Obsidian Plugin Development Guidelines

Follow these comprehensive guidelines derived from the official Obsidian ESLint plugin rules, submission requirements, and best practices.

Getting Started

Quick Start Tool

For new plugin projects, an interactive boilerplate generator is available:

• Script: tools/create-plugin.js in the skill repository
• Slash command: /create-plugin for guided setup
• Generates minimal, best-practice boilerplate with no sample code
• Detects existing projects and only adds missing files

Recommend the boilerplate generator when users ask how to create a new plugin, want to start a new project, or need help setting up the basic structure.

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Rules Reference (eslint-plugin-obsidianmd v0.1.9)

Submission & Naming

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
1	Plugin ID	Omit "obsidian"; don't end with "plugin"	Include "obsidian" or end with "plugin"
2	Plugin name	Omit "Obsidian"; don't end with "Plugin"	Include "Obsidian" or end with "Plugin"
3	Plugin name	Don't start with "Obsi" or end with "dian"	Start with "Obsi" or end with "dian"
4	Description	Omit "Obsidian", "This plugin", etc.	Use "Obsidian" or "This plugin"
5	Description	End with .?!) punctuation	Leave description without terminal punctuation

Memory & Lifecycle

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
6	Event cleanup	Use registerEvent() for automatic cleanup	Register events without cleanup
7	View references	Return views/components directly	Store view references in plugin properties or pass plugin as component to MarkdownRenderer

Type Safety

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
8	TFile/TFolder	Use instanceof for type checking	Cast to TFile/TFolder; use any; use var

UI/UX

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
9	UI text	Sentence case — "Advanced settings"	Title Case — "Advanced Settings"
10	JSON locale	Sentence case in JSON locale files (recommendedWithLocalesEn)	Title case in locale JSON
11	TS/JS locale	Sentence case in TS/JS locale modules	Title case in locale modules
12	Command names	Omit "command" in command names/IDs	Include "command" in names/IDs
13	Command IDs	Omit plugin ID/name from command IDs/names	Duplicate plugin ID in command IDs
14	Hotkeys	No default hotkeys	Set default hotkeys
15	Settings headings	Use .setHeading()	Create manual HTML headings; use "General", "settings", or plugin name in headings

API Best Practices

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
16	Active file edits	Use Editor API	Use Vault.modify() for active file edits
17	Background file mods	Use Vault.process()	Use Vault.modify() for background modifications
18	User paths	Use normalizePath()	Hardcode .obsidian path; use raw user paths
19	OS detection	Use Platform API	Use navigator.platform/userAgent
20	Network requests	Use requestUrl()	Use fetch()
21	Logging	Minimize console logging; none in onload/onunload in production	Use console.log in onload/onunload

Styling

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
22	CSS variables	Use Obsidian CSS variables for all styling	Hardcode colors, sizes, or spacing
23	CSS scope	Scope CSS to plugin containers	Use broad CSS selectors
24	Style elements	Use styles.css file (no-forbidden-elements)	Create <link> or <style> elements; assign styles via JavaScript

Accessibility (MANDATORY)

#	Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
25	Keyboard access	Make all interactive elements keyboard accessible; Tab through all elements	Create inaccessible interactive elements
26	ARIA labels	Provide ARIA labels for icon buttons; use data-tooltip-position for tooltips	Use icon buttons without ARIA labels
27	Focus indicators	Use :focus-visible with Obsidian CSS variables; touch targets ≥ 44×44px	Remove focus indicators; make touch targets < 44×44px

Security & Compatibility

Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
DOM safety	Use Obsidian DOM helpers (createDiv(), createSpan(), createEl())	Use innerHTML/outerHTML or document.createElement
iOS compat	Avoid regex lookbehind (iOS < 16.4 incompatibility)	Use regex lookbehind

Code Quality

Rule	✅ Do	❌ Don't
Sample code	Remove all sample/template code	Keep class names like MyPlugin, SampleModal
Object.assign	Object.assign({}, defaults, overrides) (object-assign)	Object.assign(defaultsVar, other) — mutates defaults
LICENSE	Copyright holder must not be "Dynalist Inc."; year must be current (validate-license)	Leave "Dynalist Inc." as holder or use an outdated year
Async	Use async/await	Use Promise chains

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Detailed Guidelines

For comprehensive information on specific topics, see the reference files:

