Omnivore Shut Down? Here's How to Keep Saving Emails to Obsidian
If you searched for “Omnivore Obsidian” hoping to set up email sync, we have some bad news: Omnivore shut down on November 15, 2024, after its team was acqui-hired by ElevenLabs to work on the ElevenReader app. The hosted service went offline, the API stopped responding, and any data you didn’t export before the shutdown is gone for good.
If Omnivore was your bridge between your inbox and your Obsidian vault, you now need a new one. TaskRobin fills that gap—and does it without depending on a single company’s continued existence to keep your workflow alive.
What Omnivore Users Relied On
Omnivore was a free, open-source read-it-later app. For Obsidian users specifically, two features mattered most:
- Email Inbox: You could subscribe to newsletters using a personal Omnivore email address, and Omnivore would capture the content automatically.
- Obsidian Plugin: A community plugin that synced your saved articles, highlights, and labels into your vault as Markdown notes, using a customizable Mustache template.
That combination meant your newsletters and saved reading ended up searchable and linkable right alongside the rest of your notes—no copy-pasting required.
TaskRobin: The Same Core Workflow, Built for Any Email
TaskRobin’s Obsidian plugin solves the same underlying problem—turning email content into Markdown notes in your vault—but it isn’t limited to newsletter articles. It works with any email: client threads, receipts, project updates, and yes, newsletters too.
- Direct Sync: Click a button inside Obsidian to pull in new emails from your TaskRobin account.
- Complete Message Details: Subject, sender, timestamp, and full message body are all preserved.
- Attachment Support: PDFs, images, and other attachments are downloaded and linked directly in your vault.
- Markdown-Native: Every email becomes a plain Markdown file, fully searchable and linkable in your knowledge graph.
Omnivore vs. TaskRobin: Quick Comparison
| Omnivore | TaskRobin | |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Shut down Nov 2024 | Actively maintained |
| Core capture method | Personal email inbox (newsletters/articles) | Forward, CC, BCC, or auto-forward any email |
| Obsidian sync | Community plugin, Mustache templates | Official plugin, one-click sync |
| Attachments | Limited to article/PDF imports | Full attachment support on any email |
| Auto-forwarding rules | No | Yes (Gmail/Outlook filters) |
| Chrome extension | No | Yes—one-click “Send to TaskRobin” from Gmail |
| Pricing | Free (while it lasted) | 7-day free trial, plans from $4.99/month |
Getting Started with TaskRobin in Obsidian
Switching over takes just a few minutes:
1. Install the TaskRobin Plugin
In Obsidian, go to Settings > Community Plugins, search for “TaskRobin”, and install and enable it.
2. Sign Up Inside Obsidian
No need to leave the app—create your TaskRobin account directly from the plugin settings.
3. Get Your Forwarding Address
The plugin generates a private, unique forwarding email address. Use it to manually forward emails, or set up an auto-forwarding rule in Gmail or Outlook so matching emails (like newsletter subscriptions) arrive automatically.
4. Sync to Your Vault
Click the TaskRobin icon in the Obsidian side panel and hit Sync now. Every forwarded email becomes a new Markdown note, complete with attachments.
For the full walkthrough, see Save and Sync Emails to Obsidian with TaskRobin.
Already routing device exports through email? Check out How to Auto-Sync reMarkable Documents to Obsidian via TaskRobin for a similar pattern.
Don’t Let Your Second Brain Depend on a Single App
Omnivore’s shutdown is a good reminder: any tool can disappear overnight. TaskRobin keeps your data where it belongs—in your own Obsidian vault, as plain Markdown files you fully own.
Ready to rebuild your email-to-Obsidian workflow? Get started with TaskRobin today with a 7-day free trial.