Obsidian - sync screen history to your notes

Connect screenpipe to Obsidian to automatically capture what you’ve seen and heard into your knowledge base.

Obsidian is a powerful knowledge base that works on local markdown files. with screenpipe, you can query your screen history and meeting transcriptions directly from Obsidian using AI plugins.

integration methods

screenpipe integrates with Obsidian in two ways:

1. Obsidian sync pipe - automatically sync screen activity to daily notes
2. MCP integration - query screenpipe from Obsidian using AI plugins

choose the method that fits your workflow.

obsidian sync pipe (automated)

the Obsidian sync pipe automatically creates daily logs in your Obsidian vault based on your screen activity.

setup

1. Open pipes in screenpipe

   open screenpipe → pipes in the sidebar

2. Enable Obsidian sync pipe

   find Obsidian sync in the pipe list and enable it

3. Configure vault path

   set the path to your Obsidian vault in the pipe settings:

   # macOS/Linux
   ~/Documents/Obsidian/MyVault
   
   # Windows
   C:\Users\YourName\Documents\Obsidian\MyVault
   
4. Set schedule

   choose when to sync:

   • every hour
   • every 30 minutes
   • end of day
   • manual only
5. Open Obsidian

   check your vault - you should see daily notes created automatically

what gets synced

the pipe creates markdown files in your vault:

# 2026-03-08

## Screen Activity

### 09:00 - VS Code
- Edited `src/components/Header.tsx`
- Worked on navigation component

### 10:30 - Chrome
- Read React documentation about hooks
- Researched useState and useEffect patterns

### 14:00 - Zoom Meeting
- Team standup - discussed API migration
- Action items: update endpoint URLs, test authentication

## Apps Used
- VS Code: 3.5 hours
- Chrome: 2 hours  
- Slack: 45 minutes

customization

you can customize the pipe’s behavior:

• filter apps - only sync specific apps
• exclude apps - ignore certain apps (e.g., personal email)
• time range - only sync work hours
• format - customize markdown template
• include screenshots - optionally attach screenshots

MCP integration (query on demand)

query screenpipe from within Obsidian using AI plugins that support MCP.

setup with Copilot plugin

the Obsidian Copilot plugin supports MCP servers:

1. Install Copilot plugin

   • open Obsidian
   • go to Settings → Community plugins
   • search for Copilot
   • install and enable
2. Open Copilot settings

   go to Settings → Copilot → MCP Servers

3. Add screenpipe

   {
     "screenpipe": {
       "command": "npx",
       "args": ["-y", "screenpipe-mcp"]
     }
   }
   
4. Restart Obsidian

   restart Obsidian to load the MCP server

usage with Copilot

once configured, ask Copilot to query your screen history:

> what was I reading about yesterday?

> find my meeting notes from this morning

> what code was I looking at in VS Code?

> summarize my screen activity today

Copilot will search screenpipe and insert the results into your note.

manual workflow (API queries)

if you prefer not to use plugins, query screenpipe’s API manually:

search recent screen content

# get recent screen content
curl "http://localhost:3030/search?q=meeting&limit=10" | jq '.data[].content.text'

# get audio transcriptions from today
curl "http://localhost:3030/search?content_type=audio&limit=20"

# get content from specific app
curl "http://localhost:3030/search?app_name=Chrome&limit=10"

example: create daily note

#!/bin/bash
# save as ~/bin/screenpipe-to-obsidian.sh

VAULT="$HOME/Documents/Obsidian/MyVault"
DATE=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)
FILE="$VAULT/Daily/$DATE.md"

# fetch today's activity
curl -s "http://localhost:3030/search?start_time=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)T00:00:00Z" \
  | jq -r '.data[] | "## \(.timestamp)\n\(.content.text)\n"' \
  >> "$FILE"

echo "Synced to $FILE"

make it executable and run:

chmod +x ~/bin/screenpipe-to-obsidian.sh
~/bin/screenpipe-to-obsidian.sh

automate with cron

run the script automatically:

# edit crontab
crontab -e

# add this line to sync every hour
0 * * * * ~/bin/screenpipe-to-obsidian.sh

use cases

daily notes - automatically populate daily notes with what you worked on:

# 2026-03-08

## What I worked on
- [imported from screenpipe]
- Morning: React component refactoring
- Afternoon: API integration meeting
- Evening: documentation updates

meeting notes - capture transcriptions and context:

# Team Standup - 2026-03-08

[query screenpipe for audio from 10am]
- John: completed authentication PR
- Sarah: working on dashboard redesign
- Action items: review PRs, update docs

research notes - recall articles and documentation:

# React Hooks Research

[query screenpipe for "react hooks" from yesterday]
- Found great article on useEffect
- Documentation about custom hooks
- Examples of performance optimization

project logs - track what you did across apps:

# Project Alpha - Progress Log

## 2026-03-08
[query screenpipe for VS Code + Chrome activity]
- Implemented new API endpoint
- Tested in Postman
- Updated documentation

weekly reviews - summarize your week:

# Week of 2026-03-04

[query screenpipe for the past week]
- Total coding time: 32 hours
- Meetings: 8 hours
- Top apps: VS Code, Chrome, Slack

tips for best results

structure your vault:

MyVault/
  Daily/
    2026-03-08.md
    2026-03-07.md
  Meetings/
    Team Standup/
      2026-03-08.md
  Projects/
    Project Alpha/
      Activity Log.md

use templates:

---
date: {{date}}
tags: [daily, screenpipe]
---

# {{date}}

## Screen Activity
[screenpipe content here]

## Tasks
- [ ] 

## Notes

link to other notes:

## Related
- [[2026-03-07]] - previous day
- [[Project Alpha]] - project notes
- [[React Hooks]] - research notes

requirements

• screenpipe running on localhost:3030
• Obsidian installed
• (optional) Obsidian Copilot plugin for MCP integration
• (optional) Node.js >= 18.0.0 for MCP

troubleshooting

pipe not syncing?

• check screenpipe is running
• verify vault path is correct
• ensure you have write permissions to the vault
• check pipe logs for errors

MCP not working in Copilot?

• ensure Node.js is installed
• verify screenpipe is running: curl http://localhost:3030/health
• restart Obsidian after config changes
• check Copilot’s console for errors

manual script failing?

• test the curl command manually
• check jq is installed: brew install jq (macOS) or apt install jq (Linux)
• verify vault path exists
• ensure screenpipe has data

notes not appearing?

• refresh Obsidian’s file explorer
• check the correct folder
• verify the pipe is enabled and running

still stuck? ask in our discord — we can help set up your workflow.

resources

• Obsidian
• Obsidian Copilot plugin
• screenpipe pipes documentation
• screenpipe API reference