Why I Kept Going Back to Obsidian for Debugging Journals (But Not for Everything)

Look, I've shipped products at six startups over the past two decades. Developers argue about tabs versus spaces, Vim versus Emacs, and whether GraphQL is actually worth the overhead. But never have I seen a debate get as heated as the one about note-taking apps.

So I decided to settle the Notion vs. Obsidian for programmers question the only way I know how: by running an actual experiment with real metrics. None of that "I used both for a week and here are my vibes" nonsense.

The setup was simple. For three months, Notion handled everything: daily standup notes, debugging journals, API documentation, learning resources, even my jazz setlists. Then I wiped the slate and did the same with Obsidian for another three months. Twelve productivity metrics tracked daily. Same projects. Same team communication patterns. Same chaotic early-stage startup energy.

What I found surprised me. And it'll probably surprise you too, because the "right" answer depends on questions most comparison articles never bother to ask.

The Developer Workflow Test: Daily Coding Tasks, Standups, and Debugging Journals

Let's get into the stuff you actually do every day.

Standup Notes

With Notion, I built a database containing date, blockers, completed tasks, and tomorrow's goals. Clean, filterable, searchable. The problem? On my setup, opening Notion often took several seconds, though your mileage will vary significantly based on your device, workspace size, and network conditions. That doesn't sound like much until you're context-switching fifty times a day. The mental overhead started to wear on me.

Obsidian? Instantaneous. Hit my global hotkey, type a quick daily note template, done in under a second. During testing, my average capture time dropped significantly, from around 12 seconds to about 4 seconds. Your results will depend on your setup and habits, but over three months, that's hours of micro-friction eliminated.

Debugging Journals

When I'm hunting a gnarly bug, I need to dump stack traces, hypotheses, and dead ends somewhere. Notion handled code blocks fine, but the sync lag drove me nuts. Pasting a 200-line stack trace meant watching the cursor stutter for a second.

Obsidian handles local Markdown files, so there's zero sync delay. Paste, format, move on. The trade-off shows up when you need to share a debugging session with a teammate. Notion's sharing was one click. With Obsidian, I was copying content into Slack or cobbling together a GitHub Gist workflow.

Daily Workflow Verdict

Working solo or async? Obsidian wins on raw speed. Does your team need to see your notes in real time? Notion's collaboration features save significant coordination overhead. There's no universal best note-taking app for developers in 2024, just the best fit for your context.

Code Documentation Showdown: Notion Databases vs. Obsidian with Dataview

I built the same API documentation system in both tools: a REST API with 47 endpoints, each needing method, path, auth requirements, request/response schemas, and example curl commands.

Notion's Approach

Notion databases are genuinely impressive for this use case. I created a database with properties for HTTP method (select), path (text), auth type (select), and related endpoints (relation). Filtering to see "all POST endpoints requiring admin auth" took one click.

Where did it fall short? Embedding actual code. Notion's code blocks work, but you can't syntax-highlight inside database cells. Each endpoint ended up linking to a separate page with the code examples. Manageable, though it added friction.

Building a Notion Database for Code Documentation

Setup took about two hours. Create the database, define properties, build the views. Templates saved time on repetitive entries. Honestly, if you're wondering how to build a Notion database for code documentation and you work with non-technical stakeholders, this is the play. Product managers could actually read and comment on my docs without me translating everything.

Obsidian's Approach

Obsidian with the Dataview plugin is basically SQL for your notes. Individual Markdown files for each endpoint, YAML frontmatter containing the metadata, and Dataview queries generating the same filtered views.

---
method: POST
path: /api/users
auth: admin
tags: [users, write]
---

Flexibility is where Dataview shines. Complex queries, documentation combined with learning notes, and everything living in plain text files I actually owned.

The downside? That learning curve is real. Never touched YAML or written query syntax? Expect a weekend of tinkering before it clicks. Getting my Obsidian developer workflow setup to match what Notion gave me in two hours took roughly eight.

The Second Brain Factor: Knowledge Retrieval Speed and Backlinks

Obsidian pulled ahead in ways I didn't expect.

I tracked how long it took me to retrieve specific information I'd saved, things like "What was that caching pattern I learned from that blog post?" or "How did I fix that Docker networking issue on project X?"

