How to Use Arivu + Obsidian for Knowledge Management

You use Obsidian. You’ve built a vault of linked notes, daily journals, and interconnected ideas. Your graph view looks like a neural network.

But there’s a gap. Web content.

Every time you find an article worth saving, you face a choice: clip it into Obsidian (cluttering your notes with external content) or save it to a bookmark manager (disconnecting it from your knowledge system).

Neither option is great.

Here’s a better approach: use both tools for what they’re built for.

The Problem with Web Content in Obsidian

Obsidian is designed for your thoughts. Local-first markdown files. Bidirectional links. A graph view that maps your mental model.

When you dump raw web content into this system, problems emerge:

1. Your graph gets polluted

Suddenly your beautiful knowledge graph is 60% clipped articles. The signal of your original thinking drowns in the noise of external content.

2. Web content goes stale

That article you clipped? The formatting breaks. The images disappear. The author updates it and your copy is outdated.

3. You become a librarian, not a thinker

Hours spent reformatting clips, extracting quotes, and maintaining web content. Time you should spend actually thinking.

4. Search gets noisy

Search “productivity” and get 50 clipped articles instead of your own notes on what productivity means to you.

The Obsidian community knows this. It’s why “how to manage web clippings” is one of the most-asked questions in forums.

What Each Tool Does Best

Understanding the strengths of each tool reveals why combining them works.

Obsidian: Your Thinking

Obsidian is a thinking tool. It excels at:

• Local-first notes — Your files, your computer, no lock-in
• Bidirectional linking — Connect ideas fluidly with [[wikilinks]]
• Graph view — Visualize YOUR mental model and idea clusters
• Daily notes — Capture fleeting thoughts and build atomic notes
• Plugins — Customize everything to your workflow
• Longevity — Plain markdown means your notes outlive any app

This is where your original ideas live. Your synthesis. Your connections between concepts. The knowledge you’re creating, not consuming.

Arivu: The Web

Arivu is a capture tool. It excels at:

• AI summaries — Instantly extract key takeaways without reading everything
• Semantic search — Find content by meaning, not just keywords
• Intelligent resurfacing — Spaced repetition brings back forgotten content
• Knowledge graph — See how your web reading connects (separate from your notes)
• Content intelligence — Credibility scoring and content quality analysis
• Always-updated references — Links to original sources that stay current

This is where external knowledge lives. Articles, research, documentation, reference material. The knowledge you’re collecting, not creating.

The Combined Workflow

Here’s how the two tools work together:

1. Capture Web Content with Arivu

Found an interesting article? Save it to Arivu with one click.

Arivu immediately:

• Generates a one-sentence summary
• Extracts 3-5 key bullet points
• Pulls important quotes
• Auto-tags by topic
• Scores source credibility

You now have the value of the article without reading 2,000 words.

2. Process in Obsidian Only When Necessary

Most web content doesn’t need to enter Obsidian. The AI summary in Arivu is enough.

But sometimes an article sparks your own thinking. That’s when you open Obsidian.

Create a note for your thoughts about the article, not the article itself:

# Thoughts on Deep Work

Reading about Cal Newport's deep work concept. 

What resonates:
- The idea that focus is a skill, not a trait
- "Attention residue" explains why task-switching kills my productivity

How this connects to [[my morning routine]]:
- My best writing happens before 10am
- Need to protect this time more aggressively

Next action: Block 2 hours of focus time before checking email

Notice: this note is YOUR synthesis. It links to YOUR other notes. The original article lives in Arivu, referenced when needed.

3. Link to Arivu When You Need Sources

When writing or researching, search Arivu semantically:

“That article about focus and remote work”

Find it instantly. Grab the URL. Reference it in your Obsidian note if needed.

You get the benefits of web capture without polluting your vault.

4. Let Arivu Handle Resurfacing

Arivu’s spaced repetition resurfaces saved content at optimal intervals. That article on cognitive load you saved three months ago? It comes back when your memory is about to fade.

This is content review without the maintenance overhead. No need to build review systems in Obsidian.

5. Export to Obsidian for Archival (Optional)

For content that’s genuinely critical to your long-term thinking, Arivu’s markdown export lets you bring summaries into Obsidian.

