Obsidian · Compatibility

Is There an Obsidian Web Version?
And what you can actually do

You want to use Obsidian in a browser, so you are looking for an "Obsidian web version." The honest answer: there is no official web version of Obsidian you can edit in. Obsidian is a desktop and mobile app.

But that is not the end of the story. Your vault is a folder of .md files, and you can open and edit those notes in the browser, just not through Obsidian itself. Here is what exists, and what you can actually do.

What you can do instead: open the vault in your browser with a Markdown app built for local folders. NoteLoom is one: it opens the vault folder in Chrome, Edge, or Arc, renders the [[wikilinks]] and ![[embeds]], and lets you edit and save the .md files in place, with no install and no account.

Open your vault in the browser and read and write your .md. No install →

Is there an official Obsidian web app?

No, not an editable one. There is no Obsidian web app you log into and edit your notes in. The closest official thing is Obsidian Publish, a paid service that turns notes you choose into a website others can read. It is for publishing, and it is read-only for visitors. It does not give you a browser editor for your own vault.

So if you searched for an "Obsidian web version" hoping to log in and edit like the desktop app, that does not exist today.

A third-party route: self-host the real Obsidian in a browser

There is no official web version, but someone solved the problem from the other end: Ignis, an open-source project. In its own words it is "a compatibility shim that provides browser-compatible implementations of the Electron APIs used by Obsidian, allowing Obsidian to run in a standard browser while keeping your vault on the server." It does not ship Obsidian itself: "The Docker container downloads Obsidian directly from its official source on first run."

That gets you more than a Markdown editor does. The project lists "core Obsidian: editor, canvas, bases, command palette, context menus, themes, and CSS snippets", plus "most community plugins built on Obsidian's plugin API". Plugins needing Node native modules or child_process do not load. For sync it offers "Obsidian Sync in a logged-in tab, or server-side Headless Sync that runs without a tab open."

The costs are documented too, and worth reading first:

  • You run the server. The quick start is a Docker Compose file: docker compose up -d, then open localhost:8080. The project says it "currently ships as a self-hosted server, with a desktop plugin variant planned."
  • No built-in authentication. Its own warning: "Before exposing Ignis to other machines, put authentication in front of it and serve it over HTTPS. It has no built-in auth, so anyone who reaches an open instance can read and write the whole vault."
  • Your notes live on the server, with the browser as the client. That is a different model from opening the folder already sitting on your machine.
  • It is new. The project calls itself "still a new project, so gaps get documented and fixed as I go", and notes that "running Obsidian in a browser means some Electron and Node capabilities have no equivalent, so certain plugins and features are limited or unavailable."

So the fit is clear. This route is for people who want the real Obsidian and are willing to keep a server running. If you only need to read and edit the notes in a vault on a machine where you cannot install anything, standing up a server is a lot of work for that, and the section below is the lighter path.

Quoted from the project's README and documentation, checked 24 August 2026.

What you can actually do: open the vault’s .md in the browser

Here is the part that helps. A vault is just .md files, and a browser-based Markdown editor can open and edit those files directly. NoteLoom does exactly that.

  1. Open app.noteloom.cc in Chrome / Edge / Arc. Nothing to install, no account.
  2. Mount your vault folder.
  3. Read and edit the notes. NoteLoom renders [[wikilinks]], ![[embeds]], and frontmatter, so the vault looks right, and it saves back to the same files.

To be clear about what this is: it opens and edits the notes in your vault, in the browser. It is not "Obsidian in the browser," and it does not try to be.

What you get, and what you do not

Feature In a browser Markdown editor
Your .md notes Opened, rendered, and edited in the browser, saved back to the same files
Frontmatter, [[wikilinks]], ![[embeds]] Rendered, the same as in your vault
Install / account Neither, it runs in a browser you already have
Plugins, canvas, graph view Not available, this is not the Obsidian app
Sync across devices Not available, it opens local files on the machine you are on
The .obsidian config folder Not loaded, settings and plugins stay with Obsidian

When you should still use the desktop Obsidian app

Opening your vault in the browser is for reading and editing the notes when you cannot or do not want to run the full app. But if you need plugins, the canvas, the graph view, or sync across devices, those live in the desktop (and mobile) Obsidian app. Use it on a machine where you can install it, and use the browser route for the times you cannot.

Related reading

Open an Obsidian vault without Obsidian? The how-to: read and edit your vault’s .md notes, rendered, with no install. Obsidian without admin rights? Opening your vault on a locked-down work or school computer. Obsidian on a Chromebook? Open your vault in Chrome, no Linux container. Online Markdown Editor Open a local folder of .md files and read or edit them in your browser. What breaks when another app opens your vault A table of five apps plus Obsidian itself, syntax by syntax.

FAQ

Is there a way to run the real Obsidian in a browser?
Yes, if you host it yourself. Ignis is an open-source compatibility shim that implements the Electron APIs Obsidian uses, so the real app runs in a standard browser with the vault kept on the server. The core editor, canvas, bases, command palette and most community plugins work. The costs: you run a Docker server, and it ships with no built-in auth, so the project tells you to put authentication in front of it and serve it over HTTPS. If you would rather not run a server, open the vault folder directly in a browser-based Markdown editor.
Is there an Obsidian web version?
Not an editable one. Obsidian is a desktop and mobile app; there is no official web app you log into and edit your notes in. Obsidian Publish exists, but it turns your notes into a read-only website for others to read, it is not a web editor for you.
Can I use Obsidian online, in a browser?
Not Obsidian itself. But your vault is a folder of .md files, so you can open and edit those notes in a browser-based Markdown editor. It is not the Obsidian app, with its plugins and canvas, it is your notes, opened and edited in the browser.
What is Obsidian Publish, then?
A paid Obsidian service that turns selected notes into a website others can read, optionally password-protected. It is for publishing, and read-only for visitors. It does not let you open and edit your vault in a browser.
So how do I edit my notes in a browser?
Open the vault folder in a browser tool like NoteLoom (Chrome, Edge, or Arc, nothing to install). It renders and edits the .md files, including [[wikilinks]] and ![[embeds]], and saves back to the same files. It has no plugins, canvas, graph, or sync; it opens the notes, not the whole app.
Is this a replacement for Obsidian?
No. It reads and edits your vault’s .md notes in the browser, but it is not the Obsidian app. For plugins, the canvas, the graph, or sync, use the desktop Obsidian app on a machine where you can install it.
Which browsers does it work in?
Chromium-based desktop browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Arc. It uses the browser’s File System Access API.

Open your vault’s notes in the browser

There is no editable Obsidian web app, but your vault is just .md files. Open NoteLoom in Chrome / Edge / Arc, mount your vault folder, and read or edit the notes with [[wikilinks]] and ![[embeds]] rendered, saved straight back. No install and no account.

Open NoteLoom and try it