An Extendable Obsidian Publish Alternative using Next.JS

The problem with Obsidian publish alternatives

As an Obsidian user, I know firsthand the power of bi-directional linkingThe New Way To Write Connected and Personalized BlogsSo originally my blog was hosted on https://thinkwong.com. It used WordPress which was good for typical blogging, but I wanted more than that. I wanted to demonstrate the effectiveness of connected notes and the best way to do that was to lead by example. Hence, I created a website with Jekyll using a digital garden template. And because interoperable components are efficient I write less while providing more value. Since content is condensed into atomic bits, I can create highly personalized b within a single vault. I wanted to create a landing page for Fleeting Notes that captured the same power. But when it came to customizations, the options were limited (I wanted a landing page + a blog). I've tried many solutions (e.g. quartz) but I haven't found one that hit all my criteria (from ChatGPT) below:

Compatibility: Not all Obsidian Publish alternatives may be compatible with all versions of Obsidian or all markdown syntax, which can make it difficult to use certain tools or services.

Ease of use: Some Obsidian Publish alternatives may be more difficult to set up or use than others, which can make it frustrating for new users to get started.

Customization: Some Obsidian Publish alternatives may not offer as much customization as users may want, making it difficult to tailor the appearance and functionality of their published notes to their specific needs and preferences.

Performance: Some Obsidian Publish alternatives may not perform as quickly or smoothly as users may expect, which can make it frustrating to use.

-- ChatGPT

The linked-blog-starter template

That's why I created the linked-blog-starter which is intended to be a template to create your own website with bi-directional links. I currently use it for Fleeting Notes, and with a little bit of setup, so can you!

How the linked-blog-starter addresses the four problems from above:

Compatibility

External / extensible libraries are used to convert Obsidian MD files to common markdown then to HTML

Ease of Use

Obsidian notes work out of the box and after the setup, publishing notes is done in 2 steps:

  1. Write a note in /publish folder within Obsidian
  2. Run the backup command using the Obsidian Git plugin

Customization

Create your own template or use someone else's! Changing the template is a simple matter of updating one line in your repository.

  • There's also an added feature to add "PreviewLinks" to text outside of markdown files. (See the footer in the example)

Performance

All markdown files are statically generated meaning loading speeds are super speedy!

Demo + Conclusion

So if you're ready to take your blog to the next level, give linked-blog-starter a try. You won't be disappointed.

Demo: https://linked-blog-starter.vercel.app/home

If you have any questions or feature requests, feel free to leave a comment down below or create an issue in the repository.