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How to Save YouTube Transcript to Obsidian [2026]

Learn how to save YouTube transcripts to Obsidian for your personal knowledge base. Includes templates, plugins, and organization strategies for video notes.

By NoteLM Team•Published 2026-01-16
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Key Takeaways

  • Obsidian stores transcripts as local markdown files
  • Use YAML frontmatter for metadata and querying
  • Dataview plugin enables powerful filtering and organization
  • Link video notes to your broader knowledge graph
  • Keep full transcripts for search, add summaries for quick reference
  • Process in stages: capture fast, process later, connect ongoing

Obsidian is perfect for building a personal knowledge base from YouTube content. This guide covers how to save transcripts, organize video notes, and link them to your broader knowledge graph.

Why Obsidian for YouTube Transcripts?

BenefitHow Obsidian Helps
Local storageYour data, your files
MarkdownPlain text, future-proof
LinkingConnect video insights to other notes
TagsOrganize by topic, source, status
SearchFind content across all transcripts
PluginsExtend functionality
FreeNo subscription needed

Method 1: Manual Copy-Paste

Steps

  1. 1.Get transcript:

- Copy YouTube URL

- Extract via NoteLM.ai

- Copy transcript text

  1. 1.Create Obsidian note:

- Open Obsidian vault

- Create new note

- Paste transcript

  1. 1.Add metadata and formatting:

- Add YAML frontmatter

- Format content

- Add links and tags

Basic Template

---
title: "Video Title"
source: youtube
url: https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx
channel: Channel Name
date_watched: 2026-01-16
tags: [youtube, topic1, topic2]
status: processed
---

# Video Title

## Metadata
- **Channel:** [[Channel Name]]
- **URL:** [Link](https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx)
- **Duration:** XX minutes
- **Watched:** 2026-01-16

## Summary
[Your summary here]

## Transcript

[Paste transcript here]

## Key Takeaways
- [[Concept 1]]
- [[Concept 2]]
- [[Concept 3]]

## Notes
[Your additional notes]

## Related
- [[Related Note 1]]
- [[Related Note 2]]

Method 2: Obsidian Plugins

Media Extended Plugin

Enables video embedding and timestamp notes.

Features:

  • Embed YouTube videos in notes
  • Timestamp-linked notes
  • Play video within Obsidian

Usage:

  1. 1.Install "Media Extended" from community plugins
  2. 2.Embed video:
  3. 3.Add timestamp links

QuickAdd Plugin

Automate transcript note creation.

Setup:

  1. 1.Install QuickAdd
  2. 2.Create template for video notes
  3. 3.Set up macro for new video entries

Template Example:

---
title: {{VALUE:Title}}
url: {{VALUE:URL}}
date: {{DATE:YYYY-MM-DD}}
tags: [youtube]
---

# {{VALUE:Title}}

## Transcript
{{VALUE:Transcript}}

## Notes

Dataview Plugin

Query and organize video notes.

Example Queries:

TABLE channel, date_watched, status
FROM #youtube
WHERE status = "unprocessed"
SORT date_watched DESC
LIST
FROM #youtube
WHERE contains(tags, "ai")
SORT date_watched DESC

Organization Strategies

Folder Structure

📁 YouTube
├── 📁 Transcripts
│   └── [video-slug].md
├── 📁 Channels
│   └── [[Channel Name]].md
├── 📁 Topics
│   └── [[Topic MOC]].md
└── 📄 YouTube Dashboard.md

Tagging System

tags:
  - youtube           # Source type
  - technology        # Topic
  - tutorial          # Content type
  - to-process        # Status
  - reference         # Use case

Linking Strategy

  1. 1.Link to topics: [[Artificial Intelligence]]
  2. 2.Link to people: [[Lex Fridman]]
  3. 3.Link to channels: [[Channel Name]]
  4. 4.Link to related notes: [[Related Concept]]

Advanced Templates

Research Note Template

---
title: "{{title}}"
type: video-note
source: youtube
url: {{url}}
channel: "{{channel}}"
duration: {{duration}}
date_watched: {{date}}
tags: [youtube, research, {{topic}}]
rating: /5
status: draft
---

# {{title}}

## Quick Summary
> [!summary]
> One paragraph summary...

## Video Info
| Property | Value |
|----------|-------|
| Channel | [[{{channel}}]] |
| Duration | {{duration}} |
| Published | {{publish_date}} |
| Watched | {{date}} |
| Link | [YouTube]({{url}}) |

