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A vault is a folder on your file system that contains your notes, attachments, and a .obsidian configuration folder with Obsidian-specific settings. Each vault is independent — links, settings, plugins, and themes are all local to the vault. For more on how Obsidian stores data, see How Obsidian stores data.

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Open the vault switcher

The vault switcher lets you manage all your vaults from one place.
  • Select the Vault profile icon at the bottom of the left sidebar, then choose Manage Vaults….
  • Or run Open another vault from the Command palette.

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Create a new vault

1

Open the vault switcher

Select Vault profile at the bottom left, then choose Manage Vaults….
2

Create the vault

Next to Create new vault, select Create.
3

Name and place the vault

Enter a vault name, click Browse to choose where it will be created, then click Create.

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Open an existing folder as a vault

You can turn any existing folder into a vault — Obsidian will add a .obsidian folder to it and leave your files untouched.
1

Open the vault switcher

Select Vault profile at the bottom left, then choose Manage Vaults….
2

Open the folder

Next to Open folder as vault, click Open.
3

Select the folder

Navigate to the folder you want to use, then click Open.
To open a remote vault from Obsidian Sync, refer to the Obsidian Sync setup guide.

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Switch between vaults

To switch from the current vault to another:
  • Select the Vault profile icon at the bottom of the left sidebar.
  • Click the vault you want to open from the list.
Each vault opens in its own window. You can have multiple vaults open at the same time.

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Rename a vault

Renaming a vault also renames its underlying folder on disk.
1

Open the vault switcher

Select Vault profile, then choose Manage Vaults….
2

Open vault options

In the vault list, select More options next to the vault you want to rename.
3

Rename

Select Rename vault, enter the new name, and press Enter.

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Move a vault to a different folder

1

Open the vault switcher

Select Vault profile, then choose Manage Vaults….
2

Close the vault window

Close the vault window you want to move, leaving the Manage Vaults window open.
3

Move the vault

Select More options next to the vault, choose Move vault, and select the new location.
If your operating system does not allow moving vaults through the vault switcher, move it manually:
1

Close Obsidian

Quit the application completely.
2

Move the folder

Move your vault folder to the new location using your file manager. Avoid folders already synced by other services.
3

Reopen Obsidian

Launch Obsidian.
4

Open the moved vault

Select Vault profile → Manage Vaults… → Open folder as vault, then navigate to the new location.
5

Verify contents

Confirm the vault contents are unchanged. If needed, re-enable community plugins under Settings → Community Plugins → Turn restricted mode off.

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Remove a vault from the list

Removing a vault only removes it from the vault switcher list. The folder and all its files remain on disk.
1

Open the vault switcher

Select Vault profile, then choose Manage Vaults….
2

Remove the vault

Select More options next to the vault, then choose Remove from list.

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Transfer settings to another vault

To reuse the same settings, plugins, and themes in a different vault, copy the .obsidian folder from the root of the source vault to the root of the destination vault using your file manager or terminal. Restart Obsidian to apply the changes.
By default, most operating systems hide folders that start with a period (.). See How Obsidian stores data for instructions on making hidden folders visible.

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The .obsidian configuration folder

Each vault contains a .obsidian folder that stores all vault-specific settings:
  • Hotkey customizations
  • Installed themes and CSS snippets
  • Community plugin data
  • Workspace layout state
You can change the name of the configuration folder under Settings → Files and links → Override config folder. This is useful when testing different profiles in the same vault or when using a sync service. For full details, see How Obsidian stores data.

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