Obsidian templates
Free Obsidian Templates & Starter Vaults
Download a vault, open it in Obsidian, make it yours. Every template is a plain zip with real folders, working templates and example notes already filled in — no sign-up, no license keys, MIT-licensed and mirrored on GitHub.
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Working vaults, not empty shells
Each download contains folders, note templates and filled example notes, so you can see how the system behaves before you commit. The screenshots on every page come from the actual vault.
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Free download, no sign-up
Click the button, get the zip. No account, no email gate, no watermarks. The same files are public on GitHub under the MIT license, for personal or commercial use.
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Plugins declared up front
Every template page lists which Obsidian plugins it needs and which are optional. Many vaults run on core Obsidian alone, and the zips never bundle third-party code.
Obsidian templates by category
Find a template or starter vault for daily notes, tasks, study, journaling or your next campaign.
- Obsidian Book Notes & Journaling Templates 2 templates
- Obsidian Daily Notes: Free Templates & Setup 1 template
- Obsidian Dashboards: Examples & Free Templates 1 template
- Obsidian Kanban & Project Management Templates 2 templates
- Obsidian Meeting Note Templates for Work 1 template
- Obsidian Planner Templates: Time Blocking & Habits 2 templates
- Second Brain & PARA Templates for Obsidian 4 templates
- Obsidian for Students: Free Templates & Vaults 2 templates
- Obsidian Tasks: GTD Template & the Tasks Plugin 1 template
- Obsidian TTRPG Templates: D&D Campaigns & Worldbuilding 2 templates
- Obsidian Periodic Notes: Weekly Templates & Reviews 1 template
- Obsidian Zettelkasten: Free Starter Vault & Setup 2 templates
All free Obsidian templates
18 free templates and starter vaults, ready to download as a zip.
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Second Brain & PARA Templates for Obsidian Obsidian MOC Template: A Map of Content Starter Kit Free Obsidian MOC template: a home MOC, three topic maps and fifteen linked notes showing the full three-level structure. Core plugins only. View template → -
TTRPG Templates: D&D Campaigns & Worldbuilding Obsidian Worldbuilding Vault: A Template with a Complete Example Setting Free Obsidian worldbuilding template: places, characters, factions and a queried timeline, demonstrated with The Tide Courts, an original example setting. View template → -
TTRPG Templates: D&D Campaigns & Worldbuilding Obsidian D&D Template: A Campaign Vault Loaded with a Playable Mini-Campaign Free Obsidian D&D template: sessions, NPCs, locations, encounters and a Dataview DM screen, loaded with an original three-session mini-campaign. View template → -
Book Notes & Journaling Templates Obsidian Journal Template: Bullet Journal & Daily Journal Vault Free Obsidian journal template with bullet-journal rapid logging, a prose daily journal variant and monthly reflections, plus two weeks of entries. View template → -
Book Notes & Journaling Templates Obsidian Book Notes Template with a Self-Updating Reading Tracker Free Obsidian book notes template: one structured note per book plus a Dataview bookshelf tracking status, rating and dates. Six example books included. View template → -
For Students: Free Templates & Vaults Obsidian Student Template: A Working Vault for Courses, Deadlines and Exams Free Obsidian student template: a vault organized by term and course, with a Dataview dashboard that lists every deadline and exam from frontmatter. View template → -
For Students: Free Templates & Vaults Obsidian Cornell Notes Template: Callouts Plus One CSS Snippet Free Obsidian Cornell notes template: cue, notes and summary zones built from callouts and one CSS snippet. No community plugins, 3 worked examples. View template → -
Meeting Note Templates for Work Obsidian Meeting Notes Template: Team, 1-on-1 and Client Call Pack Free Obsidian meeting notes template pack: team meeting, 1-on-1 and client call formats plus a Dataview dashboard of every open action item. View template → -
Kanban & Project Management Templates Obsidian Project Management Template with Gantt Timelines Free Obsidian project management template: one note per project with milestones, a Mermaid Gantt timeline, meeting notes and a Dataview dashboard. View template → -
Kanban & Project Management Templates Obsidian Kanban Template: A Ready-Made Project Board Free Obsidian kanban template: a four-column project board for the Kanban plugin with 14 example cards and the card-to-note workflow built in. View template → -
Tasks: GTD Template & the Tasks Plugin Obsidian Task Management Vault: GTD with the Tasks Plugin Free Obsidian task management vault: a full GTD setup on the Tasks plugin with inbox, contexts, a live dashboard and 36 example tasks ready to run. View template → -
Planner Templates: Time Blocking & Habits Obsidian Daily Planner Template for Time Blocking Free Obsidian daily planner template for time blocking: Top 3 priorities, an hour-by-hour schedule and a shutdown ritual, with Day Planner support. View template → -
Planner Templates: Time Blocking & Habits Obsidian Habit Tracker: Monthly Grids + Dataview Dashboard Free Obsidian habit tracker: plugin-free monthly grids plus a Dataview dashboard with streaks and totals, preloaded with two tracked example months. View template → -
Dashboards: Examples & Free Templates Obsidian Homepage Template: A Dashboard for Your Vault Free Obsidian homepage template: a dashboard note with today's tasks, active projects and recent notes — plugin-free and Dataview versions included. View template → -
Zettelkasten: Free Starter Vault & Setup Obsidian Zettelkasten Template: A Starter Vault with 14 Linked Notes Free Obsidian zettelkasten template: fleeting, literature and permanent notes with timestamp IDs, an index, and 14 linked example notes on learning. View template → -
