Why switching from Roam Research to Obsidian is simple, but not easy
Conor White-Sullivan, founder and CEO of Roam Research, Inc., once coined a remarkable sentence: «Roam is simple but not easy.» The same is true for leaving Roam behind and switching to Obsidian. The two tools may look similar, but there are differences in the details that are significant for power users. And while Obsidian offers a nice Importer plugin that converts your Roam graph into an Obsidian vault, the result may not always be as one would expect. So if you are unhappy with Roam (as I am) and considering switching to Obsidian (as I am): Here is what you need to know.
Let’s break this down into two parts: In the first part I would like to highlight some features that work differently in Obsidian and might make you miss Roam Research. And in the second part I will point out certain shortcomings of Obsidian’s Importer plugin that will produce some unexpected (and unwanted) results for most users.
What I will not cover are the many reasons for leaving Roam behind and choosing Obsidian instead. If you are reading this article, you most likely have your opinion on that already and don’t need to be convinced.
