Cards4Links

Paste URLs to generate beautiful card-styled links in Obsidian.

Turn any URL into a rich visual card with title, description, thumbnail, favicon, and host — directly in your editor. No more ugly raw links.

Visit my repo: https://github.com/Mats324/cards4links

How to Use

Method 1: Paste & Enhance command

Use the command palette → "Paste URL and enhance to card link".

Method 2: Paste a URL (auto-enhance)

Enable "Enhance default paste" in settings, then paste any URL normally.

Method 3: Select & Enhance

Select a URL (or markdown link) and run "Enhance selected URL to card link" (Ctrl+Shift+E).

Method 4: Right-click

Right-click in the editor → "Paste URL and enhance to card link".

Main Features

• Paste & Enhance — Paste a URL and instantly get a styled card
  • Context Menu — Right-click any URL to enhance it
• Enhance on Hover — Hover a URL in the editor to reveal a polished "Convert to card" action (custom popover, icon + label, configurable tooltip lifetime)
• Rich Metadata — Auto-fetches Open Graph data (title, description, image)
• Multiple Views — Choose between Card, Compact, and Minimal layouts
• Watched/Read Tracking — Mark video cards as "Watched" and articles as "Read"
• Carousel — Combine multiple URLs into a scrollable card carousel (separate with --- or select 2+ URLs)
• Responsive — Looks great on desktop and mobile
• Card Theme — Force light or dark card colors independently of Obsidian
• Image Caching — Download images to vault for offline access (TTL configurable)
• Cache Cleanup — Browse and delete cached images from a dedicated modal
• Localized (EN/IT) — Interface language follows Obsidian, with an optional manual override (Settings → Language)
• Milestone Notifications — Get useful tips as you create your 1st, 5th, 10th… card, plus a welcome notice on first activation
• Card Counter — Track how many cards you've created (visible in Settings, with a reset option), plus a global lifetime total that is never reset

Specific Features

• Image Placeholder — Click a broken or missing thumbnail to set a custom image URL
• Description Placeholder — Click to add or edit the card description
• Custom Thumbnails — Display on the right, left, or hide entirely
• Quick Settings — Ctrl+Shift+, to open plugin settings directly

Carousel

Select 2+ URLs and run "Create carousel from selected URLs" (Ctrl+Shift+C) to generate a scrollable card carousel.

Views for a single card

View	Description
Card	Full card with thumbnail, title, description, host
Compact	Smaller card, shorter description, smaller thumbnail
Minimal	No thumbnail, single-line description

Installation

Requires Obsidian 1.13.0 or later.

From Obsidian Community Store (pending)

1. Open Obsidian Settings → Community Plugins
2. Browse → Search "Cards4Links"
3. Install & Enable

From GitHub (via BRAT)

1. Install the BRAT plugin
2. Add the repo: Mats324/cards4links
3. Enable Cards4Links

Settings

Settings are organized into four sections.

Paste & Integration

Setting	Description
Enhance Default Paste	Auto-fetch metadata when pasting a URL
Show Commands in Menu	Show in right-click context menu
Enhance on Hover	Hover a URL to reveal a "Convert to card" action
Tooltip Lifetime	How long the hover tooltip stays visible (0–5 s)

Card Style

Setting	Description
Default Card View	Default view: Card / Compact / Minimal
Card Theme	Default / Light / Dark
Thumbnail Position	Right / Left / No thumbnail
Enable Watched/Read	Track watched/read status on cards (enabled by default)

Image Cache

Setting	Description
Cache Images Locally	Download card images to vault for offline access
Cache Storage	Global folder / Per note
Cache Folder Name	Folder path for cached images (global mode)
Cache TTL	How long before re-downloading (7–180 days / Never)
Manage Cache	Browse and delete cached images from a dedicated modal

Plugin

Setting	Description
Language	🌐 Auto (follows Obsidian) / 🇬🇧 English / 🇮🇹 Italiano
Cards Created	Cards generated since last reset (with Reset button) plus a total lifetime count that is never reset

❤️ Support

License

GNU General Public License v3.0