How to Use ChatGPT in Obsidian: 4 Ways, Free and Paid

ChatGPT can't open your Obsidian vault by itself. The ChatGPT website and apps only see the files you upload to a chat. To use ChatGPT on your notes, bring OpenAI's AI into Obsidian with a plugin, or give a ChatGPT tool your vault folder.

There are four ways to do it:

1. Run Codex inside Obsidian. Codex is OpenAI's agent, and it runs on your ChatGPT plan. A free plugin puts it in a chat pane next to your notes.
2. Add an OpenAI API key to a plugin. You pay OpenAI per use instead of a monthly plan.
3. Connect ChatGPT to your vault with an MCP server. Possible on some ChatGPT plans, and the most setup.
4. Bring your ChatGPT chats into Obsidian. Export them and convert them to Markdown notes.

We make SystemSculpt, one of the plugins below, so this guide names the free alternatives too. OpenAI facts checked November 3, 2026, against OpenAI's help and pricing pages; SystemSculpt steps match version 6.18.10.

Which way fits

1. Run Codex inside Obsidian

Codex reads and edits files in the folder it works in. An Obsidian vault is a folder of Markdown files, so Codex can work on your notes directly.

What you need:

• Obsidian on desktop. Codex runs on your computer, so this works on Mac, Windows and Linux, not on a phone.
• The Codex command line tool, signed in. OpenAI includes Codex in the command line on Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise and Edu plans. Install it from OpenAI's Codex CLI page, then run codex login in a terminal and sign in with your ChatGPT account. You can also sign in with an API key.
• SystemSculpt 6.15 or later, from Obsidian's Community plugins.

Set it up in 4 steps:

1. Install SystemSculpt. In Obsidian, open Settings, then Community plugins. If you see Turn on community plugins, select it first. Select Browse, search for SystemSculpt, then select Install and Enable. Or open the SystemSculpt page in the Obsidian plugin directory. Codex doesn't need a SystemSculpt account, so you can skip the sign-in screen.

2. Open chat. Select the chat icon in the left ribbon (Open chat), or run SystemSculpt AI: Open chat from the command palette.

3. Choose Codex. In the run line below the message box, choose Codex. If it shows as not signed in, run codex login in a terminal, then choose Detect again.

4. Pick a mode and ask. Read only lets Codex read your vault without changing it. Ask works inside the vault and asks before it edits other files or uses the internet. Auto works inside the vault and asks you only about unsafe actions. Type @, pick a note and ask something you can check, such as "List the open questions in this note."

Each chat is saved as a Markdown note in your vault. The Codex in Obsidian guide covers attachments and approvals in more detail.

Copilot, Claudian and Agent Client can run Codex too, and are free to install. Our comparison of Obsidian AI plugins lays out the differences.

On ChatGPT Free or Go: OpenAI's pricing page lists Codex for these plans in the ChatGPT desktop app only, not the command line. Codex there works in a folder you open, so select Codex in the app and open your vault folder (Command+O on a Mac). You get Codex on your notes, outside Obsidian.

2. Add an OpenAI API key to a plugin

An API key from OpenAI's platform is billed per use, separately from a ChatGPT subscription. Several free plugins take one:

• Text Generator runs prompt templates on your notes.
• Smart Composer chats with notes you pick with @ and suggests edits. It is no longer actively developed.
• Copilot chats with your vault on its free plan with your own key.

You can also sign Codex in with the key and use it as in way 1. Before you sync or share your vault, check where each plugin keeps the key.

3. Connect ChatGPT to your vault with an MCP server

An MCP server lets an AI app use outside tools, such as reading and writing notes. ChatGPT can connect to one, with limits:

• Plans. OpenAI's help says full read and write MCP connections are for Business, Enterprise and Edu. Pro can connect servers with read and fetch permissions only.
• Remote only. ChatGPT connects to a server by URL. A server on your own computer needs OpenAI's Secure MCP Tunnel, or another tunnel, to reach it.
• No official Obsidian app. Obsidian doesn't publish a ChatGPT app or connector. The servers people use are community projects, such as the Local REST API plugin's built-in server.

If you're on Plus, way 1 is simpler: Codex uses MCP servers on your computer directly. See our Obsidian MCP server guide for the options.

4. Bring your ChatGPT chats into Obsidian

To keep your past conversations as notes, export them from ChatGPT: Settings, Data controls, Export data, then download the zip from the email. Our free ChatGPT to Markdown converter turns the export into one note per conversation, with title, dates and model in the frontmatter. The file is converted in your browser and not uploaded.

AI on your phone and hosted features

Codex runs on desktop only. On Obsidian for iPhone or Android, SystemSculpt's chat uses its hosted AI instead. Hosted AI also powers transcription, related notes and PDF conversion.

Eligible new SystemSculpt accounts get 500 one-time starter credits with no card. After that it costs $9 a month or $90 a year. Running your own Codex in SystemSculpt stays free.

What leaves your computer

Codex sends what it reads to OpenAI through your account, under OpenAI's terms. An API key plugin sends the notes it uses to OpenAI the same way. SystemSculpt's hosted AI goes through SystemSculpt's server, a model-routing service and model providers; the privacy policy has the details. Before you point any of these at private notes, pick a mode that asks first.

Questions

Is there a ChatGPT plugin for Obsidian? Not from OpenAI. Community plugins bring OpenAI's AI in: SystemSculpt, Copilot, Claudian and Agent Client run Codex on your ChatGPT plan, and Text Generator, Smart Composer and Copilot take an OpenAI API key.

Can I use my ChatGPT Plus subscription in Obsidian? Yes, through Codex. Sign Codex in with your ChatGPT account, then choose Codex in a plugin such as SystemSculpt. It uses your plan's Codex limits, with no API key.

Can ChatGPT read my Obsidian vault? Not the ChatGPT website or app on its own. Codex can, inside Obsidian or in the ChatGPT desktop app opened on your vault folder. On Business, Enterprise and Edu, ChatGPT can reach a vault through a custom MCP server.

Is it free? The plugins are free. The AI runs on your ChatGPT plan, your API key, or hosted credits.

Does it work on iPhone? Codex doesn't run inside Obsidian on a phone. SystemSculpt's hosted AI does.

Install SystemSculpt free from the Obsidian plugin directory, or compare its plans if you want hosted AI.

Sources

Checked November 3, 2026.

• OpenAI: Codex pricing and plans, Using Codex with your ChatGPT plan, Codex CLI, ChatGPT desktop app, custom MCP servers in ChatGPT
• Plugin facts: Best Obsidian AI plugins in 2026, checked November 2, 2026
• SystemSculpt: Choose your AI, chat workspace guide, pricing, privacy policy