Memory Management & Lifecycle

• Using registerEvent(), addCommand(), registerDomEvent(), registerInterval()
• Avoiding view references in plugin
• Not using plugin as component
• Proper leaf cleanup

Type Safety

• Using instanceof instead of type casting
• Avoiding any type
• Using const and let over var

UI/UX Standards

• Sentence case enforcement (TypeScript, JSON locale, TS/JS locale modules)
• recommendedWithLocalesEn config for locale file checks
• Command naming conventions (no "command", no plugin name, no plugin ID)
• Settings and configuration best practices

File & Vault Operations

• View access patterns
• Editor vs Vault API
• Atomic file operations
• File management
• Path handling

CSS Styling Best Practices

• Avoiding inline styles
• Using Obsidian CSS variables
• Scoping plugin styles
• Theme support
• Spacing and layout

Accessibility (A11y)

• Keyboard navigation (MANDATORY)
• ARIA labels and roles (MANDATORY)
• Tooltips and accessibility
• Focus management (MANDATORY)
• Focus visible styles (MANDATORY)
• Screen reader support (MANDATORY)
• Mobile and touch accessibility (MANDATORY)
• Accessibility checklist

Code Quality & Best Practices

• Removing sample code
• Security best practices
• Platform compatibility
• API usage best practices
• Async/await patterns
• DOM helpers

Plugin Submission Requirements

• Repository structure
• Submission process
• Semantic versioning
• Testing checklist
• Additional resources and important notes

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Plugin Submission Validation Workflow

Before submitting a plugin, follow this sequence:

1. Run ESLint — npx eslint . using eslint-plugin-obsidianmd; fix all errors (warnings are informational)
2. Validate manifest — Confirm id, name, description, version, and minAppVersion meet naming and formatting rules (rules 1–5)
3. Check LICENSE — Copyright holder must not be "Dynalist Inc." and the year must be current
4. Test on mobile — Verify no regex lookbehind, no fetch(), and touch targets ≥ 44×44px (skip only if plugin is declared desktop-only)
5. Keyboard accessibility audit — Tab through all interactive elements; confirm focus indicators and ARIA labels are present
6. Submit — Open a PR to the community plugins repository with the updated manifest.json and community-plugins.json entry

If ESLint reports new errors after fixing, re-run from step 1.

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When Reviewing/Writing Code

Use this checklist for code review and implementation:

1. Memory management: Are components and views properly managed?
2. Type safety: Using instanceof instead of casts?
3. UI text: Is everything in sentence case?
4. Command naming: No redundant words?
5. File operations: Using preferred APIs?
6. Mobile compatibility: No iOS-incompatible features?
7. Sample code: Removed all boilerplate?
8. Manifest: Correct version, valid structure?
9. Accessibility: Keyboard navigation, ARIA labels, focus indicators?
10. Testing: Can you use the plugin without a mouse?
11. Touch targets: Are all interactive elements at least 44×44px?
12. Focus styles: Using :focus-visible and proper CSS variables?

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Common Patterns

Proper Command Registration

// ✅ CORRECT
this.addCommand({
  id: 'insert-timestamp',
  name: 'Insert timestamp',
  editorCallback: (editor: Editor, view: MarkdownView) => {
    editor.replaceSelection(new Date().toISOString());
  }
});

Safe Type Narrowing

// ✅ CORRECT
const file = this.app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(path);
if (file instanceof TFile) {
  // TypeScript now knows it's a TFile
  await this.app.vault.read(file);
}

Keyboard Accessible Button

// ✅ CORRECT
const button = containerEl.createEl('button', {
  attr: {
    'aria-label': 'Open settings',
    'data-tooltip-position': 'top'
  }
});
button.setText('⚙️');

button.addEventListener('keydown', (e) => {
  if (e.key === 'Enter' || e.key === ' ') {
    e.preventDefault();
    performAction();
  }
});

Themed CSS

/* ✅ CORRECT */
.my-plugin-modal {
  background: var(--modal-background);
  color: var(--text-normal);
  padding: var(--size-4-4);
  border-radius: var(--radius-m);
  font-size: var(--font-ui-medium);
}

.my-plugin-button:focus-visible {
  outline: 2px solid var(--interactive-accent);
  outline-offset: 2px;
}

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When helping with Obsidian plugin development, proactively apply these rules and suggest improvements based on these guidelines. Refer to the detailed reference files for comprehensive information on specific topics.