OB Lite

SETUP GUIDE

PUT YOUR OBSIDIAN NOTES ON GITHUB.
IN ABOUT 10 MINUTES.

No command line, no git knowledge. Follow the four steps below with GitHub Desktop, and your notes get version history, a free backup — and a phone app, if you want one.

Before you start

You only need three things.

A PC with Obsidian

Windows or Mac, with the vault (notes folder) you already use.

About 10 minutes

Every step is clicking through screens — nothing to type except names.

An email address

Used to create your free GitHub account in step 1.

STEP 1

Create a free GitHub account

GitHub is a service that stores folders ("repositories") online with full version history. The free plan is all you need — private repositories included.

  1. Open github.com/signup in your browser
  2. Enter your email address and create a password
  3. Pick a usernameThe username is public, so avoid your real name if you prefer. Your notes will NOT be public — they go in a private repository.
  4. Verify the confirmation code sent to your email — done
STEP 2

Turn your vault into a private repository

GitHub Desktop is the official app that lets you use GitHub without any commands. You point it at your vault folder, and it does the rest.

  1. Download GitHub Desktop from desktop.github.com, install it, and sign in with the account from step 1
  2. Choose File → Add local repository and select your vault folderNot sure where your vault is? In Obsidian, click your vault name in the bottom-left corner — the folder path is shown in the vault switcher.
  3. A message says the folder isn't a repository yet — click "create a repository", keep the defaults, and press Create Repository
  4. Press Publish repository, make sure "Keep this code private" is checked, and publish"Private" means only you can see it. This is the setting that keeps your notes yours.

Good to know: images and attachments inside the vault are uploaded too. GitHub allows up to 100 MB per file, and a repository works best under about 1 GB — plenty for a notes vault.

STEP 3

Your new daily habit on the PC

From now on, GitHub Desktop is a "save to cloud" button for your vault. Two moves cover everything.

  1. After writing on your PC: open GitHub Desktop, type a short summary (e.g. "daily notes"), click Commit to main, then Push originCommit = record a snapshot. Push = upload it to GitHub. That's all the git you need.
  2. Before writing, if you edited on your phone: click Fetch origin → Pull to bring those changes down to the PC

Bonus: every commit is a restore point. Deleted a note by mistake last week? The old version is still in your repository's history on github.com.

Tired of pushing by hand? On your desktop Obsidian, the community plugin obsidian-git can commit, push and pull automatically on a schedule — no more opening GitHub Desktop. It requires installing Git itself on your PC and a bit of configuration, so we'd call it an intermediate option. When you're ready, follow our obsidian-git setup guide. (The plugin's rough edges are on mobile — and that part is OB Lite's job, so your phone setup stays untouched.)

STEP 4

Open it on your phone with OB Lite

This is the part where the 10 minutes pay off. Your phone needs zero git setup — OB Lite talks to GitHub for you.

  1. On your phone, open ob-lite.app in the browser
  2. Tap Sign in with GitHub and, when asked, grant access to only the vault repository you just publishedOB Lite uses a GitHub App: it can only ever see that one repository, and tokens expire automatically after 8 hours.
  3. Your notes appear. Read, edit, save — every save becomes a commit
  4. Optional: add OB Lite to your home screen so it opens like a regular appiPhone: Safari → Share → "Add to Home Screen". Android: Chrome → menu → "Install app".

Your notes are on GitHub.
Now put them in your pocket.

OPEN OB LITE ← What is OB Lite?