# Obsidian Mobile Obsidian ships full apps for iOS and Android that open the exact same [[Obsidian Vault|vault]] format as desktop. Same files, same plugins model, same [[Obsidian Flavored Markdown]]. The mobile experience is a real editor, not a companion viewer; the differences that matter are sync and plugin availability. ## Getting your vault on mobile - **[[Obsidian Sync]]**: the official service, end-to-end encrypted, works identically on both platforms. The lowest-friction option. - **iOS**: iCloud Drive syncs a vault stored in Obsidian's iCloud folder. Files offload to the cloud by default; forcing "Keep Downloaded" avoids painfully slow startups (see [[Obsidian Tip - iCloud Keep Downloaded for faster startup]]). - **Android**: the vault is a regular folder, so [[Syncthing]] works well; that's my setup. ## Limitations vs desktop - Plugins with `isDesktopOnly: true` in their manifest simply don't load (see [[Obsidian Plugin API]]); anything depending on Node.js or desktop binaries falls in this bucket. - Large vaults index slower on mobile; startup time is the tax. - The system file picker, not Obsidian, rules attachment handling; quick capture flows benefit from [[Obsidian URI]] links triggered by mobile automation apps. ## Good to know - The mobile toolbar (above the keyboard) is fully configurable per command; worth curating, since the command palette is slower to reach on a phone. - Mobile is where capture happens and desktop is where structure happens, at least for me: phone entries land in the daily note, processing waits for a real keyboard. ## References - Mobile apps: https://obsidian.md/mobile - Obsidian on mobile: https://help.obsidian.md/Getting+started/Download+and+install+Obsidian ## Related - [[Obsidian]] - [[Obsidian Vault]] - [[Obsidian Sync]] - [[Syncthing]] - [[Obsidian URI]] - [[Obsidian Plugin API]] - [[Obsidian Tip - iCloud Keep Downloaded for faster startup]]