aliases:
  - Local vault
permalink: vault

Create a vault

A vault is a folder on your local file system where Obsidian stores your notes. You can keep all your notes in one vault, or create several vaults for each of your different projects.

The first time you open Obsidian, you'll be asked to add a new vault. You have two options, either create a new empty vault, or use an existing folder.

Create empty vault

To create a new empty vault:

To the right of Create new vault, click Create.
In Vault name, enter the name of your vault.
Click Browse to select where your new vault will be created.
Click Create.

Open existing folder

If you already have a folder that you want to use as your vault:

To the right of Open folder as vault, click Open.
In the file browser, select the folder you want to use as your vault.
Click Open.

If you want to know more about how vaults work, learn how How Obsidian stores data.

Now that you've set up your vault, you're ready to Create your first note.