Obsidian Quick Capture: How to Capture Notes Faster (iPhone, iPad and Desktop)

Quick capture in Obsidian means getting a thought into your vault before it slips, without hunting through folders to file it. The fastest built-in way on iPhone is the Quick Capture widget: tap it, type, and save to an inbox folder or today’s daily note.

Ways Obsidian’s own app lets you capture quickly

Quick Capture widget

The Quick Capture widget is a capture sheet on the Home Screen, Lock Screen or Control Center. The Quick Capture widget needs Obsidian 1.14 or later and iOS 26 or later.

1. Add the Quick Capture widget to the Home Screen, Lock Screen or Control Center.
2. Tap it and type.
3. Tap the location at the top if you want a different folder or today’s daily note.
4. Tap the checkmark.

The note lands as a new note in the folder you picked, or it is appended or prepended to today’s daily note, a bookmarked note, or another note you choose. Home Screen widgets can show more than one location.

Share sheet

The share sheet sends a link or page from another app into Obsidian.

1. In the other app, tap Share and choose Obsidian.
2. Pick a location.
3. Review the capture and tap Save.

The note lands as a new note, today’s daily note, a bookmarked note, an existing note, or a new bookmark. For links you can save Full Text or only the URL. A New Note location can apply a template. If Obsidian is missing from the share menu, turn it on under Edit or More.

Shortcuts

Apple Shortcuts includes Obsidian actions that capture without browsing the vault.

1. In Shortcuts, add Capture to Daily Note, Capture to Bookmark, or Quick Capture.
2. Choose append or prepend, and the text (or ask when run).
3. Run the Shortcut from Shortcuts, Siri, or a widget.

Capture to Daily Note and Capture to Bookmark add text without opening the Obsidian app. Quick Capture opens the capture sheet at a location you set. You can say “Capture using Obsidian”, “Capture to Obsidian”, or “Open my daily note in Obsidian” to Siri.

Desktop

Obsidian on the Mac has no capture sheet that floats over other apps. Commands run while Obsidian is in front.

1. Press Cmd+P, run Open today’s daily note, and type. The Daily notes core plugin must be on. You can give that command a hotkey in Settings.
2. Create new unique note makes a time-stamped note from the command palette or the ribbon.
3. The Templates core plugin inserts a template into the current note.

From another app, you can use Obsidian URIs: obsidian://new (optional content, append, silent, clipboard), obsidian://daily (Daily notes plugin on), obsidian://unique, and obsidian://open with append or prepend. silent on new creates the note without opening it. Web Clipper saves web pages.

Where Obsidian’s built-in capture falls short

• Quick Capture takes typed text only. It doesn’t capture voice, photos or files.
• Widgets turn off when Require Face ID is on. You lose the Home Screen, Lock Screen and Control Center widget path and open the vault instead.
• Desktop has no overlay over other apps. The command palette and hotkeys work while Obsidian is in front. A URI can create or append a note from elsewhere.

Third-party apps for Obsidian quick capture

These apps write into an Obsidian vault from their own capture screen, widgets or Shortcuts.

	How you start it	Capture without opening the Obsidian app	What you can capture	Where it saves	Append to an existing note	Platforms
Obsidian (built-in)	Quick Capture widget, share sheet, Shortcuts, desktop hotkey	No, except via Shortcuts	Text and links	New note, daily note or a note you pick	Yes	iPhone, iPad, Mac, Windows, Linux
Quick Capture – Vault notes for Obsidian	Its capture screen, Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets, share sheet, Siri, Action Button, Shortcuts and automations	Yes	Text, voice, photos and scans	Rolling date notes, new notes, existing notes, headers	Yes, top or bottom, or under a header	iPhone
Actions For Obsidian	A Shortcut you build, widgets, Siri	No	Text and voice	Vault through Shortcuts, including daily notes	Yes, including daily notes	iPhone, iPad, Mac
Quick Notes - Supasend	Its capture screen, widgets, share sheet, Siri, Shortcuts	Yes	Text, links, images, files and voice	The destination you pick, including Obsidian	Yes, top or bottom, or under a header	iPhone
Funnel - Quick Capture	Its capture screen, widgets, Control Center, share sheet, Siri, Shortcuts	Yes	Text, links, photos, scans and voice (as text)	New note, daily note or an existing note	Yes, top or bottom	iPhone

Quick Capture – Vault notes for Obsidian (best third-party app)

Quick Capture – Vault notes for Obsidian opens to a capture screen and sends the note into your vault without opening Obsidian. That is the gap the built-in widget does not cover: voice, photos and scans, plus writing to rolling date notes, existing notes (top or bottom) and headers. Templates use Obsidian’s Templates core plugin.

You can capture from Lock Screen and Home Screen widgets, the share sheet, Siri, the Action Button and Apple Shortcuts, including Shortcuts automations.

Actions For Obsidian

Actions For Obsidian adds Shortcuts actions that create and append notes in your vault, including daily notes. Built-in Shortcuts cover a few capture actions; this app is for building the flow yourself, including on the Mac.

Quick Notes - Supasend

Quick Notes - Supasend opens to a blank capture screen and sends text, links, images, files and voice to the destination you pick, including Obsidian. Use it when the same capture box also has to reach apps other than Obsidian.

Funnel - Quick Capture

Funnel - Quick Capture captures text, links, photos, scans and voice as text into your vault without opening Obsidian. It appends to the top or bottom of a note, but not under a header.

Which way to capture should you use?

• A short thought on your phone: tap the Quick Capture widget.
• A link or page in another app: use the share sheet and pick an inbox folder or the daily note.
• Today’s daily note, vault closed: run Capture to Daily Note in Shortcuts.
• Voice, photos or scans: use Quick Capture – Vault notes for Obsidian, or Funnel or Supasend if the same box also sends elsewhere.
• You’re at a Mac: command palette if Obsidian is in front; a URI or Actions For Obsidian from another app.