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Getting started

Are you ready to start building your first Obsidian plugin? This page gives you an introduction to plugins, and how to set up your development environment.

What are plugins?​

A plugin is a third-party application lets you extend or modify Obsidian to your liking. By building a plugin, you can:

  • Extend or modify the user interface.
  • Edit files and folders in your Vault.
  • Improve the Editor for a better note-taking experience.

To see what a plugin looks like, check out the Insert link example.

What do I need?​

Before you can build plugins, you need to set up your development environment.

Git​

Git is a version control system that tracks changes to your code. You need Git to download the sample plugin and to publish the plugin.

Node.js​

Node.js is a JavaScript runtime environment that can run JavaScript outside of a web browser.

TypeScript​

To build a plugin, you need a basic understanding of TypeScript. A great place to start is The TypeScript Handbook.

Code editor​

Use Visual Studio Code to write TypeScript on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

Next steps​

Now that you've set up your development environment, it's time to Create your first plugin.