Towards the end of 2024, Obsidian published a browser add-on for a number of popular browsers, which allowed you to clip websites into your Obsidian vault.
In this guide, I want to explore the Obsidian web clipper and consider how I will use this new functionality.
What is Obsidian Web Clipper
Obsidian Web Clipper is a browser add-on that allows you to highlight or capture an entire web page for your Obsidian vault. It makes it easy to capture and create notes from the web. This would allow you to use Obsidian as a read-later application, similar to Readwise Reader.
How to get Obsidian Web Clipper
Full instructions on installing the Obsidian web clipper can be found on the Obsidian website. Alternatively, you should be able to find the plugin via your browser plugin store.
How to use Web Clipper
In this section, I will take you through the process of clipping web clips in Obsidian.
- Go to the web page you want to clip
- Activate the Obsidian web clipper
- Details on what will be captured appear in a window
- Click to add to Obsidian to create a note in your vault containing the information clipped from the web page
- Accept the prompt to open Obsidian
- A note containing the clip will open
- By default, this note is stored in a folder called clippings
How I see myself using Obsidian web clipper
I doubt that I will use the Obsidian web clipper very often because I use Readwise Reader to capture all the articles I might want to read later, and I can’t see that changing in the foreseeable future.
However, I can see one use case, and that is to capture a website that I have intentionally found during my research for a story or article. This will bring the webpage straight into my vault, where I can work on it, which will be helpful.
As long as I remember to search Reader first before conducting a web search to check the vast library of information I have already identified.
You could use Obsidian in this role if you don’t use Readwise Reader or another read-later app. However, you will need to consider how you manage these notes, as they could quickly become overwhelming and overload your systems.
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Further Reading
How I use Reader to funnel Information and Knowledge
How to Sync Readwise with Obsidian
Readwise Review 2023