## Full Transcript

> [!note]- Click to expand transcript
> {{transcript}}

## Chapter Notes

### [0:00] Introduction
- Key point

### [5:30] Main Topic
- Key point

## Atomic Notes Created
- [[Note from this video 1]]
- [[Note from this video 2]]

## Key Quotes
> "Quote 1" - {{channel}}

> "Quote 2" - {{channel}}

## Questions & Follow-ups
- [ ] Question to research
- [ ] Related video to watch

## My Thoughts
[Personal reflections]

## Related
- [[Related Topic]]
- [[Similar Video]]

Daily Learning Log

# Daily Learning - {{date}}

## Videos Watched

### [[Video 1 Title]]
- **Main insight:** 
- **Action item:** 
- **Link to:** [[existing note]]

### [[Video 2 Title]]
- **Main insight:** 
- **Action item:** 
- **Link to:** [[existing note]]

## Key Learnings Today
1. Learning 1
2. Learning 2

## To Watch Next
- [ ] Video title 1
- [ ] Video title 2

Processing Workflow

Capture → Process → Connect

1. Capture (Quick)

  • Save transcript with basic metadata
  • Tag as #to-process
  • Minimal formatting

2. Process (Later)

  • Read through transcript
  • Add summary and key takeaways
  • Extract atomic notes
  • Update status

3. Connect (Ongoing)

  • Link to related notes
  • Add to topic MOCs
  • Reference in other notes

Weekly Review

TABLE status, date_watched
FROM #youtube
WHERE status = "unprocessed"
SORT date_watched ASC

Review unprocessed videos and:

  • Process valuable ones
  • Archive or delete low-value
  • Update status tags

Timestamp Linking

[3:45 - Key concept](https://youtube.com/watch?v=xxxxx&t=225)

## Video Timestamps
- [0:00 - Introduction](url&t=0)
- [5:30 - Main topic](url&t=330)
- [15:00 - Examples](url&t=900)
- [25:00 - Conclusion](url&t=1500)

Media Extended Timestamps

With Media Extended plugin:

![](url#t=225) plays from 3:45

Search and Discovery

Search Strategies

  • Full-text search: Find any word in transcripts
  • Tag search: tag:#youtube tag:#ai
  • Dataview queries: Custom filters

Building Topic MOCs

# AI - Map of Content

## Video Notes
- [[AI Fundamentals - Video Title]]
- [[Machine Learning Explained - Video Title]]

## Concepts
- [[Neural Networks]]
- [[Deep Learning]]

## People
- [[Andrew Ng]]
- [[Lex Fridman]]

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1Is there an Obsidian plugin that auto-imports YouTube transcripts?
Not directly. Some plugins help with video embedding (Media Extended), but you'll need to extract transcripts via NoteLM.ai or similar, then paste into Obsidian. QuickAdd can streamline the process with templates.
Q2How do I organize hundreds of video notes?
Use consistent YAML frontmatter, tags, and folder structure. Dataview queries let you filter and sort. Create topic MOCs to group related videos. Use status tags (to-process, processed, archived) to track workflow.
Q3Should I keep full transcripts or just summaries?
Both. Keep full transcripts for searchability, but collapse them with callouts. Write summaries for quick reference. Link to atomic notes for key concepts.
Q4How do I link video insights to existing notes?
When processing transcripts, identify concepts that connect to existing notes. Add [[links]] to those notes, and add backlinks from existing notes to the video note. Use tags for topic grouping.
Q5What's the best file naming convention?
Options: - YYYY-MM-DD - Video Title.md (chronological) - Channel - Video Title.md (by source) - Topic - Video Title.md (by subject) Choose one and stay consistent.

Conclusion

Obsidian transforms YouTube transcripts into a searchable, linked knowledge base. Start with manual copy-paste from NoteLM.ai, use consistent templates, and leverage plugins like Dataview for organization. The key is processing notes—extracting insights and linking to your broader knowledge graph.

Quick workflow:

  1. 1.Extract transcript via NoteLM.ai
  2. 2.Create new note from template
  3. 3.Paste transcript and metadata
  4. 4.Tag and link to related notes
  5. 5.Process and extract insights later

Start building your video knowledge base in Obsidian today!

Written By

NoteLM Team

The NoteLM team specializes in AI-powered video summarization and learning tools. We are passionate about making video content more accessible and efficient for learners worldwide.

AI/ML DevelopmentVideo ProcessingEducational Technology

Sources & References

Last verified: January 16, 2026
Obsidian plugin availability and features may change. Community plugins require manual installation.

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