PDF to Markdown for Obsidian
Turn PDFs, articles and lecture notes into linked, searchable Markdown notes — real nodes in your graph, not dead-end attachments.
Convert a PDFVault generator
Plan your vault
Pick a structure, list your projects and areas, and set your preferences. Get a tailored setup prompt to paste into Claude or ChatGPT — plus a downloadable blueprint.
Structure preset
Projects / Areas / Resources / Archives. Organise by actionability; move notes between folders as their status changes.
I want to set up a personalized Obsidian vault. Act as an Obsidian power user and give me a concrete, step-by-step setup. ## About me - I am a developer. - Organisation method I want: PARA — Projects / Areas / Resources / Archives. Organise by actionability; move notes between folders as their status changes. - Projects I'm tracking: Website redesign, Mobile app - Areas of responsibility: Health, Finance, Learning ## Preferences - Periodic notes: daily - Template system: templater - Task management: tasks-plugin - Folders vs links philosophy: hybrid - Attachment handling: single - Properties/metadata depth: standard - AI integration (CLAUDE.md manifest): no - Sync/backup: git ## Starting folder structure (PARA) ``` 1 - Projects/ # deadline-driven work with an end date 2 - Areas/ # ongoing responsibilities (no finish line) 3 - Resources/ # reference material for later 4 - Archives/ # completed projects & stale resources Daily Notes/ Templates/ Attachments/ Home.md # dashboard / index ``` Personalise it with my projects and areas above. ## Please give me 1. A final folder structure, with my projects/areas slotted in. 2. A YAML properties (frontmatter) schema matched to my "standard" preference. 3. Starter templates for: a daily note, a project note, a Map of Content (MOC). 4. A setup checklist: core settings to change and community plugins to install for my preferences. 5. Naming conventions to keep things consistent. Keep it practical and specific to my selections — no generic advice.
Frontmatter builder
Build your note Properties
Toggle the frontmatter fields you want and copy or download a ready-to-drop note — all in your browser.
Properties
Toggle fields and edit values. Frontmatter must be the first thing in the file — the builder handles that. Tags use no # prefix.
--- title: Quarterly Research Report tags: - research - imported --- # Quarterly Research Report > Converted from PDF with [mdtools.app](https://mdtools.app). Headings below build the Outline pane and are linkable with `[[Note#Heading]]`. ## Summary Your converted Markdown goes here — searchable, linkable, and editable. ## Key points - Drop this `.md` file into your vault folder - Connect it to existing notes with [[wikilinks]]
Prompts
Prompt pack
Hand these to your AI assistant to prep converted Markdown for your vault.
Add Obsidian Properties
Generate frontmatter for a converted note.
Add YAML frontmatter (Obsidian Properties) to the top of this converted Markdown. Include: title, source (the original PDF/URL), author if known, tags (a list, no # prefix), created date (YYYY-MM-DD), and status. Keep it as the very first thing in the file.
Normalize headings for the Outline
Fix heading levels so the Outline pane works.
Clean up the heading hierarchy in this Markdown so it forms a valid outline: a single # title, then ## for sections and ### for subsections, without skipping levels. Don't change the wording — just the heading levels.
Suggest wikilinks & tags
Connect the note into your vault.
Read this note and suggest 5–10 [[wikilinks]] to likely related topics and 3–5 tags (no # prefix) I could add. Explain each suggestion in one line so I can pick the relevant ones.
Build a Map of Content
Create an index note for a topic cluster.
Create an Obsidian MOC (Map of Content) index note for the topic '<TOPIC>'. Include a short intro, then sections (Sources, Themes, Open questions) with [[wikilink]] placeholders I can fill in. Add a tags: [moc] property.
Obsidian PDF-to-Vault Starter Kit
Templates and a step-by-step workflow to turn any PDF into a linked, searchable Obsidian note.
- Properties (frontmatter) template
- Map of Content (MOC) index template
- PDF → linked note workflow guide
- Filename & tagging best practices