Is Newral an alternative to Obsidian?
Newral works with an existing Obsidian vault: Markdown files, frontmatter and [[note]] links stay open. Its approach focuses on visual writing, automatic links and graph exploration.
See how local-first worksWhat gets lost
You already wrote it down.
You never found it again.
A second brain doesn't die from having too few notes. It dies when nothing connects them: the answer was there, two folders away, and nothing told you.
Yesterday I reread my notes on episodic memory. It lines up with what Zettelkasten said: filing by idea beats filing by folder.
No brackets typed, no links to maintain. Newral recognises your own note titles as the sentence takes shape.
2
Storage options
Local folder or GitHub repository.
0
Newral account
GitHub remains optional.
.md
Open format
Standard Markdown, readable anywhere.
€0
GitHub integration
Free, with no subscription.
Features
Made for connecting, not filing.
Three ideas carry Newral. The rest follows.
Automatic links
Type a title. The link already exists.
Newral reads as you type: as soon as a word matches a note title, it becomes a link, and a connection in the graph. The /page command is still there to link a note that does not exist yet.
2D · 3D graph
Your brain, from above.
Every note is a node, every mention a link. Hover a note: its neighbourhood lights up, the rest fades away. The same graph can be explored in 3D: same rules, one extra dimension.
Block editor
One shortcut: “/”.
Headings, lists, quotes, images, linked pages: it all goes through the / menu. No syntax to memorise, and the file remains clean Markdown, saved after every keystroke.
Markdown note-taking
A Markdown note-taking app that connects knowledge.
Newral is a local-first second brain for writing, finding and connecting ideas. Notes remain readable Markdown files, while links and the knowledge graph make their relationships visible.
Markdown notes stay in a local folder or a private GitHub repository. You can start from existing files without importing your work into another cloud.
Read the getting-started guideFrequently asked questions
Can I build a knowledge graph?
Yes. Every note becomes a node and every mention creates a connection. The graph helps you explore neighbourhoods, spot isolated notes and return to a document.
Explore the graphDo notes stay local?
Yes. Newral works directly with your folder or, if you choose it, with a private GitHub repository. No Newral account or Newral note storage is required.
Understand where files liveAnd everything else
Backlinks
Browsable tags
Search
Split view
Bookmarks
Undoable deletion
Safe renaming
Auto-save
Local-first
Your notes are files.
Newral reads and writes Markdown files directly on your disk through the browser’s File System Access API. No cloud, no account, no export: the folder is already yours.
The frontmatter is standard and [[links]] are compatible: an existing Obsidian vault opens as it is and opens elsewhere without breaking anything.
My folder
Ideas.md
Working memory.md
Projects
Newral.md
Working memory.md
---
created: 2026-07-18
tags: [cognition]
---
It holds four items, no more. See [[Attention]].
Ideas.mdAttention.mdSleep.md
you/second-brainPrivate
3 notes · 1 commit
GitHub sync
Your vault follows you, commit by commit.
A local folder stays on its machine. Create a private repository on GitHub, install the Newral app on it and open it as a vault: the same Markdown notes, versioned and available everywhere.
Changes travel from the browser to GitHub's API, grouped into commits on the default branch. No Newral server ever sees your files. And if the branch has moved elsewhere, Newral refuses to overwrite anything.
Connect a repositoryBuild a second brain at your own pace.
Start with a simple method for writing, connecting and finding knowledge in Markdown files that remain yours.