This is a cheatsheet of the Obsidian plugins currently active in my vault.
The goal is not to tell everyone to install the whole list. The goal is to make it easy to scan:
- what each plugin does;
- when a plugin is worth keeping;
- which function it serves in a PKM system;
- why I still keep it after using it in a real vault.
My rule: a good plugin has a clear job in the workflow. I do not keep a plugin only because it looks interesting.
Plugin link source
Plugin names come from the manifests in my vault. GitHub links come from Obsidian community plugin metadata; MCP Tools and Claudian were checked against local plugin metadata and their public repositories.
1. Quick view by PKM function
The 24 plugins are grouped by their function in my PKM system, so the list is easier to scan than one flat table.
1.1. Note structure, metadata, and review
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dataview | Dashboard / review layer | Metadata intelligence | GitHub |
| Templater | Create notes from reusable templates | Schema / consistency | GitHub |
| Tasks | Pull tasks from many notes into review views | Execution near context | GitHub |
| Calendar | Navigate daily notes by date | Time-based review | GitHub |
1.2. Navigation in a large vault
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebook Navigator | Two-pane explorer for a larger vault | Spatial navigation | GitHub |
| Quick Switcher++ | Jump between notes, headings, panes, and symbols | Keyboard navigation | GitHub |
1.3. Source capture and link hygiene
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Link Title | Fetch readable titles for pasted URLs | Source hygiene | GitHub |
| Link Favicons | Show favicons for external links | Visual source cue | GitHub |
1.4. Visual thinking, canvas, and PDF research
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw | Sketches, diagrams, and visual PKM | Visual reasoning | GitHub |
| Advanced Canvas | Extend Canvas for flowcharts and system maps | System mapping | GitHub |
| Canvas Mindmap | Make Canvas work more like a mind map | Branch thinking | GitHub |
| Mind Map | Preview notes as Markmap mind maps | Outline inspection | GitHub |
| PDF++ | Annotate PDFs in an Obsidian-native way | Research ingestion | GitHub |
1.5. Backup, automation, and publishing workflow
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Git Integration | Back up the vault to a remote repository | Checkpoint / safety | GitHub |
| Terminal | Open a terminal inside Obsidian | Local command access | GitHub |
| Shell Commands | Run system commands from Obsidian | Repeatable automation | GitHub |
| Commander | Add commands to ribbons, menus, and toolbars | Workflow surface | GitHub |
| Image Upload Toolkit | Upload images to remote storage | Publish media flow | GitHub |
1.6. AI and agentic PKM
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claudian | Embed Claude Code as an AI collaborator in the vault | Agentic collaboration | GitHub |
| Local REST API & MCP Server | Expose a REST API and MCP server for the vault | Tool integration | GitHub |
| MCP Tools | Connect Claude Desktop to the vault | MCP context layer | GitHub |
| BRAT | Install and test beta plugins | Experimentation | GitHub |
1.7. UI and writing comfort
| Plugin | Short role | Role in PKM | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editing Toolbar | A toolbar for common editing actions | Editing comfort | GitHub |
| Style Settings | Tune themes, plugin styles, and CSS variables | Environment tuning | GitHub |
2. Note structure, metadata, and dashboard
This group keeps the vault structured: new notes follow a schema, metadata stays usable, and dashboards reflect the real state of the system.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dataview | Builds review dashboards from properties, folders, tags, sources, and status. | Dirty metadata creates dirty dashboards. | GitHub |
| Templater | Standardizes new notes, reduces frontmatter copy-paste, and keeps schemas consistent. | Heavy templates make note creation feel like work. | GitHub |
| Tasks | Keeps tasks close to project notes, daily notes, and planning notes. | Not needed if tasks already live well in a separate task manager. | GitHub |
| Calendar | Adds a time axis for daily notes and date-based review. | Worth keeping only if daily notes are part of the workflow. | GitHub |
3. Navigation in a large vault
As a vault grows, finding the right note again matters as much as writing a new one.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notebook Navigator | Makes folders, tags, previews, and file lists easier to browse than the default file explorer. | Most useful when the folder structure is already meaningful. | GitHub |
| Quick Switcher++ | Jumps quickly between notes, headings, panes, and symbols from the keyboard. | Best for keyboard-first workflows. | GitHub |
4. Source capture and readable links
Clean source notes help me know where knowledge came from without staring at raw URLs.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Auto Link Title | Turns raw URLs into readable titles when capturing articles, docs, and repos. | Worth keeping if you paste links into the vault often. | GitHub |
