Flowstate

Flowstate (Obsidian Plugin)

Flowstate is the missing bridge between your offline notes and your digital brain. The app transcribes handwritten notes and voice memos using AI, and automatically syncs them to your Obsidian vault.

Features

• AI-powered transcription: Handwritten notes and audio recordings are transcribed using advanced AI, with automatic file naming based on content.
• Enrichment options: Go beyond transcription—translate, summarize, add context, extract action items, turn circled words into hashtags, and more.
• Custom destinations: Choose the exact folder in your vault where you want your notes saved. Create different flows for different purposes.
• Append mode: Create new files for each note, or append to a single file with auto-generated headings.
• Download originals: Optionally save the original handwriting images or audio files as embedded attachments.
• Multiple flows: Create separate flows for different kinds of notes, each with its own AI instructions and save location.
• Email upload: Get a unique email address for each flow to send handwritten notes and voice memos for transcription.
• Automatic sync: Notes sync to your vault automatically in the background—no manual action required.

Installation & Setup

Requirements

• Obsidian v1.2.0 or newer
• A Flowstate account (free to create)

Option A: Install from Community Plugins (Recommended)

Flowstate is available in Obsidian's official community plugin store.

1. Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse
2. Search for Flowstate (or open the plugin page directly)
3. Click Install, then Enable
4. Skip to Step 4: Connect Your Account below

Option B: Manual Install

Step 1: Download the Plugin

1. Go to the latest release page
2. Under Assets, download these two files:
   • main.js
   • manifest.json

Step 2: Install in Your Vault

1. Open your Obsidian vault folder in Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows):
   • Mac: In Obsidian, right-click your vault name in the sidebar → "Reveal in Finder"
   • Windows: In Obsidian, right-click your vault name in the sidebar → "Show in system explorer"
2. Open the .obsidian folder (this folder may be hidden—see note below)
3. Open the plugins folder inside .obsidian (create it if it doesn't exist)
4. Create a new folder called flow-state
5. Move the downloaded main.js and manifest.json files into the flow-state folder

Can't see the .obsidian folder? It's hidden by default:

• Mac: Press Cmd + Shift + . to show hidden files
• Windows: In File Explorer, click View → Show → Hidden items

Step 3: Enable the Plugin

1. Open Obsidian
2. Go to Settings (gear icon in the bottom-left)
3. Click Community plugins in the left sidebar
4. If prompted, click "Turn on community plugins"
5. Find Flowstate in the list and toggle it on

Step 4: Connect Your Account

1. Still in Settings, click Flowstate under Community plugins
2. Enter your email address and click Connect
3. Check your email for a magic link and click it to sign in (check spam if needed)

If you don't have a Flowstate account, one will be created automatically.

Using the Plugin

Create a Flow

Flows control where and how notes are saved. You can create multiple flows to handle different types of notes differently.

1. Open Settings → Community plugins → Flowstate
2. Click Add Flow
3. Configure your flow settings (see below)
4. Click Save

Basic Settings

• Name: A descriptive name for your flow (e.g., "Journal Entries", "Meeting Notes")
• Append to existing:
  • Off (default): Each upload creates a new file in your destination folder
  • On: All uploads append to a single file, with AI-generated headings separating each entry
• Destination:
  • If append is off: Choose a folder where new files will be created
  • If append is on: Choose or create a file to append to

Save Options (expandable section)

• Download Original: When enabled, the original handwriting image or audio file is embedded in your note
• File Name / Note Heading Instructions: Customize how AI generates titles. Examples:
  • "Keep it short"
  • "Include the date"
  • "Use the main topic as the title"

Enrichment Options (expandable section)

• Instructions: Tell Flowstate's AI how to process your notes beyond basic transcription. Examples:
  • "Translate to Spanish"
  • "Summarize in bullet points"
  • "Extract action items and format as a checklist"
  • "Add context and book suggestions"
  • "Turn circled words into hashtags"

Email Options (expandable section, available after saving)

• Flow Tag: A unique identifier used in your flow's email address
• Flow Email: Send files to this address to auto-transcribe and save to this flow

Send a Note

There are several ways to send notes to Flowstate:

• Mobile app: Take a photo or record audio in the Flowstate mobile app, then tap to upload
• Email: Send to your flow's unique email address
  • Supports: 1 PDF, 1 audio file, or multiple PNG/JPG images (combined into one note)
  • Subject line is ignored—the AI generates a title from the content

Sync Your Files

Flowstate automatically syncs completed transcriptions to your vault. Here's how it works:

• Automatic background sync: The plugin checks for new files every minute (desktop) or 5 minutes (mobile)
• Manual sync: Open Settings → Flowstate → expand the Sync section → click Sync Now
• Command palette: Press Cmd/Ctrl + P and search for "Flowstate: Sync Now"

When you upload from the mobile app, Flowstate can automatically open the synced note in Obsidian once it's ready.

Credits

Each page or minute of audio uses one credit. You get 50 free credits to get started.

To check your balance, open Settings → Flowstate → expand the Credits section.

Need more credits? Click Manage Credits to upgrade your plan or buy top-ups.

Privacy

• No usage analytics or behavioral tracking are included in this plugin
• Production builds include crash reporting via Sentry to help us fix bugs. It captures only errors originating from this plugin, sends no personally identifiable information, and collects no performance or usage data
• Only your Flowstate outputs (and optionally original files) are written to your vault
• Flowstate does not read or access any other files in your vault

Troubleshooting

Support

• Website: seekflowstate.com
• Issues: GitHub Issues

Development

Build requirements: Node 20+

npm install

# Production build
npm run build-prod

# Local development build
npm run build-local

# Run tests
npm test