Obsidian Plugin Development

Build Obsidian plugins with TypeScript: setup, core APIs, UI components, and publishing.

Quick Reference

vault/.obsidian/plugins/my-plugin/
├── main.ts          # TypeScript source
├── main.js          # Compiled output
├── manifest.json    # Plugin metadata (required)
└── styles.css       # Optional

Every plugin extends the Plugin class:

import { Plugin } from 'obsidian';

export default class MyPlugin extends Plugin {
  async onload() { /* register commands, events, views, settings */ }
  onunload() { /* release resources */ }
}

Focused Skills

Topic	Skill	Use when…
Setup & manifest	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-setup	Starting a new plugin, build config, manifest.json
Commands	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-commands	Adding commands, hotkeys, palette entries
Settings	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-settings	Settings tabs, persistence, PluginSettingTab
Vault & files	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-vault	Reading/writing notes, file events
UI components	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-ui	Views, Modals, Notices, Ribbon, Status bar
Editor	/obsidian-dev:obsidian-editor	Accessing and modifying the active markdown editor

Core APIs at a Glance

API	Access	Purpose
Vault	this.app.vault	File read/write/create/delete
Workspace	this.app.workspace	Panels, leaves, active view
MetadataCache	this.app.metadataCache	Frontmatter, links, tags
Commands	this.addCommand()	Register palette commands
Settings	this.addSettingTab()	Plugin settings UI

Common Patterns

Plugin with settings and a command

import { Plugin, Notice } from 'obsidian';

interface Settings { greeting: string; }
const DEFAULTS: Settings = { greeting: 'Hello' };

export default class MyPlugin extends Plugin {
  settings: Settings;

  async onload() {
    await this.loadSettings();
    this.addSettingTab(new MySettingTab(this.app, this));
    this.addCommand({
      id: 'greet',
      name: 'Show greeting',
      callback: () => new Notice(this.settings.greeting),
    });
  }

  async loadSettings() {
    this.settings = Object.assign({}, DEFAULTS, await this.loadData());
  }

  async saveSettings() {
    await this.saveData(this.settings);
  }
}

Registering events safely

Always use registerEvent() — it auto-detaches on plugin unload:

this.registerEvent(
  this.app.vault.on('create', (file) => console.log('Created:', file.path))
);

Reference Documentation

Cached docs in ${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}/skills/obsidian-dev/references/:

• getting-started.md — Setup, manifest, build process, anatomy
• api-reference.md — Commands, Settings, Vault, Events, Views, Modals, Editor

Official docs: https://docs.obsidian.md/Plugins/Getting+started/Build+a+plugin