Core and Pro
Build the prompt and copy it
Best when you use ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Smart Chat, or another chat UI and just want a better prompt.
Reusable AI prompts for Obsidian
Smart Templates for Obsidian: Reuse your Markdown templates as AI prompts
Stop rebuilding the same prompt every time you use AI. Start from the note or selection you care about, apply one or more templates you already trust, and get a repeatable prompt for meeting follow-ups, research briefs, summaries, and outlines. Current Smart Templates 2.3 completes this workflow with Copy prompt in Core and Pro.
Works with your existing templates | Current note or selection as context | Core and Pro: Copy prompt
Your chosen AI tool
Paste, examine, and send
Check the copied context, template, and instructions before sending the request. The destination produces the AI output.
Smart Templates 2.3: start from context, select templates, and copy the prepared prompt in Core or Pro.
Install Smart Templates and build your first useful prompt
Install the plugin, open a note you care about, and turn that note plus one template into a repeatable AI prompt.
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Step 1
Open the shared modal
Install Smart Templates from Community Plugins, then run Smart Templates: Open template context from the command palette or ribbon.
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Step 2
Start from the current note or selection
The current note is the context anchor. If you highlight text first, the selection becomes the starting context.
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Step 3
Choose a template and copy the prompt
Pick one template, add a short instruction, and review the request. Click Copy prompt, paste it into your chosen AI tool, and examine it before sending.
First-win use cases
Meeting notes: prepare a request for action items, decisions, and follow-ups.
Research notes: prepare a request for summaries, open questions, and next steps.
Drafts and outlines: keep your preferred structure instead of re-explaining it every time.
Obsidian Templates vs Smart Templates
Obsidian Templates inserts predefined note content. Smart Templates uses note context plus templates to build and copy a prompt for your chosen AI tool.
Obsidian Templates
- ✓Insert predefined content into notes.
- ✓Great for note scaffolding and repeatable note creation.
- ✓Does not package the current note as AI context.
Smart Templates
- ✓Starts from the current note or selection.
- ✓Reuses existing template files, flags, filename rules, or template headings.
- ✓Builds and copies the prepared prompt in Core and Pro.
Already use the Obsidian Templates folder? Point Smart Templates at the same source in Smart Templates settings .
Why Smart Templates works
It closes the gap between what your notes already know and what your prompt usually forgets.
Start from context, not a blank box
The current note is the default anchor, and a text selection can replace it before you choose a template.
Learn the Template Context modal .
Detect templates where they already live
Use configured folders, the Obsidian Templates folder, a smart template: true flag, a filename rule, or matching headings.
Configure detection in Settings .
Use one shared flow for Core and Pro
Core and Pro both complete the current Smart Templates 2.3 workflow with Copy prompt. Your chosen AI tool handles the request after you paste and send it.
Read the clipboard workflow or the retired v1 generation guidance .
Built-in defaults remove setup friction
Even before you configure vault-backed sources, Smart Templates includes defaults such as summary, tags, research paper, and diagram.
Pick the workflow that matches your friction
Smart Templates pays off when the structure repeats even when the raw material changes.
Meeting follow-up
Package meeting notes with a template requesting action items, owners, risks, and decisions.
Research brief
Start from a source note or excerpt, add supporting context, then apply a briefing template.
Writing structure
Keep your preferred outline, voice constraints, or section order without restating them every time.
Multi-template request
Combine templates when one structure is not enough, such as a recommendation table plus an executive summary.
Where Smart Templates fits in the Smart Plugins workflow
Use Smart Templates when structure is the problem. Use the rest of the ecosystem when discovery, context assembly, or ongoing chat is the bottleneck.
Need better context
Smart Context
Assemble the right notes, folders, or named packs before you apply a template.
Continue with attached chat
Smart Chat
Paste copied prompts into chats that stay attached to the right notes.
Need discovery
Smart Connections
Find related notes before packaging them into a structured prompt.
Proof you can inspect right now
The best current proof is what you can inspect immediately: the plugin listing, the settings guide, and release notes.
Install
Obsidian Community plugin
Review the plugin entry and install Smart Templates from the official Obsidian directory.
Inspect
Settings guide
See the live detection rules for folders, naming conventions, and heading-based discovery.
Shipped changes
Release notes
See the release history and distinguish current prompt-copy behavior from older workflows.