Export includes:

• Title and URL
• AI-generated summary
• Key quotes
• Your tags

This creates a lightweight reference note in Obsidian without the full article clutter.

The Separation Principle

The key insight: separate web content from your thinking.

Your Obsidian graph stays clean. It represents YOUR mind, not the internet.

Your Arivu library handles the chaos of the web. AI does the work of summarizing, tagging, and resurfacing.

Real-World Example: Research Workflow

You’re researching “spaced repetition for professional development.”

Week 1: Capture Phase

Save 15 articles to Arivu. Don’t read them yet. AI summaries give you the gist of each.

Scan summaries. Identify 5 that seem most valuable.

Week 2: Synthesis Phase

Open Obsidian. Create a note: [[Spaced Repetition Research]]

Write YOUR thoughts:

• What’s the core concept?
• How does this connect to your work?
• What questions do you still have?

Reference Arivu when you need a specific quote or source. Don’t copy-paste entire articles.

Ongoing: Resurfacing Phase

Arivu resurfaces those 15 articles over the coming weeks. Some you dismiss. Some spark new connections.

When something resurfaces that connects to your thinking, add to your Obsidian notes.

The web content stays in Arivu. Your thinking grows in Obsidian.

Why This Beats Single-Tool Approaches

vs. Obsidian-Only

Using Obsidian for everything means:

• Manual clipping and formatting
• Polluted graph views
• No AI summaries
• No intelligent resurfacing
• Stale, outdated clips

vs. Arivu-Only

Using Arivu for everything means:

• Missing Obsidian’s bidirectional linking
• No local-first ownership of your notes
• Conflating web content with your thinking
• Limited long-form writing capabilities

The Combined Approach

Using both means:

• AI handles web capture (Arivu)
• You own your thinking (Obsidian)
• Clean separation of external vs. internal knowledge
• Best-in-class tools for each job

Getting Started

If you’re an Obsidian user, here’s how to integrate Arivu:

1. Install the Arivu browser extension

One-click saves with instant AI summaries.

2. Adopt the “capture, don’t clip” mindset

Save to Arivu first. Only create Obsidian notes when you have something original to add.

3. Create a simple linking convention

When you reference web content in Obsidian, include the Arivu link:

Source: [Deep Work article](arivu://bookmark/xyz) 

4. Trust the resurfacing

Let Arivu handle review. Stop building manual review systems in Obsidian.

5. Export strategically

Use markdown export for archival of truly critical content. Not for everything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sync Arivu bookmarks directly to Obsidian?

Not automatically yet. Arivu offers markdown export for manual import. A direct Obsidian integration is on the roadmap based on community demand.

Should I stop using Obsidian Web Clipper?

Not necessarily. For quick captures where you want the content in Obsidian immediately, the web clipper still works. But for most web content, Arivu’s AI summaries and resurfacing provide more value with less maintenance.

What about the Obsidian graph? Won’t I miss connections?

Your Obsidian graph shows YOUR thinking. Arivu has its own knowledge graph for web content. Both are valuable, but keeping them separate means each graph is more meaningful.

How is this different from Readwise?

Readwise focuses on highlights from reading apps. Arivu focuses on web content capture with AI summaries and semantic search. They solve adjacent but different problems.

What if an article is REALLY important?

For critical content, export from Arivu to Obsidian. The markdown export includes the AI summary, so you get a clean reference note without full-article clutter.

Is this workflow too complicated?

It’s actually simpler than managing web clippings in Obsidian. Save to Arivu (one click). Write in Obsidian. The tools handle the rest.

The Bottom Line

Obsidian users often struggle with web content because they’re using a thinking tool for a capture job.

Arivu isn’t trying to replace Obsidian. It’s designed to complement it.

• Arivu captures the web, summarizes it, and resurfaces it when relevant.
• Obsidian captures your thinking, links it, and builds your personal knowledge graph.

Together, they form a complete second brain: external knowledge managed by AI, internal knowledge owned by you.

Stop polluting your Obsidian vault with web clippings. Let each tool do what it does best.

Want the full picture on building a second brain? Read our complete guide: How to Build a Second Brain with AI Bookmarking.

Complete your Obsidian setup with AI-powered web capture. Join the Arivu waitlist and be the first to experience the integration.