Obsidian — Plugin Recommendations
Obsidian — Plugin Recommendations
Curated plugin list for an engineering/technical Obsidian setup. Covers navigation, task tracking, knowledge management, and daily planning.
Already Installed
| Plugin | Purpose | Notes |
|---|---|---|
image-converter | Convert image formats on paste | Passive — no config needed |
obsidian-image-gallery | Gallery view for images | Useful for browsing ingested/assets/ |
docxer | Preview Word (.docx) files in Obsidian | Required for Obsidian — Word and Google Docs Integration |
marp-slides | Generate slide decks from Markdown | Remove if not actively used — adds startup overhead |
High Priority — Install Next
Dataview
What it does: Turns your vault into a queryable database. Pull tables, lists, and task views from YAML frontmatter across all notes.
Why now: Every wiki page already has title, version, date frontmatter — Dataview can query them immediately.
See: Obsidian — Dataview Queries for ready-to-use query examples.
Calendar
What it does: Sidebar calendar for navigating Daily Notes — click any date to open or create that day’s note.
Why: Dots appear under dates indicating unfinished tasks. Makes the daily note habit frictionless.
Review
What it does: Schedule any note to appear in a future Daily Note for review. Uses natural language (“next Friday”, “in 2 weeks”).
Why: Spaced repetition for notes. Essential for surfacing wiki pages that need updating.
Requires: Natural Language Dates plugin (install alongside Review).
Worth Considering
Kanban
What it does: Kanban board inside Obsidian, backed by plain Markdown. Cards are draggable between swim lanes.
Use case: Track learning projects, feature work, reading lists. Cards can link to Daily Notes.
Obsidian Git
What it does: Automated push/pull to a GitHub repo on a schedule or via keyboard shortcut.
Why relevant: Your vault is already git-controlled. This would let Obsidian auto-commit on Windows without WSL.
Caution: Backup conflicts possible if WSL-side Claude Code and Windows-side Obsidian Git both commit. Coordinate workflow before enabling.
Core Plugins — Enable These (Currently Disabled)
| Plugin | Why Enable |
|---|---|
slash-command | / in editor opens command palette — faster than Cmd+P |
outline | Right sidebar shows headings of current note — useful for long wiki pages |
Enable via: Settings → Core plugins → toggle on.
Keyboard Shortcuts Worth Setting Up
| Shortcut | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
Ctrl+Shift+D | Open today’s Daily Note | Already set (download-attachments) — consider reassigning to daily note |
Ctrl+E | Toggle edit/preview | Default — keep it |
Ctrl+P | Command palette | Default — use heavily |
Ctrl+O | Quick switcher (open note by name) | Default — fastest navigation |
Ctrl+Shift+F | Search across vault | Default — use for wiki queries |
Ctrl+G | Open graph view | Default — useful for MOC navigation |
Daily Note shortcut: Open Settings → Hotkeys → search “Daily Note” → set to Ctrl+Shift+D.
Timeblocking with Day Planner
For engineering focus work, the Day Planner plugin adds time-blocked schedules to Daily Notes:
- Install Day Planner community plugin
- Set File Mode to Command Mode (so blocks appear inside your daily note, not a separate file)
- Enable: Complete past planner items ON, Status Bar Now & Next ON
- In your daily note, use
Cmd+P→ Add a Day Planner template then fill in:1 2 3 4 5
- [ ] 09:00 Deep work — [current focus] - [ ] 12:00 Lunch - [ ] 13:00 Reviews / PRs - [ ] 15:00 [next focus block] - [ ] 17:00 Daily note — captures review
Status bar shows current block and next block at all times.
Related Pages
Obsidian — Dataview Queries, Obsidian — Word and Google Docs Integration, PKM — Note-Making Philosophy