🧩 Smart Connections: AI-Powered Note Connections v2.1
Spend less time linking, tagging and organizing because Smart Connections finds relevant notes so you don't have to!
- Supports local chat models like Llama 3 through Ollama, LM Studio and many more.
- 100s of API models including Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, and OpenAI GPT-4.
- Supports local embedding models.
- Saves chats as notes (markdown) and canvas (in early release).
- See what people are saying.
Hey there, I'm Brian, the mind behind Smart Connections (still human, at this point 🤪). I laugh at my own jokes, like to use emojis, and think about thinking.
Smart Connections is a mission-driven software that's funded by users. Smart Connections is designed by an individual to enhance individual abilities so you can reach your goals and realize your visions for the future with software that's aligned with you. Follow @wfhbrian for feature sneak peeks and other updates about the process of developing Smart Connections.
This README is a work-in-progress so the v1 README is still available below.
A brief history
The journey of Smart Connections is one I directly share with you. Smart Connections isn't just about some new features in Obsidian; it's a reflection of our shared experiences, your invaluable feedback, and a testament to what we can achieve together in the Obsidian community. A journey that's been both exhilarating and profoundly educational.
Obsidian wasn't my first attempt at trying to manage and make sense of my notes. And in late 2022, like what has happened with all of my past attempts, the system I had built in Obsidian was beginning to fall apart. There were too many notes and I didn't having enough time to organize, link, tag, and otherwise manage them properly.
Smart Connections started as way for me to keep track of my thousands of notes, prevent rework, and make new connections by showing relevant notes/excerpts alongside whatever note I was currently working on via the Smart View.
Soon after its initial release, the community recognized the opportunity for Smart Chat, so you can now chat with your notes, using the same technology behind the Smart View.
From there, the Smart Connections community has continued playing a major part in its progress, from testing early-release versions, coming up with ideas for new features, solving issues, and enabling me with the resources necessary to spend more time building software that enables individuals with AI!
Mission
Smart Connections is about more than technology; it's about community, collaboration, and the shared journey of enhancing our note-taking experiences. Here's a brief look at the motivation behind Smart Connections, followed by heartfelt testimonials from our users.
The Smart Connections mission is making AI technology for individuals, emphasizing accessibility, and fostering a community-driven development. Unlike many tools that prioritize corporate interests, Smart Connections is a testament to the power of open-source, user-supported software in making advanced technology accessible to everyone.
Open-source has been around for a long time. Still, over the past decade, the primary beneficiary of open source has shifted away from individuals and toward corporate interests. This shift can be seen by looking at the many VC-funded "open-source" projects.
In contrast, Smart Connections is designed for individuals, emphasizing accessibility for the less technical, and is funded directly by users.
"I believe that open-source software that serves individuals directly, like Smart Connections, is one of the best ways we can ensure equitable access to AI-provided opportunities." 🌴 Brian
Discover Smart Connections
Smart Connections goes beyond just being a plugin; it's a bridge that connects your thoughts, notes, and insights in Obsidian, making your information management seamless and intuitive. Let's explore what makes Smart Connections stand out:
Smart View: AI-Powered Note Discovery
The Smart View feature dynamically offers real-time suggestions of related notes, based on your current activity. It uses AI embeddings to surface relevant notes based on your current context. This not only enhances your creativity but also significantly improves your productivity by illuminating connections you might not have seen.
Smart Chat: AI Conversations Based on Your Notes
Transform your note-taking with Smart Chat. This feature allows you to have dynamic conversations with your notes, powered by the latest AI technology. Whether you're brainstorming, seeking information, or exploring your notes in new ways, Smart Chat makes it possible.
AI chat models available in the Smart Chat are listed below.
User Testimonials
Hearing from those who use Smart Connections brings to life the impact it has on individuals' workflows and creativity.
Here's what some of them have to say:
- "Smart Connections is revolutionary for my process of attempting to wrangle decades of sprawling unorganized notes, journals etc. Amazing work! Look forward to seeing it evolve." - Ronny
- "I've switched over from Mem to Obsidian when I found this plugin"
- "I actually decided to start using Obsidian BECAUSE of Smart Connections."
- Let me take the opportunity to say what a brilliant plug in you have created it has completely transformed the way I am able to use notes.
- I can already see this will be a game-changer for my research and personal note-taking.
- Hi Brian, you've created one of the most powerful Obsidian's plugin, in the name of all the Obsidian users, i really want to thank you ! It makes our lives easier and more creative ❤️
- thanks so much for this and the wonderful plugin.