Second Brain & PARA Templates for Obsidian PARA Method Template for Obsidian: A Pre-Populated Starter Vault Free PARA method template for Obsidian: five folders, two live sample projects, three areas and an inbox showing capture-and-file. No plugins required. View template → -
Periodic Notes: Weekly Templates & Reviews Obsidian Weekly Note Template with a Built-In Weekly Review Free Obsidian weekly note template: Monday plan and built-in weekly review — wins, numbers, carried-over tasks — in one note, with 4 example weeks. View template → -
Daily Notes: Free Templates & Setup Obsidian Daily Note Template: Agenda, Tasks, Log & Gratitude Free Obsidian daily note template with Agenda, Tasks, Log and Gratitude sections, a filled example week, and core Templates or Templater variants. View template →
Guides to get more from Obsidian
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How to Build a Second Brain in Obsidian, Step by Step Build an Obsidian second brain that survives past week two: choose between PARA and zettelkasten as the backbone, wire it with maps of content, and start from a free vault. Read guide → -
The Zettelkasten Method: How It Works and How to Start The zettelkasten method explained in plain terms: the three note types, the numbering system, how Luhmann ran it on paper and how to run it in Obsidian with a free starter vault. Read guide → -
The PARA Method: What It Is and How to Build It in Obsidian What the PARA method is, how Projects, Areas, Resources and Archive actually divide your notes, and how to set the system up in Obsidian with a free starter vault. Read guide → -
Templater vs Core Templates in Obsidian: Which One You Need What Obsidian's core Templates plugin can do, what Templater adds, copyable Templater examples, and the exact steps to install any Vaultorial template — as a new vault or into your own. Read guide → -
How to Use Obsidian: A Practical Guide for New Users Learn how to use Obsidian from the first install: vaults, notes, links and tags, which plugins to add, and how to start from a working template instead of a blank screen. Read guide →
- 18 Templates & starter vaults
- 12 Categories to browse
- 100% Free, no sign-up
- MIT License: use, modify, share
What is an Obsidian template?
An Obsidian template is a pre-built piece of vault structure: a note layout you insert with the core Templates plugin or Templater, or a whole starter vault with folders, templates and example notes already wired together. Instead of staring at an empty vault wondering how to organize it, you open a structure that already works and replace the sample content with your own.
Everything on Vaultorial is plain Markdown made for Obsidian: daily notes, weekly reviews, task systems, PARA and zettelkasten vaults, study notes, reading trackers, D&D campaigns. Each zip includes a Start Here note, a README with install steps and a minimal, safe .obsidian configuration — text files only, nothing executable.
How to download and install an Obsidian template
From this page to a working vault in about two minutes.
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Pick a template
Browse by category or scroll the full list. Each page shows real screenshots, what is inside the zip and which plugins you need, if any.
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Download the zip
One click, no sign-up. The download is a plain folder of Markdown files with a minimal Obsidian configuration and a README.
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Open it in Obsidian
Unzip, then use "Open folder as vault" — or copy the template folders into your existing vault. The Start Here note walks you through the rest.
Free Obsidian templates: common questions
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Are these Obsidian templates really free?
Yes. Every template and starter vault is free to download, with no account, no email and no paid tier behind it. The files are released under the MIT license and mirrored in a public GitHub repository.
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How do I install an Obsidian template?
Download the zip, unzip it, and in Obsidian choose "Open folder as vault" pointing at the unzipped folder. To use a template inside an existing vault, copy its folders in and adjust the template folder in Settings. Each zip ships a README with the exact steps, and the install guide on this site covers both paths with screenshots.
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Do I need plugins for these templates?
It depends on the template, and each page tells you before you download. Several vaults run on core Obsidian only; others list required plugins such as Tasks, Kanban or Dataview, plus optional ones like Templater. The zips never include plugin code — you install plugins from Obsidian's own directory.
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Can I use the templates for work or commercial projects?
Yes. The MIT license allows personal and commercial use, modification and redistribution as part of your own work. Attribution is appreciated but not required. The one thing you should not do is resell the unmodified files as your own template product — see the templates license page for the plain-words version.
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What exactly is inside each zip?
A complete vault folder: Markdown notes (templates plus filled examples), a Start Here note, a README with install instructions, and a minimal .obsidian folder with safe, plain-JSON settings. No binaries, no scripts, no tracking.
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Is Vaultorial affiliated with Obsidian?
No. Vaultorial is an independent project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Obsidian.md or Dynalist Inc. Obsidian is a trademark of Dynalist Inc. We just build templates for the app.