Retrieval Speed Results

Consistently, information surfaced faster in Obsidian than in Notion during my testing. Your results will vary based on vault size, search habits, and how you organize your notes. For my workflow, the difference was noticeable.

Why the gap? Backlinks. When I wrote a note about Docker networking, linking to related concepts happened naturally: [[iptables]], [[bridge networks]], [[container DNS]]. Searching later didn't just find the original note. It found a web of connected ideas that helped me remember the full context.

Notion has backlinks now, but they feel bolted on. Obsidian's graph view isn't just a pretty visualization. It's how you build a second brain app for software engineers that actually surfaces connections you forgot you made.

Learning Retention

Quantifying this is harder, but something clicked during month five with Obsidian. Concepts I'd written about and linked extensively stuck in my memory better. Creating connections reinforced the learning.

As someone who's picked up new languages and frameworks at every startup, this matters. Rust basics came during the Obsidian phase, and the interlinked notes became my reference system. Six weeks later, concepts I'd usually need to look up again stayed accessible.

Plugin Deep Dive: The 7 Obsidian Plugins That Transform It for Developers

So what plugins should developers use in Obsidian? After months of experimentation, here's the stack that stuck:

1. Dataview Already mentioned, but it's non-negotiable. Turn your vault into a queryable database.

2. Templater Dynamic templates with JavaScript. Daily notes auto-populate with yesterday's unfinished tasks and the current sprint's goals.

3. Git Automatic version control for your vault. Commits every 30 minutes, pushes to a private repo. Haven't lost a note since.

4. Advanced Tables Makes Markdown tables actually usable. Tab to create new columns, spreadsheet-style navigation.

5. Calendar Click any date, get that day's daily note. Simple. You'll use it daily.

6. Excalidraw Whiteboard-style diagrams inside Obsidian. Architecture diagrams live right alongside project notes.

7. Kanban Turn any note into a Kanban board. Personal sprint planning within the vault becomes effortless.

Setup Configuration Tip

Your .obsidian/plugins folder can be version controlled. Setting up a new machine means cloning the vault, and everything's configured identically. Four startups taught me that consistency across machines prevents so much pain.

Collaboration Verdict: Where Notion Still Wins

Let's be honest: if you work on a team that needs shared documentation, Notion still wins. And it's not particularly close.

The current startup has eight people. During the Notion phase, everyone could comment on my technical specs in real time. Product, design, and engineering all in the same document. The collaboration features aren't fancy. They're just functional in ways that matter.

Obsidian Team Workarounds

Workarounds exist, but they're clunky. The options I tried:

• Obsidian Publish: Turns your vault into a website. Read-only for teammates, which defeats the point for active collaboration.
• Shared Git Repo: Works if your whole team is comfortable with Git. Merge conflicts in Markdown are rare but annoying.
• Obsidian Sync: Costs $4/month per user when billed annually, or $5/month when billed monthly. Adds real-time sync but still no commenting or suggestions.

The compromise I landed on? Obsidian for personal knowledge management and draft documentation. Finalized docs move to Notion for team visibility. It's an extra step, but it lets me have the best of both.

The Bottom Line: Five Questions That Determine Your Choice

After six months of data, choosing between Notion and Obsidian for developer workflows comes down to five questions:

1. Do you work mostly solo or with a team? Solo → Obsidian. Team → Notion.

2. How technical is your team? Engineers only → Obsidian's fine. Mixed roles → Notion's accessibility wins.

3. Do you prioritize speed or features? Raw speed → Obsidian. Database features and integrations → Notion.

4. Do you care about owning your data? Yes → Obsidian (local Markdown files). No → Either works.

5. Are you willing to invest time in setup? Yes → Obsidian rewards the investment. No → Notion works out of the box.

Where did I land personally? Obsidian for my second brain and learning notes, Notion for team documentation. It's a hybrid approach, and that's fine. This Notion vs. Obsidian for programmers debate doesn't need a single winner.

Will it ship, though? Both tools shipped plenty during my experiment. Pick one, commit for 30 days, and see what your own metrics tell you. That's the only data that actually matters.