- "This is such a game-changingly helpful plugin"
- "This plugin has become a vital part of my life"
- "This is by far my favourite Obsidian plug-in and it is immensely helpful. I'll be doing a full video about using it for PhD research"
- "It's astonishing the power it provides to deal with scientific research and scientific articles included in the vault."
- "Smart Connections is easily in my Top 3 [plugins], it changes radically the use of [Obsidian], many thanks for that."
- "[Smart Connections] significantly changed how I use PKM"
- "This is an AWESOME little plugin. Thanks for sharing."
- "Hopping on to also say thanks. I have been wanting this feature in something ever since reading about tad starners remembrance agent in the 90s! And this is even better."
- "I'm having so much fun using your chat plugin to search my notes better and get insights."
- "This is undoubtedly an excellent plugin that makes a significant improvement in how we interact with our notes."
- "I have been using Smart Connections with Obsidian. It is excellent. I am finding more and more uses for it. I am intrigued by the idea of being able to use a local embedding model." - Eamonn
- "Huge fan of Smart Connections so much that I even wrote a post about how I use it to massively save time on summarizing legal cases (I also talk about my whole crazy workflow and the other tools I use, but SC gets a big shout-out)" - Carey
- "I love the latest version of Smart Connections and just used it for an amazing use case: I took my Obsidian notes and used them for qualifying my yearly performance review." - Jarrett
- "Thanks for your incredible work - I am a performer and a sound artist and your plugin is really helping me make the most of Obsidian, make all kinds of fruitful connections." - Adrienne
- "I'm currently writing a book and this is proving helpful in the process." - Michael
- "Love the plugin! use it all the time. I'm also doing a webinar about it for my community." - Alex
- "I use your app every day. I am a product manager and have a knowledge base of products that I reference in my writing and user story creation." - Todd
- "On a personal note, man do I wish I had access to these kinds of things when I was doing my PhD." - Mikey
More nice things about Smart Connections 😊
- "Smart Connections is truly the best new plugin of the year. Please keep it up!" - Larry
- "Brian, you've done a great job. Smart Connections is the best Obsidian plugin ever." - Es
- "I really do love the app. It saved me from having to buy Mems and stick with Obsidian." - Greg
- "Thanks for making Smart Connections. I use it every day and it has completely changed the game." - Joe
- "I am glad to see your updates on smart connections in the new year. Thank you for your selfless contribution." - 嘿然笑道
- "Love this app! V2 looks to have an awesome feature as well. Keep up the great work." - Austin
- "I wanted to show my support for Smart Connections and would love to not only get early access to Version 2.0, but help out wherever I can. Thanks!!" - Danny
- "Great plugin, use it as my standard right pane." - Guenter
- "I believe it one of the best plugin for Obsidian!" - Viktor
- "Thank you for the great plugin. I definitely had to vote for it :)" - Marc
- "Good luck and great work on the plugin so far!" - Harpreet
- "Thank you again for your amazing plugin." - Eduardo
- "Hey, thanks for a great app." - Robert
- "Smart Connections is a really great program, and I am looking forward to working with v2.0." - Jarrett
- "Keep up the great work ♡" - Duke
- "Such an amazing plug-in. Thanks for supercharging my notes!" - Simon
- "Thank you for the plugin! It looks very promising, I am still exploring it." - Damien
- "Big thanks to you for creating such a slick tool. Excited to see where it goes!" - Khael
- "Thank you for this amazing tool!" - Pablo
- "Keep up the good work :-)" - Dorian
- "Thanks for your work on Smart Connections. Excited for v2" - Eli
- "Absolutely love what you're doing here and I can't wait to see how this plugin continues to grow over the next year!" - Ryan
- "You're crushing it!" - Chad
- "Way to go, Brian. Smart Connections Rocks!" - Arne
- "Tks a lot for the effort you put in this tool!" - Marcelo
- "Thanks for a great plug-in BTW." - Ali
- "Thanks for the plugin ! It really helps in my work :)" - Jordan
- "I am just discovering it, but enjoying it so far!" - Nick
- "Thank you for all your work on Smart Connections." - Ed
- "In my top 3 of the most useful plugins." - Mickaël
- "Thank you for your hard work. - from South Korea" - 오송인
- "I love this extension so much. So many potential features by the way."
- "This plugin is fantastic"
- "This is a terrific idea"
- "This plugins could be a Game changer!"
- "I personally love the app"
- ["This app is such a game