Obsidian · Compatibility

How to Share a Few Obsidian Notes
with someone who won't install Obsidian

You want to send a few notes to a friend, a colleague, a professor, or a client who does not use Obsidian and will not install it. You also do not want to pay for Obsidian Publish or set up a Quartz site just to share a couple of pages. The good news: your notes are plain .md files, so you can just send the files, and the other person can open them rendered, with nothing to install.

Open the note in the browser so anyone can read it, no Obsidian needed →

You do not need a whole publishing setup

For sharing a handful of notes with one person, the usual "publish your vault" answers are more than you need:

Option What it is
Obsidian Publish A paid, hosted website, overkill for a couple of notes
Quartz or another SSG A static site you build and host yourself, a whole setup
Just send the .md files They open them rendered in a browser, nothing to install

The light way: send the files, they open them rendered

Because your notes are just .md (and any images are local files in the vault), you can share them like any other files, and the recipient reads them rendered in the browser.

  1. You send the files. Email a note, hand over a USB drive, or drop a folder in a shared drive. For a note with images, send the whole folder so the relative-path images come along, zipped if that is easier.
  2. They open app.noteloom.cc in Chrome / Edge / Arc, with nothing to install and no account.
  3. They mount the folder and read. Tables, task lists, footnotes, Obsidian callouts, and local images all render. Their side of this is the same as opening a vault without Obsidian.

The honest limits

  • NoteLoom is not a publish or share-link service. There is no public URL and no cloud; you send the files yourself, and the recipient opens them locally. It is a way for them to read your files, not a shared, collaborative doc.
  • The recipient needs a Chromium desktop browser. Chrome, Edge, or Arc; not Firefox, Safari, or a phone.
  • No account, nothing uploaded. They open the files locally; the notes stay plain portable .md.

Related reading

Open an Obsidian vault without Obsidian? The recipient’s side: reading .md rendered, with no install. Read a whole folder of .md files locally How they browse a folder of notes you sent, rendered. Are Obsidian notes just Markdown? Why the notes are plain files anyone can open. How to make a Markdown callout The > [!NOTE] boxes that still render for the person you shared with.

FAQ

How do I share Obsidian notes with someone who doesn't use Obsidian?
Your notes are plain .md files, so send them however you like, by email, a USB drive, or a shared folder. The other person opens them in a browser tool like NoteLoom, which renders the Markdown, Obsidian callouts, and local images, with nothing to install.
Do I need Obsidian Publish or Quartz?
Not for sharing a few notes with one person. Publish is a paid hosted site and Quartz is a static site you build and host; both are more than you need just to hand someone a couple of readable notes.
Will my callouts, tables, and images show for them?
In NoteLoom, yes: it renders Obsidian callouts, tables, task lists, and footnotes, and if you send the folder so the relative-path images come along, the local images render too.
Is this a shared link or a hosted page?
No. NoteLoom is not a hosting or share-link service; there is no public URL and no cloud. You send the files yourself, and the recipient opens them locally in their own browser.
Can they open it on their phone?
No. Opening a folder needs a Chromium desktop browser, Chrome, Edge, or Arc. Firefox, Safari, and mobile browsers are not supported yet.
Do they need an account or to upload anything?
No. They open the files locally in their browser; nothing is uploaded and no account is needed. Your notes stay files, passed from you to them.

Let them read your notes, no install

Send your .md notes however you like, and point the other person to NoteLoom in Chrome / Edge / Arc: they mount the folder and read your notes rendered, callouts and images and all. No Publish, no Quartz, no account,.

Open NoteLoom and try it