REC · voice field notes for Obsidian

Press a button. Talk as long as you like. Read it in tonight's note.

One tap starts a recording. Stopping saves the audio to your vault and writes a timestamped, transcribed entry into your daily note. No cut-offs when you pause. No typing on the move.

Get the plugin See how it works

Free and open source. iOS, Android and desktop. Transcription with your own key, or one cloud key with nothing to set up.

0:07 saved · transcribed
tap · talk · done
09:25●●● ᯤ ▮

2026-09-05

• 07:10 Reading for the assignment: chapters 3 to 5 before Friday's tutorial.
12:54 · After the lecture
▶ 00:03-00:04

Key point from today: the model only holds when demand is elastic. Use that as the opening of the essay and cite the second reading.

19:28
▶ 00:00-00:11

Business idea: a monthly subscription for the coffee cart, prepaid, ten regulars first. Test it before building anything.

Recording · 0:41

How it works

Three steps. The third one is reading.

For students walking out of a lecture, founders with an idea in the car, anyone who thinks best out loud and loses it by the time they're back at a desk.

01 — TAP
Start from wherever you areThe red mic in the note header on your phone, the ribbon on desktop, or a phone shortcut so your Action Button starts recording before Obsidian is even on screen.
02 — TALK
Long-form, not dictationWalk, pause, think, keep going. Nothing cuts you off. A safety limit stops and saves the recording if you forget it's running in your pocket.
03 — READ
It's in tonight's noteStop saves the audio and adds a timestamped entry to your daily note or the note you're in, with the transcript as plain text you can search, link and edit.
The audio is the backup Transcription is good, not perfect. When it misses a name, a citation or a number, the recording is embedded right there in the note. Play it, fix the word, move on.
Plain files Markdown and audio in your vault, synced however your vault syncs. Nothing locked in a service.
Timestamped Every memo carries the time it was spoken, so the day reads back in order.
Where you want it Today's daily note, the note you're in at the cursor, or ask after each recording. Under a heading if you like. It respects your Daily Notes folder, format and template.

Memo styles

Looks the way your vault looks

Pick a style and the entry is written that way. Keep the player in the note, link to the file, or transcript only. Tint the callout to match your theme. Or edit the template and write your own.

2026-09-05.md
2026-09-05
14:32 ▶ 0:07
lecture recap: three causes of the crisis, the second one is the essay question, revise the timeline before Thursday
16:05 ▶ 0:12
business idea: sell the workshop as a three-week course, price it per seat, ask the last two clients if they'd buy it
14:32 · Lecture recap
▶ 0:07
lecture recap: three causes of the crisis, the second one is the essay question, revise the timeline before Thursday

Colour and wash are yours to choose in settings.

14:32 Lecture recap
▶ 0:07

lecture recap: three causes of the crisis, the second one is the essay question, revise the timeline before Thursday

14:32 Lecture recap

▶ 0:07

lecture recap: three causes of the crisis, the second one is the essay question, revise the timeline before Thursday

14:32 lecture recap: three causes of the crisis, the second one is the essay question, revise the timeline before Thursday [[Voice 14-32-10.m4a]]
16:05 business idea: sell the workshop as a three-week course, price it per seat, ask the last two clients if they'd buy it [[Voice 16-05-41.m4a]]

Phone shortcut

Record from your pocket

Point a one-tap shortcut at obsidian://voice-note and Obsidian opens with recording already running. One tap stops and saves. Assign it to the iPhone Action Button, Control Centre, a home screen icon, or an NFC tag on the dashboard.

Download the Field Record shortcut 
# the URL behind the shortcut
obsidian://voice-note?action=record

# optional: open the recorder without starting
obsidian://voice-note?autostart=0
Action Button → recording

Signed for one-tap install. No fiddling in the Shortcuts app.

press → Field Record → Obsidian opens → ● recording → stop → in tonight's note

Pricing

The plugin is free. Convenience is what you pay for.

Free

$0

Open source, MIT licensed. Bring your own transcription key.

  • One-tap recording, audio saved to your vault
  • Transcription with your own OpenAI, Groq or local Whisper key
  • All memo styles and destinations
  • Phone shortcut support
Get the plugin
Coming soon

Cloud key

$6 / month

One key, nothing else to set up. No API accounts, no billing dashboards.

  • Paste one license key and transcription just works
  • Fast Whisper transcription, fair-use daily limit
  • Next: record from your watch, memos wait for signal and sync later
  • Keeps the free plugin funded
Support the build

Privacy

Your audio stays in your vault

Recordings are files in your vault, synced however your vault syncs. They leave your device only if transcription is on, and then only to the endpoint you chose. Your own API key lives in the plugin's local data file. The cloud key sends audio to our proxy, which forwards it for transcription and returns the text without storing it. No analytics, no accounts, no tracking on this page.