Fully local Obsidian writing + notes assistant (Vault Brain, Gemma 4 on Ollama)
An Obsidian plugin that runs every AI feature against local Ollama: chat with your vault, semantic search, voice memo to structured notes, and selection actions like Improve, Fix grammar and Summarize.
SoloWriting assistantDocument search / chat with filesTranscriptionUse existing hardwareSensitivity: High (client/confidential)
Hardware
| Item | Approx. price (as of 2026-10-16) |
|---|---|
| Desktop/laptop with ~16GB RAM recommended (Apple Silicon or comparable) | Not stated in source |
Source prices are as stated by the source. Retailer offers: prices checked 2026-10-16, may change. Some links may be affiliate links; we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This never changes what we list.
Software stack
- Obsidian 1.5.0+ (desktop)
- Ollama 0.30.5+
- Vault Brain plugin
Models used
- gemma4:12b
- nomic-embed-text
Good at
- Single network call site that only talks to localhost, per the README
- Selection actions: Summarize, Improve, Format, Translate, Fix grammar
Weak at
- Desktop only
- Translation is Serbian/English focused
Rough total cost
Software is free; hardware cost not stated.
Getting started
- Install Ollama.
- ollama pull gemma4:12b and ollama pull nomic-embed-text.
- Install the Vault Brain plugin in Obsidian.
- Use right-click selection actions or vault chat.
Source & credit
savicprvoslav/vault-brain — GitHub
Summarized from the source; quotes are the source author's words. Check the original before buying.