Instant Vault

Obsidian’s default app sucks. I built this to be a blazing fast alternative.

Platform

iOS 17 or later

Build

From source with Xcode 16+: choose your own team and bundle identifier. Not on the App Store.

Source

github.com/HighPriestCthulhu/InstantVault

Licence

MIT

What it does

Opens straight into the last note you read: the cached copy appears immediately and the file is checked against iCloud in the background. A quick switcher finds notes by fuzzy name match and searches their full text. A folder browser shows the vault's real structure.

In markup mode, markdown renders in place and [[wikilinks]] are tappable; the line you're editing shows its raw markdown. A link to a note that doesn't exist creates it. Lists continue automatically and checkboxes work.

Create New Vault: choose a location, give it a name, and the app creates the folder with a Welcome note and opens it.

How it works

Notes stay as plain .md files in your own folder, in iCloud Drive or on the device. There are no accounts and no network code. Reads and writes go through file coordination, so edits from other devices are picked up.

Limitations

No backlinks, graph view, tag pane, rename, move, delete, canvas files or plugins. Links can't point outside the vault, and external links are limited to http, https and mailto. Full-text search skips iCloud notes that aren't downloaded yet.