Key Takeaways
- BMO Chatbot is free and open-source; the repository's manifest.json and package license both confirm the MIT License
- Chat sidebar is scoped to your currently open note — it references that note's content, not your entire vault at once
- Local model providers: Ollama and LM Studio, used via their local REST APIs
- Cloud providers also supported: OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, and OpenRouter (any OpenAI-compatible endpoint)
- GitHub repository (github.com/longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbot) shows 532 stars as of September 12, 2026
- No commits or tagged releases since September 2024, per the repository's own commit history — treat as currently unmaintained pending direct verification
- Works on both desktop and Obsidian's mobile apps, per the plugin manifest (
isDesktopOnly: false) - Built and maintained by an independent developer using the GitHub handle Longy2k, funded through Ko-fi
📍 In One Sentence
BMO Chatbot is a free, MIT-licensed Obsidian plugin that adds a lightweight, note-scoped AI chat sidebar with local-model support through Ollama or LM Studio, but its GitHub repository shows no commits or tagged releases since September 2024.
💬 In Plain Terms
It puts a simple chat panel next to whatever note you have open in Obsidian, so you can ask questions about that note or brainstorm inside it without leaving the app. You can point it at a model on your own computer through Ollama or LM Studio instead of a cloud API, but the project itself looks paused — there has been no new code pushed to it in about two years.
What Is BMO Chatbot?
BMO Chatbot is a community plugin for Obsidian, the notes app, described in its own GitHub README as a way to "generate and brainstorm ideas while creating your notes" using large language models. It is built and maintained by an independent developer using the GitHub handle Longy2k, and is not developed or endorsed by Obsidian's maker.
- Core function: a chat sidebar scoped to your currently open note, plus commands to generate a response directly from the editor and reference the open note as context
- Local inference: no bundled engine of its own — it connects to a separately running local server (Ollama or LM Studio) via their REST APIs, or to a configured cloud provider
- Developer: an independent developer using the GitHub handle Longy2k, funded through Ko-fi
- Canonical repository: github.com/longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbot, MIT-licensed
- Chat history: conversations can be saved and reloaded as plain markdown files inside your vault using
/saveand/loadcommands
Background and Maintenance Status
BMO Chatbot is an independent, open-source community plugin distributed through Obsidian's Community Plugins catalog. Its most recent tagged release is v2.3.3, published July 25, 2024, and its GitHub commit history shows no commits since September 12, 2024 — verified via the GitHub API on the date of this review.
- 1Community plugin release
Why it matters: An independent developer published BMO Chatbot through Obsidian's Community Plugins catalog as an open-source, note-scoped chat sidebar. - 2Multi-provider support added
Why it matters: The plugin added support for multiple cloud providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, OpenRouter) alongside local Ollama and LM Studio connections, per the repository README. - 3v2.3.3 released — July 25, 2024
Why it matters: This is the most recent tagged release shown in the repository's [Releases page](https://github.com/longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbot/releases) as of this review. - 4No commits since September 12, 2024
Why it matters: The repository's commit history shows no further code changes for roughly two years, which is a meaningful signal for anyone evaluating whether to depend on this plugin for an ongoing workflow.
What Can You Do With BMO Chatbot?
BMO Chatbot's feature set centers on a lightweight, note-scoped chat experience rather than whole-vault search or multi-step agent tasks, per its own README.
- Note-scoped chat sidebar — a chat panel that references the content of your currently open note, for brainstorming or asking questions about that specific note
- Editor generation — generate a response directly from the editor by selecting text and running a command, rather than only chatting in a separate sidebar
- Custom chatbot profiles — create chatbots with specific personalities, system prompts, and presets, including a customizable bot name
- Markdown rendering — chat responses render in Obsidian-flavored markdown, including rendering supported codeblocks (such as Dataview) inside the chat view
- Chat history save/load — use
/savein chat to save the current conversation as a markdown file in your vault, and/loadto reopen a saved conversation - Local model providers — Ollama and LM Studio, connected via their local REST API URLs, entered directly in the plugin's settings
- Cloud model providers — OpenAI (GPT-3.5-turbo and GPT-4 family models), Anthropic Claude, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, and OpenRouter, each requiring your own API key
Usage Examples: Three Ways to Use BMO Chatbot
These are concrete workflows built from the plugin's own documented commands, not hypothetical use cases.
