What’s Inside My Obsidian Vault? (And Why You Should Steal This Setup)

What if your second brain didn’t live on someone else’s server?

If your ideas, your process, your draft stack (all local, all encrypted) could finally stop leaking signal to Google, Notion, or some SaaS you’ll regret trusting in 18 months?

This is how I built that. And why you should too.

Structure Without Surveillance

Most creators default to chaos. Dozens of apps. Scattered notes. Tabs left open for days. Mental RAM maxed out. No rhythm, no recall, no real archive.

I was there too.

Until I built a local first, encrypted vault using Obsidian. It’s the one note system I actually trust.

No cloud sync. No SaaS lock in. Just markdown files, folder logic, and total control.

This isn’t a “productivity hack.” It’s workflow sovereignty.

My Vault Layout: Minimal. Tactical. Fast.

Here’s the base folder structure:

Projects – Everything with a deliverable (client work, my own products, ghostwriting gigs)
- Use Drafts for work in progress.
- Use Clients to house one folder per client to keep work organized.
Notes – Permanent ideas, evergreen thinking, knowledge captured.
Assets – to organize your media.
Publishing – to prep blog posts, emails, and threads before sending them into the world.
Private – Encrypted journals, health logs, financial docs

That’s it. Five to seven top-level folders. Zero fluff. Each one has a clear function.

The rule: If I can’t find it in under 10 seconds, the system failed.

You’re not just organizing your work. You’re reclaiming it.

Create. Encrypt. Control it all.

Core Plugins That Don’t Betray You

Most Obsidian plugin lists are bloated or privacy compromised. These are the only ones I keep:

Templater – Core to auto-format notes and logs
Periodic Notes – For daily, weekly, and monthly capture
QuickAdd – Speed up capture without breaking flow
Dataview – Optional, but powerful for tracking systems
Advanced Tables – Just makes writing cleaner

I don’t use sync plugins. I sync manually via Syncthing or rsync to a local server or external drive. No cloud. No middlemen.

Why This Works When Others Collapse

Most creators give up on their vault after 3 weeks. Here’s why mine stuck:

It’s local. Fast, reliable, no internet required.
It’s lean. No friction, no bloat. Every folder earns its keep.
It mirrors real life. Projects, notes, logs that’s it. No GTD metaphysics.
It rewards showing up. Ideas resurface. Progress builds momentum.

You won’t need motivation if the system gives you dopamine from shipping.

Want It to Sync Across Devices?

Use one of these (local-only) sync setups:

Syncthing (Android, Linux, macOS, Windows) – Clean, local peer-to-peer sync
rclone + cron – For more advanced push/pull control
Encrypted zip folder + Send/receive over LAN – When manual but secure is fine

Never use iCloud, Dropbox, or OneDrive. They’re all indexed. They all whisper back to the mothership.

Encrypt What Matters

This is the part most skip.

Your Obsidian vault is just a folder. Anyone who gets your machine gets your notes unless you lock it.

Use:

Picocrypt for individual note exports or secure manual backups
VeraCrypt for virtual encrypted drives or plausible deniability. (aka hidden volumes)

Just a reminder while we are on the subject. Encrypt your phone and computer. If someone grabs it, they get nothing.

Final Word

No tool will save you. But the right structure will stop you from drowning.

Obsidian gave me a way to build without bleeding.

You can steal it. You should.

Not perfect. Just better.

-GHOST
Written by GHOST, creator of the Untraceable Digital Dissident project.

This is part of the Untraceable Digital Dissident series — tactical privacy for creators and rebels.
Explore more privacy tactics at untraceabledigitaldissident.com.

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