- Say you set up an Obsidian vault to have a few hotkeys for ease of use, maybe a third-party plugin or two, maybe a nice theme
- When you make a new vault (e.g., if you start a new job and want a fresh space that only contains work stuff, with a different theme so there’s a different vibe), the new vault will have only the “default” settings
- I used to manually set stuff up again, then I realised the proper way to do it
.obsidian folder
- It turns out that the custom settings you set up (including hotkeys, plugins, theme etc) are stored in a “hidden” (by default) folder in the vault
- Here’s an AI summary of what to do
To keep the same settings when creating a new Obsidian vault, copy the .obsidian folder from your existing vault to the new one. This folder contains all the settings, themes, plugins, and other configurations. You may need to restart Obsidian for the changes to take effect.
Here’s a more detailed breakdown:
-
1. Locate the
.obsidianfolder:This folder is typically found at the root of your existing Obsidian vault.
-
2. Copy the folder:
Use your file manager to copy the entire
.obsidianfolder. -
3. Paste into the new vault:
Navigate to the root of your new Obsidian vault and paste the copied
.obsidianfolder there. -
4. Restart Obsidian:
After pasting, restart the Obsidian application to ensure that the settings are loaded correctly.
By copying the .obsidian folder, you’re essentially transferring all your customizations, including:
- Core settings: These are the general settings like editor preferences, appearance, and hotkeys.
- Installed plugins: Both core and community plugins will be activated in the new vault.
- Themes: The theme you were using in your previous vault will be applied.
- Templates: If you have a templates folder within your vault, you’ll need to copy that separately.
This method ensures a consistent experience across different vaults, allowing you to maintain your preferred setup.