New in v3.0

Your iPhone notes, automatically in Obsidian.

Capture with one tap the moment an idea strikes. That note is automatically appended to a note in your Obsidian vault — no plugin, no app switching, in the background, and it saves locally even with no internet (offline OK). Capture on iPhone, organize in Obsidian: a clean division of labor.

This app is an independent product by YURIKA, K.K. and is not an official Obsidian app or plugin. Obsidian is a trademark of Dynalist Inc.

Download on the App Store See setup steps

By AI Ataka

In one sentence

Simple Memo's Obsidian integration automatically appends the notes you send to a note in your Obsidian vault stored on iCloud Drive. No community plugin needed. Pick a folder once, and from then on every memo is recorded — line by line as - HH:mm memo — into today's daily note or a fixed Inbox note, in the background, without ever opening Obsidian.

What this changes

💡 Never lose a thought
Ideas vanish while you're deciding which Obsidian note to open. With Simple Memo you capture in a 0.3-second launch and send — then it piles up in Obsidian on its own.
🗂️ Split capture from curation
Catch it fast on iPhone out in the world; sit down and curate in Obsidian later. Your second brain or Zettelkasten inbox grows by itself.
⚙️ Zero-effort automation
No copy-paste, no share sheet. Sending is appending. It still arrives in your email too, so you can review it even on days you don't open Obsidian — a built-in backup.

How it works

Once you turn on the integration and pick your Obsidian folder, sent notes are written directly into a note in the background (Obsidian never opens). The mechanism is intentionally simple.

📝 Write a memo → ⚡ One-tap send → 📥 Lands in email ＋ 🟣 Auto-append to Obsidian
# 2026-05-30
- 09:14 Headline idea I had at the station
- 12:38 Check the competitor feature I heard about at lunch
- 21:05 Quote from the book I just finished
Two destinations to choose from
Daily note = appended to today's yyyy-MM-dd.md, leaving a per-day log.
Inbox note = everything appended to one fixed file — ideal for a "process-later" inbox.
No plugins at all
The app writes notes directly into your vault folder on iCloud Drive. No Obsidian-side configuration and no community plugins required.
Saves locally even offline
Because it writes the file directly, it appends to the local note on the spot even with no internet — nothing is lost in a tunnel or up a mountain. iCloud sync happens once you're back online.
Privacy

Appending to Obsidian is a local operation that stays on your device. It changes nothing about the existing send and encryption path (AES-GCM encryption of the on-device offline queue and send history). Memo bodies are transit-only during send and are not persistently stored on our servers. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Setup (about 1 minute)

  • Simple Memo installed on iPhone (iOS 16.0 or later)
  • Obsidian installed on the same iPhone
  • Your Obsidian vault is on iCloud Drive or "On My iPhone" and accessible from the Files app
  1. Turn on Advanced Mode
    Toggle "Advanced Mode" on in Settings. During onboarding, choose "Turn on" on the Advanced Mode screen that appears before the reminder step. If you just want to capture quickly, you can leave this off.
  2. Turn on Obsidian integration
    Once Advanced Mode is on, toggle on the "Obsidian Integration" row that appears.
  3. Choose your Obsidian folder
    Tap "Choose Obsidian Folder" and select your Obsidian vault folder on iCloud Drive. The app only stores secure access to that folder.
  4. Pick a destination
    Choose "Daily Note" or "Inbox Note." For the daily note, make sure Obsidian's Daily Notes feature is enabled and files are named yyyy-MM-dd.md.
  5. Send a memo
    From now on, each memo you send is appended to the chosen note as - HH:mm memo. Obsidian doesn't open. Because of iCloud sync, it can take a few seconds to appear in Obsidian.
You can set this up later

Choosing "Not now" during onboarding is fine. You can toggle it any time from Settings → "Advanced Mode."

Ways to use it

Capture-first
Commit to "capture now, organize later." Funnel everything into the Inbox note and sort it on the weekend.
Daily log / journaling
Timestamped lines in the daily note become a log of your day's thinking — a great fit for journaling.
Meeting notes
Send key points with one tap during a meeting. They line up chronologically in Obsidian, drafting your minutes for you.
Reading & quotes
Send any passage that catches your eye while reading. Your reading notes consolidate in Obsidian.

Requirements & caveats

The vault must be on iCloud Drive / on-device

The destination folder must be accessible from the Files app. An Obsidian Sync-only vault may not appear in the folder picker; in that case the app falls back to the URL-scheme method (Obsidian briefly opens to append on send).

Daily notes assume yyyy-MM-dd.md

If you've customized the daily-note folder or naming, files may not match. Choose "Inbox Note" to reliably deliver everything into one file.

iCloud sync may take a few seconds

The write happens immediately, but it can take a few seconds for the change to surface in Obsidian via iCloud.

FAQ

Do I need an Obsidian plugin?

No. No community plugin is needed — it works with Obsidian's standard features. The app writes notes directly into your vault folder on iCloud Drive.

Does Obsidian open every time I send a memo?

Not if you've selected a folder — memos are appended in the background. Only when no folder is selected does it fall back to the URL scheme, briefly opening Obsidian to append.

Which note does it append to, and in what format?

It depends on your destination. Daily note appends to today's yyyy-MM-dd.md; Inbox note appends to a fixed Inbox note. Each memo is a timestamped list line, - HH:mm memo, added one line at a time without erasing existing content.

Does it work if I only use Obsidian Sync?

The folder must be on iCloud Drive or "On My iPhone" and accessible from the Files app. An Obsidian Sync-only vault may not appear in the picker; in that case it falls back to the URL-scheme method.

Can I use it on Android or desktop?

Simple Memo is currently an iPhone (iOS 16+) app. If your Obsidian vault syncs via iCloud Drive or Obsidian Sync, you can open the same notes from Obsidian on Mac, iPad, and other devices.

Are my memos stored on your servers?

Appending to Obsidian is a local, on-device operation. It changes nothing about the existing send/encryption path. Memo bodies are transit-only during send and are not persistently stored on our servers.

What happens to my regular email sending?

It still arrives in your email as before. Obsidian append runs as an additive step after a successful send, so email delivery and the offline Outbox queue are unaffected.

Does it append to Obsidian even offline?

Yes. With folder-direct integration, it appends to the local file in your chosen folder on the spot, so no internet is needed. Even when offline (the email is queued in the Outbox), the Obsidian note is saved locally. Syncing to other devices via iCloud happens once you're back online.

Can I collect everything in one Obsidian inbox note?

Yes. Choose a fixed "Inbox" note as the destination and every memo is appended there in chronological order (- HH:mm memo). Triage and link them later inside Obsidian. You can switch between a daily note and an inbox note at any time.

Does it work with Gmail, Outlook, or iCloud Mail into Obsidian?

The Obsidian append works regardless of your email provider (Gmail, Outlook, iCloud, and others), because appending to Obsidian is a local on-device step that is independent of email delivery. The memo lands in your normal inbox and in Obsidian.

Can I send to Obsidian from Apple Watch?

When you send a memo from Apple Watch, your iPhone performs the Obsidian append, so the same note appears in your vault. The Watch does not write to the vault directly. See the Apple Watch page for details.

Start streaming iPhone notes into Obsidian
Free to download. Obsidian setup takes about a minute.
Download on the App Store

Related Pages

All Setup Guides Draft Auto-save Guide Turn Your Inbox into a To-Do List Second Brain Zettelkasten vs Obsidian Note to Email

References

Related Content