how exactly does this make the Jira workflow easier? It seems I still need to fill the same fields manually

This is awesome, I used it many times to help with biology research questions!

How does this compare to Obsidian?

We like Obsidian a lot, but I believe we are taking a slightly different direction.

1. we believe in a tight integration of Markdown and tasks - a knowledge base should be executable. When it's not you end up with 2 disconnected tools

2. our focus is on developers where we feel the unaddressed need for a tool that prioritises dev user experience. We see this especially in the collaborative setting where devs use tools like Jira & Confluence etc.

On the other hand, we also believe in the modular approach and extensibility.