Obsidian Web Clipper: how to install it and capture a page

1. What Obsidian Web Clipper is and how to install it

Obsidian Web Clipper is a free, open-source browser extension that captures articles, recipes, reference pages, papers, or selected highlights into a local vault — part of the same file-based knowledge base as the rest of an Obsidian notebook.

1. Open the official Obsidian Web Clipper page.
2. Select the browser in the “More browsers” area: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge.
3. Add the extension and pin its icon to the browser toolbar.
4. Open the extension and connect it to the Obsidian vault that will receive clips.
5. Start with the built-in article template before creating site-specific templates.

Obsidian also lists Brave, Arc, Orion, and Vivaldi as supported through the Chrome extension route.

Platform availability

2. How to clip a page, highlights, and metadata

A first capture can use the default article template:

1. Open the page to capture and click the Obsidian Web Clipper icon.
2. Confirm the destination vault and note location shown by the active template.
3. Review the proposed note name and the properties extracted from the page.
4. Capture the page and open the new Markdown note in Obsidian.
5. Check the source property and a few paragraphs before using the same template at scale.

For a highlight-first capture, select text, images, or blocks, then clip just those highlights — Obsidian says they remain visible on revisits and save to the vault in one action.

Set up a reusable template

1. Create a template and give it a name tied to the content type, such as Article or Recipe.
2. Set a note-name pattern and a folder path, then select the default vault.
3. Add only the page properties needed in the resulting Markdown file.
4. Test the template on two different pages and inspect both notes.
5. Add an automatic rule after the manual template works across the intended sites.

The official page documents variables like title and date for file-name patterns, plus extraction from meta tags, Schema.org data, and page-element selectors for more tailored captures.

3. Clipping on iPhone and iPad

The template-driven extraction above runs in a desktop browser. A recurring Obsidian-community question is what survives that gap on iOS, where much reading happens in native apps, not Safari.

A post in r/ObsidianMD dated June 19, 2026, “Web Clipper equivalent for iOS”, states the difference this way:

“Using the share sheet in iOS literally just saves a title and link compared with the full summary, images and tags that I get from web clipper.”

Left column per the r/ObsidianMD report, June 19, 2026. Right column per the official Obsidian Web Clipper page. The gap narrows with the Safari extension below and closes further with the native Share Sheet Obsidian shipped in 1.13, July 30, 2026.

That's one user's setup, not an Obsidian spec. Two official facts stand next to it: Obsidian does publish a Safari version of Web Clipper (App Store listing, iOS 15.6 or later), and its own iOS Share Sheet changed in version 1.13.

As of July 31, 2026, the Obsidian changelog entry dated July 30, 2026 is titled “1.13 Mobile (Public)” and describes the new iOS Share Sheet as saving content from Safari, YouTube, and other apps without opening Obsidian. The official iOS help page adds the conditions: iOS/iPadOS 18 or higher, Obsidian 1.13.0 or later, and each Location configurable for Full Text or URL only, through an optional template carrying title, author, source, and date. The Reddit post above predates this: Share Sheet was Catalyst-only then; the changelog is the current public-release record.

On an iPhone today, that leaves these documented routes:

• Save the link now; run the full clip later in the desktop extension.
• Install the Safari version of Web Clipper (App Store, iOS 15.6 or later) for pages opened in Safari.
• Update Obsidian to 1.13.0 or later on iOS 18 or later and configure a Share Sheet Location (Full Text or URL, optional template).
• Use a separate iOS-native app built for full-text share-sheet capture — a different tool category.

4. Workflow boundaries to understand before adding automation

Every clip needs a destination vault and file structure for durable local ownership, but naming conventions for folders, notes, and properties still take upfront work — test a template on more than one page before trusting it broadly.

The result is Markdown, not a built-in read/unread inbox. A queue can be represented with folders, tags, or properties, but its state and review process are on you: flexible for an established system, extra setup for a simple reading list.

Local storage and cross-device sync are separate concerns: the official clipper stores content locally in the vault, and moving that vault between devices needs a sync arrangement the clipper itself doesn't provide.

Advanced extraction is powerful but sensitive to page structure — meta tags and Schema.org data are more reusable than a selector tied to one layout, and a small, inspected template set beats many untested automatic rules.

5. A deadline-based option for a temporary reading queue

Section 3's fourth documented route — a separate iOS-native app built for full-text share-sheet capture — is a category, not a name; here is one instance and what it actually captures.

Full disclosure: I built Burn 451. Its Chrome extension sends a page into a 24-hour queue; its native iPhone app is that fourth route — share from any app and it pulls the article text, not just the title and link that a pre-1.13 share sheet left you with.

That solves capture; the 24-hour read-or-remove deadline is what stops the pulled text from just sitting there, since nothing else about a share sheet forces a return visit.

It has no inline highlights, no spaced-repetition review, no local Markdown vault, and no template engine, and there is no native Android app — iOS only. The free plan allows 5 Flame saves per day; Pro is $4.99/month.

6. Frequently asked questions

Obsidian features, storage behavior, and supported browsers verified on the official Obsidian Web Clipper product page, July 2026.

7. Related guides

• Web clipper: capture formats, destinations, and workflow boundaries
• Notion Web Clipper: installation and workspace capture
• How to save and organize bookmarks in Chrome
• How to save articles to read later