Notes in Obsidian are stored as plain text files. This means your data is durable and not locked into a proprietary format. By writing your notes in plain text, they'll outlive any app—even Obsidian itself. ## Create a new note To create a new note: 1. Press `Ctrl+N` (or `Cmd+N` on macOS) on your keyboard. 2. Type "Obsidian" as the name of your note and press `Enter`. 3. Copy and paste the following text into your note: > Obsidian is the private and flexible writing app that adapts to the way you think. ## Formatting text Obsidian supports [[Basic formatting syntax|Markdown]] syntax to make text bold, italic, and add links and headings. 1. Copy and paste the following text at the top of the Obsidian note: > \# Sharpen your thinking. The hash symbol (`#`) turns a line of text into a heading. 2. In your note, select any text and press `Ctrl+B` (or `Cmd+B` on macOS) to make it bold. To learn more about how to format your notes using Markdown, refer to [[Basic formatting syntax]]. ## Learn more Learn how to [[Link notes|link notes]] to create a network of connected thoughts. You may also want to check out the [[Sandbox vault]] to explore other features of the application.