canvas-export: Export Canvas to Image/PDF

Export Methods

Method 1: Advanced Canvas Plugin Export (Preferred)

The Advanced Canvas plugin provides built-in PNG and SVG export with transparency support.

Requirements: Obsidian running with Advanced Canvas installed.

Workflow:

Instruct the user: "In Obsidian, right-click the canvas background → Advanced Canvas → Export as PNG/SVG"
Or use Obsidian's command palette: Advanced Canvas: Export as PNG
The exported file appears in the canvas directory.

This is the highest-quality export method — it uses Obsidian's own rendering engine.

Method 2: Playwright Screenshot (Fallback)

When Obsidian is not running or Advanced Canvas is not installed, use Playwright to capture the canvas.

Requirements: Playwright installed (pip install playwright && playwright install chromium)

Workflow:

Check if Playwright is available:

python3 -c "from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright; print('ok')" 2>/dev/null && echo "available" || echo "not available"

If available, generate a standalone HTML viewer of the canvas and screenshot it:

# Generate HTML from canvas JSON
python3 -c "
import json, sys
canvas = json.load(open(sys.argv[1]))
# ... render to HTML with absolute positioning ...
" [canvas_path] > /tmp/canvas-preview.html

# Screenshot with Playwright
python3 -c "
from playwright.sync_api import sync_playwright
with sync_playwright() as p:
    browser = p.chromium.launch()
    page = browser.new_page(viewport={'width': 1920, 'height': 1080})
    page.goto('file:///tmp/canvas-preview.html')
    page.screenshot(path='[output_path]', full_page=True)
    browser.close()
"

Report the output path and dimensions.

Method 3: User-Assisted Screenshot

When neither method is available:

Tell the user: "Open the canvas in Obsidian, zoom to fit all content, then take a screenshot."
On Linux (COSMIC): suggest Print key for screenshot tool.
On macOS: suggest Cmd+Shift+4.

Operations

Export to PNG (`/canvas export png [output_path]`)

Identify the target canvas (default: active canvas or main.canvas).
Determine output path:
- If provided: use it.
- If not: [canvas_dir]/exports/[canvas-name].png
Try Method 1 (Advanced Canvas) first.
If not available: try Method 2 (Playwright).
If neither: use Method 3 (user-assisted).
Report: "Exported [canvas] to [path] ([width]x[height] pixels)"

Export to SVG (`/canvas export svg [output_path]`)

Same flow as PNG, but use SVG format.
Advanced Canvas supports SVG export with transparency.
Playwright fallback: render HTML, use page.screenshot(type='svg') — note: Playwright doesn't natively export SVG. Fall back to PNG.
Report format and path.

Export to PDF (`/canvas export pdf [output_path]`)

For standard canvases:

Export to PNG first, then convert: convert [png] [pdf] (ImageMagick).

For presentation canvases:

Detect if canvas has edge-connected slide groups (presentation pattern).
Export each slide group as a separate PNG.

Combine into a multi-page PDF:

convert slide-1.png slide-2.png slide-3.png output.pdf

Report: "Exported [N]-slide presentation to [path]"

Output Directory Convention

Exports go to [canvas_dir]/exports/ by default:

Vault mode: wiki/canvases/exports/
Standalone mode: .canvases/exports/

Create the directory if it doesn't exist.

Limitations

Playwright rendering is approximate — it doesn't replicate Obsidian's exact canvas renderer
SVG export via Playwright is not supported — falls back to PNG
PDF export requires ImageMagick (convert command)
Mermaid diagrams in text nodes may not render in Playwright screenshots (requires Mermaid JS library)
GIF animations are captured as static frames in screenshots
Export quality depends on the method used (Advanced Canvas > Playwright > Screenshot)

canvas-export