Code Converter

An Obsidian plugin that detects non-UTF-8 files in your vault and converts them to UTF-8 with safety protection, plus an experimental mojibake repair command for double-encoded text already baked into valid UTF-8 content.

Chinese version: README.zh-CN.md

Obsidian reads every note as UTF-8. Once a vault contains legacy-encoded files (GBK, Big5, Shift-JIS, UTF-16, ...), they open as garbage. This plugin provides the full detect → backup → convert → strip BOM loop with multiple safety valves so a false positive can never corrupt your notes irreversibly.

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Features

• Strict UTF-8 validation — valid UTF-8 files, including pure ASCII, are left untouched. Zero risk.
• BOM detection — UTF-8, UTF-16 LE/BE, and UTF-32 byte order marks are trusted directly.
• Scored encoding detection — decodes are scored across 22 candidate encodings covering 10 script families.
• Confidence protection — anything below the threshold (80% by default) is never converted silently; you confirm each file.
• Automatic backup before conversion — roll back at any time.
• Mojibake repair (experimental) — fixes double-encoded text such as ÖÐÎÄ or 涓枃 using a triple quality gate, line-by-line repair, and a before/after preview.
• U+FFFD damage detection — counts replacement characters and tells you plainly that the bytes are gone and cannot be recovered automatically. It never invents content.
• 10 UI languages with RTL — Simplified Chinese, English, Japanese, Korean, Russian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic. The first 4 are free; the last 6 require VIP.
• Conversion log export — JSON or Markdown.
• VIP (optional) — offline Ed25519 activation codes (universal or device-bound) unlock folder batch conversion, the last 6 interface languages, and editing the file extension whitelist; they also hide the supporter banner.
• Privacy — no network requests and no telemetry at all.

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Install

1. Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse and install Code Converter.
2. Enable the plugin.

Alternatively, download the main.js, manifest.json, and versions.json attachments from a GitHub release, or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/xiaosong8584/code-converter.git
cd code-converter
npm install
npm run build      # produces main.js

Then copy the folder (or symlink it) into your-vault/.obsidian/plugins/code-converter/ and enable it. Full instructions and troubleshooting: User guide (currently Chinese only).

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Commands

Open the command palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P) and pick one of:

Command	What it does
Convert current file to UTF-8	Converts high-confidence files directly; asks for confirmation below the threshold
Scan and convert current folder (non-UTF-8 → UTF-8) (VIP)	VIP feature — converts every non-UTF-8 file in the current folder whose extension is in the whitelist (default md;h;hpp;cpp;c;cc;py;txt)
Detect encoding of current file (report only)	Reports encoding, BOM, confidence, and a preview without touching the file
Repair mojibake in current file (double-encoded repair, experimental)	Shows a before/after preview of the repair before writing anything
Export conversion log (JSON) / (Markdown)	Exports the conversion record in either format

Key settings under Settings → Code Converter: auto-convert on import (on by default, permanently free — this is the plugin's core safety net against Obsidian silently saving a GBK file back as UTF-8 mojibake), file extension whitelist (default md;h;hpp;cpp;c;cc;py;txt, editing requires VIP), confidence threshold, auto backup and backup directory, strip UTF-8 BOM, write UTF-8 BOM, log file, damage warning threshold, interface language (last 6 are VIP), and VIP status.

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VIP

The core features are free forever: single-file conversion, encoding detection, mojibake repair, conversion log export, backups and rollback, and the first 4 interface languages.

Three features require a VIP activation code:

1. Scan and convert current folder (batch conversion) — marked (VIP) in the command palette; without VIP it only prompts and opens the activation dialog.
2. The last 6 interface languages (Russian, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic) — marked (VIP) and disabled in the settings dropdown.
3. Editing the file extension whitelist — folder batch conversion is a VIP feature, so without VIP the field is disabled and always holds the default list. Note: auto-convert on import is not a VIP feature (see above) and works with the default whitelist for everyone. VIP codes are offline Ed25519-signed codes. They are obtained by supporting the author through GitHub Sponsors or 爱发电 (afdian.net) — pricing is shown on those pages. There is no account, no subscription and no online check; the activation state is stored locally in data.json.

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Documentation

• Users: USER_GUIDE.md — installation, commands, settings, real-world cases, capability boundaries, rollback, and VIP.
• Developers and maintainers: development documentation lives in the docs directory (architecture, encoding pool, i18n/RTL, logging, the repair algorithm, building and versioning), along with the changelog and the contribution guide.

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Disclosure

• No network use. No telemetry. No data collection. The plugin runs fully offline.
• Static supporter banner inside the plugin's own interface. Without an active VIP, the plugin may show a static banner supporting the author once per day after startup. It can be dismissed and will not reappear that day. It never loads remote content.
• Payment required for some features. Folder batch conversion, the last 6 interface languages, and editing the file extension whitelist require a VIP activation code (see VIP). Single-file conversion, encoding detection, mojibake repair, log export, and backups are free forever. No account or subscription is involved.
• No file access outside the vault.

License

MIT (see LICENSE)