| Link Favicons | Adds a visual cue for scanning notes with many external links. | Nice-to-have for source notes and reading lists. | GitHub |
5. Reading, drawing, and visual thinking
Not every idea should be forced into bullet points; some structures only become clear when drawn or mapped.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Excalidraw | Sketches ideas, workflows, diagrams, and concept maps inside the vault. | Very worth keeping if visual thinking is part of how you understand problems. | GitHub |
| Advanced Canvas | Uses Canvas for flowcharts, presentations, and system maps. | Useful when Canvas is a presentation or system-design layer, not just a brainstorm board. | GitHub |
| Canvas Mindmap | Supports branch-based brainstorming and parent-child idea maps. | Fits outlines that are easier to grow as nodes. | GitHub |
| Mind Map | Previews note headings as a Markmap mind map. | Most useful when the note has clean headings. | GitHub |
| PDF++ | Reads and annotates PDFs while keeping insights close to knowledge notes. | Worth keeping if PDFs are an important source of knowledge. | GitHub |
6. Backup, automation, and publishing workflow
This group turns Obsidian from a note container into an operating environment with checkpoints, scripts, commands, and publishing flow.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Git Integration | Gives me checkpoints, version history, and remote backup when refactoring the vault. | Almost mandatory if AI or scripts can edit files. | GitHub |
| Terminal | Runs commands directly in the vault context. | For workflows that use CLI commands often. | GitHub |
| Shell Commands | Turns repeated scripts into Obsidian commands. | Keep only commands you actually use; old commands become clutter. | GitHub |
| Commander | Places important commands in ribbons, menus, and toolbars. | Too many buttons make the UI noisy. | GitHub |
| Image Upload Toolkit | Uploads images to remote storage for notes that may be published. | Not needed if images stay local inside the vault. | GitHub |
7. AI and agentic PKM
When AI enters the vault, plugins do not just add features; they add permissions, so they need governance and backup.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Claudian | Brings an AI collaborator into the vault to read context, draft, and refactor notes. | Requires diff review and clear governance. | GitHub |
| Local REST API & MCP Server | Opens API/MCP access so external tools can work with the vault. | Manage API keys, access, and scope carefully. | GitHub |
| MCP Tools | Connects Claude Desktop to the vault through MCP, semantic search, and file management. | Should be paired with backup because AI can touch real files. | GitHub |
| BRAT | Tests beta plugins or plugins not yet in the community store. | Beta plugins carry risk; avoid if you need a very stable vault. | GitHub |
8. UI, writing comfort, and the writing environment
UI does not create knowledge, but a comfortable writing environment makes me return to the system more often.
| Plugin | Why I keep it | Note / trade-off | GitHub |
|---|---|---|---|
| Editing Toolbar | Reduces friction for common Markdown formatting, especially when I do not want to remember syntax or shortcuts. | Depends on habit; keyboard-first users may not need it. | GitHub |
| Style Settings | Adjusts themes, plugin styles, and CSS variables without editing CSS manually. | A prettier interface does not replace a well-structured vault. | GitHub |
9. Summary by PKM function
Looking by function makes it clear which part of the system each plugin serves.
| PKM function | Plugins I use |
|---|---|
| Note structure and metadata | Dataview, Templater |
| Tasks close to context | Tasks |
| Daily capture / time-based review | Calendar |
| Large-vault navigation | Notebook Navigator, Quick Switcher++ |
| Source capture and links | Auto Link Title, Link Favicons |
| Visual thinking | Excalidraw, Advanced Canvas, Canvas Mindmap, Mind Map |
| PDF / research | PDF++ |
| Backup / checkpoints | Git Integration |
| Automation / publishing workflow | Terminal, Shell Commands, Commander, Image Upload Toolkit |
| AI / agentic PKM | Claudian, Local REST API & MCP Server, MCP Tools |
| Plugin testing | BRAT |
| Writing comfort / UI | Editing Toolbar, Style Settings |
10. Final note: do not install plugins just because they look useful
The more plugins you install, the more Obsidian has to load, the more settings you have to maintain, and the more places conflicts can appear as the vault grows.
My practical rule:
- turn off plugins that do not have a clear role in the workflow;
- remove plugins you tested once and forgot;
- pair file-writing, automation, API, and AI plugins with backup;
- prefer fewer plugins used deeply over many plugins with unclear purpose.
This is not a checklist to install everything. It is how I choose plugins: keep them by PKM function, and always count the load and maintenance cost before adding a new one.