Book Metasearch

approved

by bongho

Book note maker with metasearch across Aladin, Kakao, Google Books, and Open Library. Successor to anpigon/obsidian-book-search-plugin (Naver EOL 2026-08-01). - This plugin has not been manually reviewed by Obsidian staff.

★ 1 stars↓ 5 downloadsUpdated 2d agoMIT
Install in ObsidianView on GitHub

Book Metasearch

Book note maker with metasearch across Aladin · Kakao · Google Books · Open Library, queried in parallel. Korean-first with foreign fallback.

Successor to anpigon/obsidian-book-search-plugin (unmaintained). Built to solve the Naver Book Search API EOL (2026-08-01) and provide a proper Korean-first book note workflow.

Install

From the community plugin directory:

  1. In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins
  2. Turn off Restricted mode if enabled
  3. Click Browse and search for Book Metasearch
  4. Click Install, then Enable

Features

  • 4-provider metasearch: Aladin (Korean primary) · Kakao (Korean recall) · Google Books (foreign primary) · Open Library (foreign covers/ISBN)
  • Two strategies: Sequential fallback (default) or parallel Fanout with ISBN13 dedupe
  • Commands: Search books · Search by ISBN · Search based on current note · Update book info · Migration helper
  • Template file support with {{variable}} substitution — Templater <% %> blocks are preserved for post-creation execution
  • Frontmatter customization: useDefaultFrontmatter toggle · key case (as-is / camelCase / snake_case / kebab-case) · additional YAML fragment with {{variable}} substitution
  • Cover image download to a configurable folder
  • 37 ISO 639-1 locale codes for cross-provider language filtering
  • API keys masked in settings with click-to-reveal
  • Cover thumbnails in search results (opt-in)
  • Naver EOL migration: opt-in helper detects an existing obsidian-book-search-plugin config and guides users through Aladin setup

Provider setup

Only Aladin and Kakao require API keys (both free, instant issuance). Google Books works without a key at a lower rate limit. Open Library needs no auth.

ProviderAuthFree tierWhere to get a key
AladinTTB Key (required)5,000/dayaladin.co.kr/ttb
KakaoREST API Key (required)30,000/daydevelopers.kakao.com
Google BooksAPI Key (optional)1,000/day with key, low limit withoutGoogle Cloud Console — enable Books API first
Open LibraryNo authEffectively unlimited—

After installing, open Settings → Book Metasearch → Providers, paste keys, and hit Healthcheck on each provider.

Attribution

The Aladin OpenAPI terms require linking each search result back to Aladin's product page. Leave the credit link toggle on if you keep the Aladin provider enabled.

Development

Prerequisites: Node 20+, npm.

git clone https://github.com/bongho/obsidian-book-metasearch.git
cd obsidian-book-metasearch
npm install

# dev — build directly into your vault's plugin folder
export VAULT_PLUGIN_DIR="/path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins/book-metasearch"
mkdir -p "$VAULT_PLUGIN_DIR"
cp manifest.json styles.css "$VAULT_PLUGIN_DIR/"
OUTDIR="$VAULT_PLUGIN_DIR" npm run dev

# production build
npm run build

For hot-reload, install pjeby/hot-reload via BRAT and create an empty .hotreload file in the plugin folder.

License

MIT © 2026 BongHo Lee

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