Transcriber

Transcribe images in your vault to Markdown using local Ollama vision models. Point it at any image and get structured Markdown back — headings, lists, tables, code blocks — all extracted by a vision AI running on your own machine. No data leaves your computer.

What it does

• Transcribe a single image via the command palette or right-click context menu
• Batch-transcribe an entire folder of images (with optional subfolder inclusion)
• Creates a .md file alongside each image with the transcribed content
• Install, select, and remove AI models directly from the command palette — no terminal needed
• Progress tracking for batch operations with per-file status
• Configurable prompt so you can tailor the transcription instructions

Recommended models

The plugin recommends these vision models for transcription:

maternion/LightOnOCR-2:1b, qwen3.5:2b, qwen3.5:4b, qwen3.5:9b, qwen3.5:27b, qwen3.5:35b

Any other Ollama vision model can be installed directly from the settings or via the Ollama CLI.

Prerequisites

• Ollama installed and running locally
• Desktop Obsidian (this plugin is desktop-only)

Installation

Community plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins.
2. Disable Restricted mode if it's enabled.
3. Select Browse, search for Transcriber, install it, then enable it.

You can also browse the catalog on the Obsidian Community website.

Manual installation

If the plugin isn't listed in the community catalog yet (or you want a specific version):

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Copy them into <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/image-transcriber/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable Transcriber in Settings → Community plugins.

BRAT (bleeding edge)

BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tool) installs plugins straight from a GitHub repo and keeps them updated automatically. Use this if you want the latest commits — things might break.

1. Install Obsidian42 - BRAT from Settings → Community plugins → Browse and enable it.
2. Run BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing from the command palette.
3. Paste https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-transcriber.
4. Select the latest version and confirm.
5. Enable Transcriber in Settings → Community plugins.

Getting started

1. Install the plugin (see Installation above).
2. Enable it
3. Open Settings > Transcriber and verify the Ollama server URL (default: http://localhost:11434)
4. Click Test to confirm the connection
5. Install a model: open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and run Install AI model, or install from settings
6. Right-click any image in your vault and select Transcribe image

Documentation

See the user guide for detailed usage, configuration, and troubleshooting.

Support

Created by Sébastien Dubois.

License

MIT