Obsidian · Compatibility

Open Your Obsidian Vault Without Admin Rights
or installing anything

You want your Obsidian notes on a work or school computer that will not let you install apps. The honest starting point: you cannot run the Obsidian app on a locked-down machine, but your vault is just a folder of .md files, and you can open and edit those files in the Chrome or Edge that is already there, with no install and no admin rights.

One thing worth knowing first, so you do not fight the wrong battle.

First: does Obsidian even need admin rights?

Often, no. On a normal computer, Obsidian installs into your own user profile, not the system, so it frequently installs without admin. If your machine simply asks for admin during setup, try the per-user install first, it may just work.

This page is for the case where that is not possible: a managed or locked-down device, where a policy like application whitelisting blocks running any app that is not pre-approved. There, you genuinely cannot get Obsidian running, and the browser route below is the way in, because it uses a browser that is already approved.

The browser route: open the vault’s .md notes, no install

Your vault is a folder of Markdown files. NoteLoom is an editor that opens a local folder right in the browser and reads and writes the .md files in it, which is exactly what you need here.

  1. Open app.noteloom.cc in the Chrome, Edge, or Arc that is already installed. Nothing to install.
  2. Mount your vault folder (or a subfolder of it).
  3. Open any .md note. NoteLoom renders Obsidian-style [[wikilinks]], ![[embeds]], and frontmatter, so your notes look right.
  4. Edit in the live or source view. It saves straight back to the same file, no import and no export.

No admin, no install, no account. It works on the same files Obsidian would.

What works, and what does not (the honest limits)

Be clear-eyed about this before you rely on it: NoteLoom opens the notes in your vault, not the whole Obsidian app.

In your Obsidian vault In NoteLoom, in the browser
Your .md notes Opened, rendered, and edited, saved back to the same files
Frontmatter / properties Compatible, the same YAML block Obsidian uses
[[wikilinks]] and ![[embeds]] Rendered, including aliases, heading and block links, and image / PDF embeds
reading / live / source views All three, so you can read cleanly or edit the raw Markdown
Plugins, canvas, graph view Not available, this is not the Obsidian app
Sync, mobile, offline vault fetch Not available, it opens local files on a Chromium desktop
Your .obsidian config folder Not loaded, settings / plugins / themes stay with Obsidian

So it is a way to read and edit your notes on a machine where you cannot install Obsidian, not a full replacement for the app. If you need plugins, canvas, the graph, or sync, those stay with Obsidian on a machine where you can run it.

Get the vault onto the machine first (there is no cloud step)

One honest caveat: NoteLoom opens local files. It does not fetch or sync a remote vault, and it has no cloud of its own. So the vault folder has to be physically on this computer before you can open it: a copy on the disk, a USB drive you plug in, or a synced folder (like one your IT-approved sync tool has already downloaded). Once the folder is there, mount it in the browser and you are set.

Related reading

Obsidian on a Chromebook? The same idea for a Chromebook: open your vault in Chrome, no Linux container. Markdown not rendering? The common gotchas If your [[wikilinks]] show as raw text, the tool is not rendering Markdown. What is a markdown file used for? Your vault notes are plain .md, the same portable files used everywhere. How do you open a .md file? The general version: opening and reading any Markdown file. Online Markdown Editor Open a local folder of .md files and read or edit them in your browser.

FAQ

Does Obsidian actually need admin rights to install?
Usually not. The Obsidian desktop app installs into your own user profile (AppData on Windows), so on many computers it installs without admin. If yours does that, just install it. This page is for the other case: a managed or locked-down machine where a policy blocks running it at all.
Can I open my Obsidian vault without installing anything?
Yes, as long as the vault folder is already on the computer. Open NoteLoom in the Chrome or Edge you already have, mount the folder, and read or edit the .md files in it. No install, no admin rights, no account.
Is this a browser version of Obsidian?
No. It opens and renders the .md notes in your vault, including frontmatter, [[wikilinks]], and ![[embeds]], but it is not the Obsidian app. There are no plugins, no canvas, no graph view, no sync, and no mobile, and it does not read your .obsidian settings folder. It works on the notes, not the app.
Where does the vault come from if there is no sync?
The vault folder has to be physically on this computer already: a local copy, a USB drive you plug in, or a synced folder that has finished downloading. NoteLoom opens local files only; it does not pull down or sync a remote vault. Get the folder onto the machine first, then mount it.
Which browsers does this work in?
Chromium-based desktop browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Arc. It uses the browser’s File System Access API, which Firefox, Safari, and mobile browsers do not support yet.
Will it change my files or convert them?
It edits the same .md files in place and saves them back to disk. There is no import, no export, and no separate copy in another format. Your vault stays plain Markdown, exactly as Obsidian left it.

Open your vault’s notes, no install needed

Open NoteLoom in the Chrome / Edge / Arc already on the machine, mount your vault folder, and read or edit the .md notes in it, saved straight back to disk. No software to install, no admin rights, and no account to sign up for.

Open NoteLoom and try it