Dired

Navigate and manage vault files from a keyboard-driven text buffer, inspired by the Dired mode from Emacs.

The directory listing is a real CodeMirror buffer: the first line is the current path, folders end with /, and every operation is a single key (or two-key chord) away.

Features

• Text-buffer file manager — navigate with the cursor, no mouse required
• Marks — mark multiple files, then move or delete them in one batch
• Rename mode (wdired-style) — press R, edit names directly in the buffer, press Enter to apply. Ctrl+Alt+↑/↓ stacks cursors on adjacent lines to edit many names at once. Renames and moves go through Obsidian's FileManager, so wiki links and embeds are updated automatically
• Safe deletes — deletions use Obsidian's native per-file confirmation (respecting your "Confirm file deletion" and "Deleted files" preferences), including the prompt to delete linked attachments
• Bookmarks — bookmark folders and fuzzy-jump to them from anywhere
• Preview mode — automatically open the file at the cursor in a split as you move
• Inline key hints — the bottom of the buffer lists every binding; toggle with ?
• Auto-refresh — the listing stays in sync as the vault changes

Key bindings

Key	Action
m	Toggle mark (and advance)
t	Toggle all marks
U	Unmark all
*.	Mark by file extension
Enter / o	Open file / view directory
R	Rename mode — edit names in the buffer, Enter applies, Esc cancels
Ctrl+Alt+↑/↓	Add cursors above/below for column editing (rename mode only)
M	Move marked files (or file at cursor)
D	Delete marked files (or file at cursor) to trash
cd	Create directory
cf	Create file
u	Up to parent directory
g	Go to directory
B	Go to bookmark or any directory
ab	Toggle bookmark for current directory
p / n	Move to previous / next file
j	Jump to file/dir name
r	Refresh view
P	Toggle preview mode on/off
?	Toggle key hints

Multi-file operations (M, D) apply to marked files, or to the file at the cursor when nothing is marked. In rename mode you can also type a relative path (for example sub/note.md) to move a file into an existing subfolder.

Usage

• Command palette: Dired: Open (starts in the active file's folder) or Dired: Open vault root
• Ribbon: the folder-tree icon
• File explorer: right-click a folder → Open in dired

Customization

The view inherits your theme's monospace font and editor font size. Everything else — fonts, colors, line numbers, spacing — can be overridden with a CSS snippet: see THEME.md for a selector reference, recipes, and a visual showcase snippet.

Notes and limitations

• Vault-scoped: the listing shows what Obsidian indexes, so hidden folders such as .obsidian do not appear
• Marks live per view and are pruned automatically when files disappear
• The buffer is read-only outside rename mode; arrow keys, Home/End, and selection all work as in a normal editor

Installation

Install from community.obsidian.md

From Obsidian's settings or preferences:

1. Community Plugins > Browse
2. Search for "Dired"

Manually:

1. download the latest release archive
2. uncompress the downloaded archive
3. move the dired folder to /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/
4. Settings > Community plugins > reload Installed plugins
5. enable plugin

or:

1. download main.js, manifest.json & styles.css from the latest release
2. create a new folder /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/dired
3. move all 3 files to /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/dired
4. Settings > Community plugins > reload Installed plugins
5. enable plugin

Development

npm install
npm run dev     # esbuild watch
npm run build   # type-check + production build
npm run lint    # eslint (eslint-plugin-obsidianmd)

License

MIT