Brainstorm inside the note you have open, using a local model
With Ollama running locally and a model pulled, add Ollama's local API URL in BMO Chatbot's settings, open a note, and ask a question in the chat sidebar. The plugin references your open note's content, and the request runs entirely against your local Ollama instance with no cloud connection.
Generate text directly from the editor
Select text in a note (or place your cursor where you want new content), and run BMO Chatbot's editor-generation command. The plugin sends the relevant context to your configured model and inserts the response directly into the note, without switching to the chat sidebar.
Save and reload a chat as a markdown file
After a useful conversation in the chat sidebar, type /save to store it as a markdown file inside your vault, searchable and linkable like any other note. Later, use /load to bring that conversation back into the chat view and continue it.
Get BMO Chatbot
BMO Chatbot installs as a plugin inside Obsidian, not as a standalone application — Obsidian (available for macOS, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android) must already be installed. There is no separate installer per operating system; the plugin manifest lists isDesktopOnly: false, meaning it is designed to also run on Obsidian's mobile apps.
Community Plugins browser (recommended)
- How to Install:
- In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for "BMO Chatbot," then select Install and Enable. This installs the latest published release (v2.3.3 as of this review) directly from inside Obsidian, with no account required.
BRAT (Beta Reviewer's Auto-update Tool)
- How to Install:
- Install the community BRAT plugin, then add
longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbotas a tracked repository to receive updates automatically, per BRAT's own documentation — useful for testing pre-release or unreleased code.
Manual build from source
- How to Install:
- Clone github.com/longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbot, install dependencies, and build with npm per the repository's own README, then copy the built files into your vault's plugins folder.
Given the roughly two-year gap in commits described above, verify the plugin still installs and enables cleanly on your current Obsidian version before adopting it for an important workflow, and check the repository's open issues for anything relevant to your setup.
BMO Chatbot Pricing
BMO Chatbot itself is entirely free, with no paid tier, license key, or account of any kind. Its MIT license permits free use, modification, and redistribution. Any cost you incur comes only from the AI provider you choose to connect — a local Ollama or LM Studio model costs nothing beyond your own hardware and electricity, while a cloud provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, or OpenRouter) bills you directly per its own pricing.
BMO Chatbot plugin
- Cost:
- Free, MIT-licensed, no account required
Local model (Ollama or LM Studio)
- Cost:
- Free — runs on your own hardware, no per-token charge
Cloud provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, Mistral, OpenRouter)
- Cost:
- Billed directly by that provider, per your own API key and usage — not by BMO Chatbot
Developer support (optional)
- Cost:
- Voluntary donations via Ko-fi — not required to use any feature
There is no version of BMO Chatbot that costs money on its own. Every dollar you might spend using it goes to a separate cloud AI provider you configure, or is a voluntary donation to the developer — never a payment to the plugin itself.
BMO Chatbot vs. Copilot for Obsidian
BMO Chatbot and Copilot for Obsidian both add AI chat to Obsidian, but they differ sharply in scope and current maintenance activity. BMO Chatbot is a lightweight, single-note chat sidebar; Copilot for Obsidian is a heavier, whole-vault agent with file-editing capability.
Scope
- BMO Chatbot:
- Scoped to the single note you have open
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- Searches and reads across your whole vault
File editing
- BMO Chatbot:
- No autonomous file editing — generates text into the editor on request
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- Agent mode can create and edit notes across multiple steps
License
- BMO Chatbot:
- MIT
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- AGPL-3.0
Pricing
- BMO Chatbot:
- Entirely free; no paid tier at all
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- Free BYOK/local tier, plus optional paid Lite/Plus tiers for hosted models
Maintenance activity
- BMO Chatbot:
- No commits or tagged releases since September 2024, per this review's GitHub check
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- Actively maintained with regular releases, per its own repository
Local model providers
- BMO Chatbot:
- Ollama, LM Studio
- Copilot for Obsidian:
- Ollama, LM Studio, plus a generic BYOK local endpoint slot
If you want the lightest possible note-scoped chat add-on with zero cost and zero account, BMO Chatbot fits that narrowly. If you want whole-vault search, multi-step agent tasks, and active ongoing development, see the full Copilot for Obsidian review instead.
Who Should Use BMO Chatbot?
Whether BMO Chatbot fits depends on how much you value a lightweight, zero-cost tool versus active maintenance and whole-vault features.
