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Fresh user journey: Obsidian + OriginTrail DKG + Shared Memory plugin

This guide is for someone starting from zero: you have heard of Obsidian and OriginTrail DKG, but you have not installed either yet.

By the end, you will have:

  1. Obsidian installed.
  2. A local OriginTrail DKG v10 node running.
  3. The OriginTrail Shared Memory Obsidian plugin installed.
  4. An Obsidian vault “powered up” into an OriginTrail DKG Project.
  5. Markdown notes imported into DKG Working Memory.

DKG v10 is currently release-candidate software on testnet. Expect iteration and breaking changes. Use it for testing and demos, not production-critical knowledge.

0. What are we installing?

Obsidian

Obsidian is the local Markdown app where you write and organize notes in a vault.

Download: https://obsidian.md/download

OriginTrail DKG v10

OriginTrail DKG is the local agent memory node. This plugin uses it as the memory backend for your Obsidian vault.

Source repo: https://github.com/OriginTrail/dkg

OriginTrail Shared Memory plugin

This repository is the Obsidian plugin. It connects your vault to your local DKG node.

Plugin repo: https://github.com/Zigoljube/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory

1. Install Obsidian

  1. Go to https://obsidian.md/download.
  2. Download Obsidian for your operating system.
  3. Install and open Obsidian.
  4. Create a new vault or open an existing one.

Example vault names:

  • My Research Vault
  • AI Notes
  • Supply Chain Research

The vault name matters because the plugin can create a DKG Project with the same name.

2. Install Node.js

The DKG CLI and this plugin’s developer build use Node.js.

Recommended:

  • Node.js 22+
  • npm 10+

Check your versions:

node -v
npm -v

If you do not have Node.js, install it from:

https://nodejs.org/

Advanced users may prefer nvm, fnm, or a package manager such as Homebrew.

3. Install and start OriginTrail DKG v10

For the simplest standalone local node:

npm install -g @origintrail-official/dkg
dkg init
dkg start

What this does:

  • Installs the dkg CLI.
  • Creates local DKG configuration under your home directory.
  • Starts the DKG daemon at:
http://127.0.0.1:9200

Open the DKG dashboard:

http://127.0.0.1:9200/ui

Useful checks:

dkg status
dkg auth status
dkg auth show

You will need the auth token from dkg auth show when configuring the Obsidian plugin.

If you are already using Hermes or OpenClaw, the DKG repo also supports framework-specific setup commands such as dkg hermes setup and dkg openclaw setup. For this Obsidian plugin, the important part is that the local DKG API is reachable at http://127.0.0.1:9200 and you have an auth token.

4. Download this plugin

You have two options.

Option A — download ZIP, no build step

Use this if you do not want to develop the plugin.

  1. Open https://github.com/Zigoljube/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory.
  2. Click Code → Download ZIP.
  3. Unzip it.
  4. Confirm the unzipped folder contains:
main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

Option B — clone and build from source

Use this if you want to develop or inspect the plugin.

git clone https://github.com/Zigoljube/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory.git
cd Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory
npm install -g pnpm
pnpm install
pnpm build

The build outputs the same three plugin files:

main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

5. Install the plugin into your Obsidian vault

Obsidian plugins are installed per vault.

Find your vault folder. Inside it, create this folder:

.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory/

Copy these three files from this repository into that folder:

main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

Final structure:

Your Vault/
  .obsidian/
    plugins/
      origintrail-shared-memory/
        main.js
        manifest.json
        styles.css

If .obsidian is hidden in your file browser, enable hidden files or create the folder from a terminal.

macOS/Linux example

Replace /path/to/Your Vault and /path/to/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory with your real paths:

mkdir -p "/path/to/Your Vault/.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory"
cp /path/to/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory/main.js \
   /path/to/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory/manifest.json \
   /path/to/Obsidian-OriginTrail-Shared-Memory/styles.css \
   "/path/to/Your Vault/.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory/"

6. Enable the plugin in Obsidian

  1. Open Obsidian.
  2. Open your vault.
  3. Go to Settings → Community plugins.
  4. Turn off Restricted mode if Obsidian asks.
  5. Under installed plugins, enable:
OriginTrail Shared Memory

If you do not see it:

  • Make sure the folder name is exactly origintrail-shared-memory.
  • Make sure manifest.json, main.js, and styles.css are directly inside that folder.
  • Fully quit and reopen Obsidian.

7. Configure the DKG connection

In Obsidian:

  1. Go to Settings → OriginTrail Shared Memory.
  2. Set:
DKG node URL: http://127.0.0.1:9200
Auth token:  paste the output from dkg auth show
  1. Click Test.

Expected result:

OriginTrail DKG connection OK

8. Power up your vault

Once the plugin is enabled, an unlinked vault will offer to be powered up.

You can either:

  • Click Power up vault in the first-run prompt, or
  • Open the command palette:
    • macOS: Cmd + P
    • Windows/Linux: Ctrl + P
  • Run:
OriginTrail Shared Memory: Power up current vault with OriginTrail Shared Memory

Powering up does this:

  1. Reads your Obsidian vault name.
  2. Creates or links an OriginTrail DKG Project with that name.
  3. Saves that Project as the vault’s target.
  4. Imports existing Markdown notes into DKG Working Memory.
  5. Enables auto-sync for future saved Markdown notes.
  6. Keeps Shared Memory promotion off until you enable it.

9. Optional: promote notes to Shared Memory

By default, notes go to Working Memory first. This is private/local staging memory.

When you are ready to make synced notes visible to the Project’s Shared Memory layer:

  1. Open Settings → OriginTrail Shared Memory.
  2. Enable:
Promote saved notes to Shared Memory

Future synced notes will then be promoted from Working Memory to Shared Memory.

Do not enable this until you are comfortable with the basic Working Memory flow.

10. Troubleshooting

I do not see “OriginTrail Shared Memory” in Community plugins

Check that this exists inside your vault:

.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory/manifest.json
.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory/main.js
.obsidian/plugins/origintrail-shared-memory/styles.css

Then fully quit and reopen Obsidian.

The connection test fails

Check that DKG is running:

dkg status

Check that the dashboard opens:

http://127.0.0.1:9200/ui

Check your auth token:

dkg auth show

Paste that token into the plugin settings.

I created a new vault but the plugin is missing

That is normal for manual installs. Obsidian plugins are installed per vault. Repeat step 5 for each vault.

I clicked “Maybe later” but now I want to power up the vault

Open the command palette and run:

OriginTrail Shared Memory: Power up current vault with OriginTrail Shared Memory

Or use the button in Settings → OriginTrail Shared Memory.

Current status

This is an MVP/developer install. The next packaging improvements are:

  • GitHub release ZIP containing only main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css.
  • BRAT install instructions.
  • Obsidian Community Plugin submission.
  • Friendlier DKG token discovery inside the plugin.