Export Folder to ZIP — Obsidian plugin

Desktop Obsidian plugin that compresses vault folders using external system engines (7-Zip or WinRAR), with progress, cancel, background mode and flexible save options.

Desktop-only: uses child_process to run the system binaries.

Features

• Context menu: right-click a folder → "Export folder to ZIP".
• External engines: 7-Zip (zip, 7z, tar, tar.gz) or WinRAR (rar, zip), with compression levels tuned per engine.
• Fixed exclusions: .obsidian/* and .git/* never enter the archive.
• Progress modal: live percentage with Cancel (kills the process and cleans up the temp folder) and Send to background (status bar shows progress; click to reopen).
• Flexible save: on finish, "Save next to the folder" (same level, never inside; timestamp suffix if it already exists — never overwrites) or "Download" (native OS save dialog).
• Settings: add/edit/remove binaries, autodetect common installs (Program Files), active engine, format and level (adaptive per engine).

Installation

1. Create .obsidian/plugins/export-folder-to-zip/ inside your vault.
2. Copy manifest.json and main.js into it (already compiled in this repo).
3. Restart Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins → enable Export Folder to ZIP.
4. Go to Settings → Export Folder to ZIP → "Detect installed" (or add the binary manually) and pick the active engine, format and level.

Development

Requires Node.js 18+.

npm install        # dependencies
npm run build      # typecheck + production bundle → main.js
npm run dev        # watch mode

Structure

manifest.json
versions.json
esbuild.config.mjs
tsconfig.json
src/
  main.ts            # entry: file-menu + job orchestration
  engines.ts         # fixed 7-Zip/WinRAR mapping + args + autodetect
  compress.ts        # spawn without shell + progress + cancel + move with suffix
  modal-progress.ts  # progress / cancel / background + status bar
  modal-save.ts      # save next to folder / download dialog
  settings.ts        # PluginSettingTab
docs/
  documento_de_lineamientos_para_el_desarrollo_del_plugin_de_exportaci_n.md

Out of scope

• Mobile use (desktop-only).
• Embedded engines (external binaries only).
• Extracting/decompressing archives.
• Scheduled automatic exports.

License

MIT