Use BMO Chatbot if
- You want a simple, note-scoped chat sidebar without whole-vault search or an autonomous agent
- You want to connect a fully local model (Ollama or LM Studio) with no signup, no license key, and no cost at all
- You are comfortable using a plugin that appears to have had no code changes since September 2024, and you have checked its GitHub repository yourself before relying on it
- You want the option to generate text directly from the editor rather than always working through a separate chat panel
Wait, or look elsewhere, if
- You need whole-vault semantic search or multi-step agent tasks that edit files across your notes — see Copilot for Obsidian instead
- You need active development, timely bug fixes, or compatibility guarantees with the newest Obsidian releases — this review found no commits since September 2024
- You want template-driven, repeatable text generation rather than a chat interface — see the Text Generator review instead
- You need official vendor support with an SLA — BMO Chatbot's support channel is its GitHub Issues page, typical of a community project, and that page currently shows a backlog of open issues
Competitors and Alternatives
BMO Chatbot competes with several other AI plugins for Obsidian and similar notes apps that add chat or text-generation on top of a local or cloud model.
- Copilot for Obsidian — a heavier, whole-vault AI agent plugin with multi-step file editing and active ongoing development; see the comparison section above for a direct match-up.
- Text Generator — a template-driven Obsidian plugin that inserts AI-written text into a note from reusable templates, rather than a persistent chat sidebar.
- Obsidian and Logseq AI Plugins, Compared — a multi-plugin comparison covering BMO Chatbot, Copilot for Obsidian, Text Generator, Smart Connections, and logseq-copilot side by side.
Common Mistakes When Evaluating BMO Chatbot
Most confusion about BMO Chatbot comes from assuming it works like a whole-vault agent, or missing its current maintenance status.
Mistake 1: Assuming BMO Chatbot searches or edits your whole vault
BMO Chatbot's chat sidebar is scoped to the currently open note, and its editor-generation command inserts text on request — it does not have an autonomous, multi-step agent mode that edits files across your vault the way some competing plugins do.
Mistake 2: Not checking the plugin's current maintenance status
The repository's own commit history shows no commits or tagged releases since September 2024. This review verified that via the GitHub API at publish time — check it again yourself before depending on this plugin for critical or long-term work.
Mistake 3: Assuming a local model is required
BMO Chatbot supports Ollama and LM Studio for fully local use, but also supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, and OpenRouter — you can use it entirely with a cloud API key and no local model at all.
Mistake 4: Assuming stale, cached star counts
GitHub star counts change regularly. This review verified 532 stars directly via the GitHub API on September 12, 2026 — re-check that endpoint yourself for a current figure.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is BMO Chatbot?
BMO Chatbot is a free, MIT-licensed community plugin for the Obsidian notes app that adds a lightweight AI chat sidebar scoped to the currently open note, built by an independent developer using the GitHub handle Longy2k.
Is BMO Chatbot free?
Yes. The plugin itself is entirely free under the MIT license, with no paid tier or license key. Any cost comes only from an optional cloud AI provider you configure, since local models via Ollama or LM Studio are free to run on your own hardware.
Is BMO Chatbot still maintained?
As of this review, the repository shows no commits or tagged releases since September 2024, verified via the GitHub API. It still functions but appears to have paused active development — check the repository directly for any change before relying on it.
Does BMO Chatbot support local AI models?
Yes. It connects to Ollama and LM Studio via their local REST APIs, alongside cloud providers including OpenAI, Anthropic, Google Gemini, Mistral AI, and OpenRouter.
What license is BMO Chatbot released under?
The MIT License, per the plugin's own manifest.json on GitHub.
Does BMO Chatbot search my whole Obsidian vault?
No. Its chat sidebar is scoped to the note you currently have open, not a whole-vault semantic search. For whole-vault search and multi-step agent tasks, see the Copilot for Obsidian comparison above.
Does BMO Chatbot work on mobile?
The plugin manifest lists isDesktopOnly: false, meaning it is designed to also run on Obsidian's iOS and Android apps, though mobile performance depends on which model provider you connect.
How many GitHub stars does BMO Chatbot have?
Its repository (github.com/longy2k/obsidian-bmo-chatbot) showed 532 stars as of September 12, 2026, verified directly via the GitHub API.
How do I install BMO Chatbot?
In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for "BMO Chatbot," then select Install and Enable — no account is required.
Who develops BMO Chatbot?
An independent developer using the GitHub handle Longy2k, funded through voluntary Ko-fi donations, not affiliated with Obsidian's maker.