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Cleft integrates with Obsidian via Local Export on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Local Export itself is free; Cleft Plus lets you point exports at your Obsidian vault (or any folder you choose). On Free, exports land in Cleft’s own Cleft Notes folder.

What you get

When you enable Local Export and point Cleft to your Obsidian vault, your notes are automatically saved as .md files with:
  • Readable filenames like 2026-05-06-15-33-meeting-with-jonny.md (date, time, and title slug, with a unique ID added only if needed)
  • YAML frontmatter that renders as Obsidian Properties: title, tags, timestamps, archive state, language, and style
  • The whole note in the body: the summary, then the full transcript under its own heading once you choose the Obsidian starting point
  • Inline hashtags at the end of the body for easy tag navigation
  • Smart title renames that preserve your wikilinks when you retitle a note
  • Audio and attachments, already linked. The original .m4a recording sits next to each markdown file (free toggle), attachments sit in a folder named after the note, and the note links to both once they land. With the Obsidian starting point, the links are ![[…]] embeds
Here’s what a note looks like in your vault with the Obsidian starting point from Customize the frontmatter:
In Obsidian, this renders as:
  • Properties panel showing title, tags (clickable chips), created, updated, archived, source, language, style, and cleft_ref (or cleft_id for older files)
  • Body with the AI summary first, then the transcript, then an inline audio player and your attachments
  • Tag pane picks up #work and #ideas from the inline hashtags at the end of the body
Without a starting point, Cleft keeps its default shape and writes the transcript as one long transcript property instead, which buries the other Properties. The Obsidian starting point moves it into the body. Existing files keep their shape until you rewrite them. This is one-way sync: Cleft → Obsidian. Edits you make in Obsidian are overwritten on the next Cleft sync (same contract as Notion auto-send).

Setup

1

Pick your Obsidian vault as the destination

Open Settings → Local Export and click Choose Custom Folder… (Plus).
  1. Select your Obsidian vault root folder
  2. Cleft writes straight into the exact folder you select, on Mac, iPhone, and iPad. Pick a subfolder of your vault if you want Cleft’s notes kept apart.
  3. Use the selected folder and you’re done
Full setup guide: Local Export
2

Choose the Obsidian starting point

Open Settings → Local Export → Frontmatter and pick Obsidian. It keeps every field and moves the transcript into the note body, so it does not bury your other Properties. See Customize the frontmatter.
3

That's it

Your notes sync automatically. Open the active Local Export folder in Obsidian and you’ll see .md files with readable names and YAML frontmatter (and .m4a audio next to them if the audio toggle is on).

Obsidian-specific tips

  • Properties panel: Frontmatter renders as searchable, clickable properties. Use source: cleft filters in Dataview to see only Cleft notes.
  • Wikilinks: When you title-regenerate a note, Cleft renames the file before updating content. This helps Obsidian’s sync recognize the rename and preserve your [[wikilinks]]. (Best-effort; slow disks or iOS-only Obsidian may coalesce into delete+create.)
  • Timestamps for sorting: Created/updated fields are ISO 8601 UTC, so Dataview queries like WHERE created >= date("2026-05-01") work naturally.
  • Audio embeds: With Save audio files on, each note’s .m4a lives next to its .md with the same basename, and the note links to it under ## Audio once it lands, as an embed with the Obsidian starting point. Embed it in another note too, with ![[2026-05-06-15-33-meeting-with-jonny.m4a]].
  • Recovery by ID: Every note carries a note reference in frontmatter (cleft_ref in new files, cleft_id in older exports). If you ever rename files manually, grep "^cleft_ref:" *.md or grep "^cleft_id:" *.md finds the original note even in a mixed vault.

Legacy: Front Matter Title Plugin

If you’re on an older build or using the legacy cleft_{noteId}.md format, you may have been using the Front Matter Title Plugin. As of v1.14.0, Local Export eliminates the need for this plugin. Cleft now emits readable filenames and proper YAML frontmatter that Obsidian recognizes natively. You can uninstall the plugin if you’re on the latest version. If you do keep it for other vaults, enable all features in its settings to ensure properties render correctly.
Last modified on November 9, 2026