pdftomd

PDF to Obsidian

Turn a PDF into a real note: properties at the top, headings you can fold and link to, and the figures in an images folder beside it. Unzip it into your vault and it just works.

Drop PDFs here

Or paste one, or choose files. Up to 20 at a time, converted in this tab.

No file handy? Try

Your files are read in this browser tab and never uploaded.

Why convert instead of embedding the PDF

Obsidian can display a PDF, but a PDF in your vault is a closed box. As a Markdown note, the same document becomes part of your notes:

  • Search finds it. Every word is in the note, not locked inside the file.
  • You can link to it. [[Annual report#Revenue]] jumps straight to a heading, and the note shows up in your graph and backlinks.
  • You can work in it. Highlight, cut the parts you don't need, add your own comments between paragraphs.
  • Properties make it findable. The title, author and dates sit at the top where Dataview queries and the properties view can use them.

What you get

This page opens with settings for Obsidian: YAML front matter on, and images extracted to files. The download is a .zip holding the note and an images folder:

Annual report 2024.zip
├── Annual report 2024.md
└── images/
    ├── annual-report-2024-p1-1.png
    └── annual-report-2024-p4-1.jpg

The note starts with properties Obsidian reads:

---
title: 'Annual Report 2024'
source: 'Annual report 2024.pdf'
pages: 48
author: 'Jane Doe'
created: 2024-03-02
converted: 2026-11-13
tags:
  - pdf
---

title and author come from the PDF's own metadata when it has them; otherwise the title is the first heading or the file name. created is the date the PDF was made.

Figures are linked with ordinary Markdown image links to the images folder, so they also display in VS Code, on GitHub and in other editors. Tiny icons are skipped and a picture repeated on many pages is saved once, so the folder holds real figures, not clutter.

Add it to your vault

  1. Drop the PDF above and check the result in Preview.
  2. Click Download .zip.
  3. Unzip it into your vault, keeping the images folder next to the note. The figures appear in the note as soon as Obsidian sees the files.

Converting a reading list? Drop up to 20 PDFs at once and use Download all: every note and its images come in one .zip.

Tips for cleaner notes

  • Headings become an outline. The converter rebuilds heading levels from font size, so the outline pane shows the document's structure. Check it in the Preview tab; Tidy headings under Repairs fixes levels that skip.
  • Page markers help you cite. Under Output, Page markers can add a comment or a rule where each page starts, so you can still say "page 12" after the PDF is gone.
  • Leave figures out when you only want the text: set Images to Leave out, and you get a plain .md file instead of a zip.
  • Scans work too. Scanned pages are read with OCR in the browser; see scanned PDF to Markdown.

Private by design

Notes vaults hold the documents people care most about: contracts, medical letters, research, journals. Uploading them to a converter puts a copy on someone else's server. Here, the PDF is converted inside this browser tab, and neither the file nor the note is sent anywhere. It's the same promise Obsidian makes about keeping your files local, applied to the conversion step.

Frequently asked questions

Does it need an Obsidian plugin?

No. The output is plain Markdown with YAML front matter, which Obsidian reads as it is.

Can I use wikilinks for the images?

The note uses standard Markdown image links, which Obsidian displays the same way as embeds. If you prefer the ![[...]] form, a find and replace with a regular expression switches them in one go.

What about tags?

Every note gets the tag pdf, so you can find all converted documents in one search. Add your own in the properties view after import.

Will it handle a 300-page book?

Yes, on a computer. A very long PDF uses more memory, so on a phone convert it in parts with Pages under Output.