What stays under your control
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✓
Smart Templates 2.3 prepares and copies the request in Obsidian. Examine the complete pasted prompt before sending it through your chosen AI tool.
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✓
Your templates stay in Markdown inside the vault, where they remain inspectable, editable, and shareable.
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✓
A configured cloud embedding or ranking provider can already receive eligible source text during Smart Environment processing. Copied content also leaves Obsidian when you paste or send it through another application or provider-backed tool.
Smart Templates Core and Pro in version 2.3
Both editions use Template Context and finish with Copy prompt. Core completes the prompt-building workflow; a Pro upgrade is not required for it.
Core plugin
Smart Templates Core
Free, context-first prompt building from the templates you already keep in your vault.
- ✓ Open one shared modal from the current note, selection, ribbon, or file menu.
- ✓ Add context, select one or more templates, and copy the final prompt.
- ✓ Reuse vault templates plus built-in defaults without a Templates model or API key.
Pro plugin Copy prompt workflow
Templates Pro
The current Pro surface shares the same preparation and Copy prompt completion as Core.
- ✓ Review the context, templates, and request-specific instructions in the shared modal.
- ✓ Copy the prompt and examine it in the AI interface you choose.
- ✓ Generate, Regenerate, Insert, Create note, and Templates model controls belonged to the retired v1 workflow.
Guides and next steps
Start here
Getting Started with Smart Templates
The fastest path from one note to one repeatable prompt.
Current workflow
Clipboard workflow for ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and more
Build a prompt from context plus templates and copy it for any external chat.
Shared UX
Template Context modal
See the context-first runtime that powers both Core and Pro.
Detection rules
Settings for folders, filenames, and headings
Configure where templates are found.
Entry points
Commands, ribbon, and file-menu entry points
Open the shared modal from the command palette, ribbon, or file menu.
Migration
Retired Templates v1 controls
Understand older generation guides and continue with Copy prompt in version 2.3.
FAQ
Quick answers on compatibility, Core vs Pro, privacy, and fit.
What is Smart Templates for Obsidian?
Smart Templates turns the Markdown templates you already trust into reusable AI workflows. It starts from your current note or selection, adds context, then packages that context with one or more templates. Current Smart Templates 2.3 copies the prepared prompt in Core and Pro.
Does Smart Templates replace Obsidian Templates?
No. Obsidian Templates inserts predefined note content. Smart Templates uses those same templates as AI structure layered on top of the current note or selection.
Do I need an API key?
Not for the current Smart Templates 2.3 workflow in Core or Pro. It builds and copies the prompt for your chosen AI interface. The destination can require its own account, model, or provider configuration.
What is the difference between Smart Templates Core and Templates Pro?
Current Core and Pro use the same Template Context preparation flow and end at Copy prompt. Generate, Regenerate, Insert, Create note, and Templates model controls belonged to the retired v1 workflow. Use the current Smart Plugins Store for edition access.
How are templates detected?
Smart Templates can discover templates from configured folders, the Obsidian Templates folder as a fallback, notes flagged with smart template: true, a configured filename match, or matching headings. Built-in defaults stay available even before setup.
Can I keep multiple templates in one note?
Yes. Matching headings can act as templates, so you can keep multiple reusable template blocks inside one note.
Can I use more than one template at once?
Yes. Smart Templates can merge multiple templates in selection order when one output needs more than one reusable structure.
Can I use Smart Templates with ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, or Smart Chat?
Yes. Select Copy prompt in Core or Pro, then paste the request into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Smart Chat, or another compatible AI interface. Examine the complete pasted request before sending it.
How is Smart Templates different from Smart Context?
Smart Context assembles the right notes as grounded context. Smart Templates applies reusable output structure to that context. They work well together when you need both.
Does Smart Templates keep my notes private and local-first?
Smart Templates prepares the request in Obsidian and copies it to the clipboard. A configured cloud embedding or ranking provider can already receive eligible source text during Smart Environment processing. The copied prompt leaves Obsidian when you paste or send it through another application or provider-backed tool. Review the context and destination before sending sensitive material.
What is the fastest way to get started?
Install Smart Templates from Community Plugins, open a note you already care about, run the shared modal, choose one template, add a short instruction, then click Copy prompt. The Getting Started guide walks through that first win.
Keep your best structures in Markdown, package them with the right context, and stop rebuilding prompts from scratch.