MDPress

Obsidian to PDF

Obsidian to PDF: export a note as a clean, styled document

An Obsidian note is a plain Markdown file, so it converts without any setup. Upload the .md file from your vault folder or paste the note, then choose a document style and page size. Headings, task lists, tables, code, math and Mermaid diagrams all carry over into the PDF.

Open the converter

Export an Obsidian note to PDF in three steps

  1. 01

    Find the note in your vault

    Your vault is a normal folder on disk and every note in it is a .md file. Right-click the note in Obsidian and choose the option to show it in Finder or the system explorer.

  2. 02

    Upload or paste it

    Press Upload Markdown and pick the file, or copy the note in source mode and paste it into the editor. The preview shows the finished pages straight away.

  3. 03

    Style it and download

    Pick Clean, Editorial or Technical, set the page size and margins, and add a cover or contents page if the note is long. Then download the PDF.

A typical Obsidian note

A weekly review note with tasks, a quote and a small table comes out like this.

# Weekly review

## Wins
- Shipped the onboarding flow
- Closed four support threads

## Tasks
- [x] Send invoice to Harbour Co
- [ ] Book the design workshop
- [ ] Draft the Q4 plan

> Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

## Hours
| Project | Hours |
| --- | ---: |
| Onboarding | 14 |
| Support | 6 |

Weekly review

Wins

  • Shipped the onboarding flow
  • Closed four support threads

Tasks

  • Send invoice to Harbour Co
  • Book the design workshop
  • Draft the Q4 plan

Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast.

Hours

ProjectHours
Onboarding14
Support6

Why take a note through MDPress

More than a printout of the app

Obsidian’s own export prints the note much as it looks on screen. Here you choose between three document styles and can add a cover page, a contents page with page numbers and a numbered footer.

The Markdown you already write

Task lists, tables, strikethrough, fenced code with highlighting, TeX math between dollar signs and mermaid fences are all understood. A properties block at the top of the note is read as front matter and not printed.

Nothing to install, nothing kept

There is no plugin to add and no vault access to grant. You hand over one note at a time, the text is used once to build the PDF and is not stored, and the draft stays in your browser.

What to check before you export

  • Wikilinks and embeds in double square brackets are Obsidian features, not standard Markdown, so they are not resolved and appear as plain text. Replace them with normal links or remove them.
  • Images stored in your vault use local paths that a website cannot read. Add them again with the Images tool, or link to an image by its full web address.
  • Callouts arrive as block quotes, with the type marker in square brackets shown as text on the first line. Delete the marker if you want a plain quote.

Obsidian to PDF questions

How do I export an Obsidian note to PDF with better formatting?
Upload the note’s .md file to MDPress and choose a style. Clean suits everyday notes, Editorial gives large headings for reports, and Technical numbers the sections and tightens tables and code. The preview shows each change before you download.
Can I convert my whole vault or a folder at once?
No. MDPress converts one document at a time. To combine several notes, paste them into the editor one after another and put \newpage between them so each note starts on a new page.
Do my notes leave my computer?
The note is sent to the server once to build the PDF and is discarded afterwards. It is not saved to an account or a database. Only a count of PDFs is kept for the daily allowance of four free files.

Convert an Obsidian note now

Upload the .md file from your vault and see the pages before you download.

Open the converter