Transcriber

Transcribe images in your vault to Markdown using local Ollama vision models. Point it at any image and get structured Markdown back — headings, lists, tables, code blocks — all extracted by a vision AI running on your own machine. No data leaves your computer.

What it does

• Transcribe a single image via the command palette or right-click context menu
• Batch-transcribe an entire folder of images (with optional subfolder inclusion)
• Creates a .md file alongside each image with the transcribed content
• Install, select, and remove AI models directly from the command palette — no terminal needed
• Progress tracking for batch operations with per-file status
• Configurable prompt so you can tailor the transcription instructions
• What's new after updates. After a plugin update, a one-time dialog shows the release notes you just received (including skipped versions) with ways to support development. Never shown on fresh installs or regular restarts.

Recommended models

The plugin recommends these vision models for transcription:

maternion/LightOnOCR-2:1b, qwen3.5:2b, qwen3.5:4b, qwen3.5:9b, qwen3.5:27b, qwen3.5:35b

Any other Ollama vision model can be installed directly from the settings or via the Ollama CLI.

Prerequisites

• Ollama installed and running locally
• Desktop Obsidian (this plugin is desktop-only)

Installation

Community plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins.
2. Disable Restricted mode if it's enabled.
3. Select Browse, search for Transcriber, install it, then enable it.

You can also browse the catalog on the Obsidian Community website.

Manual installation

If the plugin isn't listed in the community catalog yet (or you want a specific version):

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Copy them into <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/image-transcriber/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable Transcriber in Settings → Community plugins.

BRAT (bleeding edge)

BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tool) installs plugins straight from a GitHub repo and keeps them updated automatically. Use this if you want the latest commits — things might break.

1. Install Obsidian42 - BRAT from Settings → Community plugins → Browse and enable it.
2. Run BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing from the command palette.
3. Paste https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-transcriber.
4. Select the latest version and confirm.
5. Enable Transcriber in Settings → Community plugins.

Getting started

1. Install the plugin (see Installation above).
2. Enable it
3. Open Settings > Transcriber and verify the Ollama server URL (default: http://localhost:11434)
4. Click Test to confirm the connection
5. Install a model: open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run Install AI model, or install from settings
6. Right-click any image in your vault and select Transcribe image

Documentation

See the user guide for detailed usage, configuration, and troubleshooting.

License

MIT

My other Obsidian plugins

Plugin	What it does
Agentic Resource Discovery Server	Local-first Agentic Resource Discovery publisher and registry that serves your AI skills and tools to agents over a local HTTP and MCP server
Book Exporter	Export books (one manifest note + linked chapter notes) to EPUB and PDF via Pandoc
Bookshelf Base	Display your notes as a visual bookshelf via a custom Bases view
Dataview Serializer	Serialize Dataview queries to Markdown, and keep the Markdown representation up to date
Expander	Replace variables across your vault using HTML comment markers. Supports static values and dynamic functions
Ghost Publish	Publish your vault notes to a Ghost blog with configurable presets for tags, newsletters, and frontmatter conventions
Graph Explorer Base View	A custom Bases view that renders notes as an interactive force-directed graph with explored/unexplored tracking
Hidden Folders Access	Index hidden root-level folders (e.g. .claude) so they appear in the file tree, metadata cache, and Bases
Journal Bases	Custom Base views for journaling and periodic reviews
Kanban Action Planner	Render your notes as configurable Kanban boards and calendars inside Bases, with statuses, ordering, relationships, and scheduling
Life Tracker	Capture and visualize the data that matters in your life
Note Village	A 2D pixel art village where your notes become villagers you can explore and chat with using AI
Obsidian Starter Kit	Adds strong typing support and powerful automation support for notes
Remarkable Synchronizer	Connect to the reMarkable cloud, list, download, and sync notebook pages as images
Replicate	Use AI models with ease via the Replicate.com integration
REST and MCP server	Exposes CLI commands as RESTful API endpoints and an MCP server for AI tool integration
Time Machine	Browse, compare, and restore previous versions of your notes using built-in file-recovery snapshots
Typefully	Publish social media posts with ease using the Typefully integration
Update Time	Automatically update front matter to include creation and last update times

Everything I build is documented in my newsletter and on my YouTube channel.

News & support

To stay up to date about this plugin, Obsidian in general, Personal Knowledge Management and note-taking:

• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Join the Knowii community and learn to organize your notes and put your knowledge to work, together with fellow knowledge workers

If this plugin is useful to you, here are the best ways to support my work ❤️:

• Join the Knowii community
• Become a GitHub Sponsor
• Buy me a coffee
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Check out my products

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue.