeX.
Related tools
Guides
- PDF to Markdown for Obsidian - Import PDFs the Right WayTurn PDFs into Markdown notes for your Obsidian vault. Why Markdown beats PDF attachments for linking and search, plus a full import workflow with OCR.
- Markdown for Note-Taking - Why Plain Text WinsWhy Markdown is the best format for notes and documentation - portability, longevity, version control - plus app picks like Obsidian and PDF export tips.
- Markdown Frontmatter Explained (YAML Guide)What Markdown frontmatter is, how YAML metadata works, the fields Obsidian, Hugo, and Jekyll expect, common syntax errors, and how to avoid breaking your build.