Local-first and supporter-powered

Your best ideas are trapped. Set them free.

Smart Connections surfaces the most relevant notes (and blocks) while you write, using local AI embeddings that stay on your device. Less hunting. Less rework. More momentum.

Install Smart Connections (Core, free) Unlock Connections Pro

Works offline | No subscriptions | Open source | Mobile friendly

Quick start Core vs Pro Guides Demo FAQ

Built for storytellers, researchers, and builders who want trustworthy intelligence without data brokers.

Start in 2 minutes

The fastest path from "I know I wrote this" to "there it is."

Step 1

Install

Install Smart Connections from Obsidian Community Plugins. Core is free and works immediately.
Step 2

Open Connections

Open the Connections view and let it rank what is related to your current note.
Step 3

Act

Drag 1-3 results into your note to create links, or send results to Smart Context for AI-ready bundles.

Want screenshots and workflows? Read the Getting Started guide .

Smart Connections Core vs Connections Pro

Start with Core for instant, local semantic connections. Add Pro when you want inline decorators, a footer rail, Bases integration, advanced ranking, and graph views.

Core plugin

Smart Connections Core

Free, local-first connections that just work in your Smart Environment.

✓ Zero setup local embeddings (default bge-micro-v2) stored on your device. Tune indexing and models in Smart Environment settings .
✓ Real time Connections pane that updates as you write, with drag-to-link and hover preview.
✓ Pin/hide results per note and copy visible connections as a Smart Context bundle.
✓ Smart Lookup semantic search so your vault feels like a private search engine.
✓ Smart Random Note for discovery and inspiration (see Getting Started ).
✓ Mobile compatible.

Pro plugin In Pro plugins all-access

Connections Pro

Everything in Core plus graph views, inline decorators, footer rails, Bases functions, and deeper control over ranking.

✓ Visualize clusters in a graph to explore neighborhoods of ideas (see the Connections view guide ).
✓ Inline connections that surface related blocks without leaving the editor.
✓ Footer connections rail pinned to the bottom of your note (great on mobile).
✓ Bases integration : add similarity columns and related lists inside tables.
✓ Advanced ranking controls to tune results for your vault (see Connections settings ).

Already a monthly, yearly, or Founding supporter? Your supporter perks already include Connections Pro features. You do not need an extra Pro plugins subscription.

See Smart Connections in action

Watch how Smart Connections pulls the right notes into view so you can ship work instead of chasing context.

Built to protect focus and momentum

Stop rewriting what you already wrote

The Connections panel resurfaces prior drafts, decisions, and research the moment it becomes useful.

Link while you draft

Drag results into your note to create links instantly. Turn "relevant" into "connected" in seconds.

Search by meaning

Smart Lookup finds notes that are about your question even when the keywords do not match.

Keep your vault private

Indexing and retrieval happen on-device. You decide what leaves your machine when you use cloud models.

Local-first architecture you can trust

✓
Works offline with local models and supports cloud providers when you choose to enable them. Configure models, embeddings, and indexing in Smart Environment settings .
✓
No telemetry and no data resale. Everything stays in your vault and .smart-env workspace.
✓
Composable architecture shared across Smart Plugins, so upgrades in one tool benefit the ecosystem.
✓
Backed by a supporter community that funds new features, tutorials, and responsive support.

"Smart Connections is how we close the gap between inspiration and shipped work. When your tools honor your autonomy, you can create the futures you imagine."
Brian, Founder

Explore guides and next steps

Use these pages to go from first success to power-user workflows, without guesswork.

Guides

Start here

Getting Started

Install, open Connections, and verify your vault is indexing correctly.

Core loop

Connections view

Scan, preview, drag-to-link, pause, hide, pin. This is the daily workflow.

Semantic search

Smart Lookup

Ask questions in plain language and find notes by meaning, not keywords.

Tuning

Connections settings

Control sources vs blocks, limits, filters, and ranking options.

Pro workflow

Inline Connections

Surface related blocks inside the editor while you write, with hover preview.

Pro workflow

Connections in Bases

Add similarity scores and related lists directly to your Bases tables.

More Smart Plugins

Next step

Smart Context

Turn Connections results into AI-ready context bundles you can reuse.

Downstream

Smart Chat

Use your notes as grounded context in conversations with your chosen model.

Control plane

Smart Environment settings

Configure indexing, embeddings, and model providers across the ecosystem.

Support and upgrades

Options

Pro plugins

Unlock Pro features across Smart Connections, Smart Context, and Smart Chat.

Fund the mission

Community Supporters

Help keep the tools local-first and user-aligned, and get supporter perks.

FAQ

Does Smart Connections send my notes to the cloud?

No by default. Indexing and retrieval run locally. If you choose a cloud model for an optional workflow, only the context you intentionally send is shared.

Do I need an API key?

Not for Core connections. You can install and start discovering related notes without external API setup.

Will it slow down my vault?

Initial embedding can be resource-heavy for large vaults. After that, the day-to-day experience is designed to stay lightweight and responsive. For tuning and performance controls, see Smart Environment settings .

Does it work offline and on mobile?

Yes. Core connections can work offline once embeddings exist. The plugin is mobile compatible so you can browse connections and run lookups on the go.

Ready to stop losing momentum to search and rework?

Install Smart Connections (Core, free) View Connections Pro options