Hemingway Typewriter

All you have to do is write one true sentence. Write the truest sentence that you know.
(Ernest Hemingway)

A focused writing plugin for Obsidian. It stops you from fighting yourself: you can only write forward, and the whole interface gets out of your way while you do it.

When active, Hemingway Typewriter can disable the keys involved in editing (cursor movement, delete, undo, etc.) so you can only write forward from where your cursor is — you can't go back to revise. Pair that with a distraction-free focus mode and you get a true typewriter feel inside Obsidian. Prefer to keep the calm focus view but still edit freely? The write-only lock is a single switch you can turn off.

Features

Write-only mode

Editing locks live behind one Lock editing switch (on by default). While it's on:

• Blocks cursor movement (arrows, Home/End, Page Up/Down), Delete, and Undo within the editor, so you can't go back to edit. The rest of Obsidian — file explorer, search, command palette — stays fully navigable.
• Optionally locks the mouse too, so clicks can't reposition the caret.
• Switching notes drops the caret at the end of the note, so you keep writing forward instead of landing at the top with no way down.
• Optionally still allows Backspace, for fixing the occasional typo.

Turn Lock editing off and you keep the typewriter scrolling and focus view while editing and navigating freely — focus without the write-only constraint.

A status bar indicator can be shown (click it to toggle the mode).

Typewriter scrolling

Keeps the line you are writing vertically centered on screen — including inside soft-wrapped paragraphs — so your eyes stay in one place as you write. Works on its own, with or without focus mode.

Focus mode

A distraction-free environment, turned on automatically with Hemingway mode (and individually configurable). Each of these can be toggled on or off:

• Hide interface chrome — collapses both sidebars and hides the ribbon, tab headers, and status bar (plus the mobile toolbar and navbar) for a clean screen. Your previous sidebar layout is restored when you turn the mode off.
• Center text column — narrows and centers the editor to a comfortable writing width.
• Dim inactive text — fades everything except the sentence you're currently writing, like iA Writer's focus mode.

Syntax highlight

Colors parts of speech directly in the editor — nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and conjunctions — so you can spot overused adjectives, weak verbs, or repetitive nouns at a glance, like iA Writer's Syntax Highlight. Each part of speech can be toggled independently. Pronouns (I, you, his, myself, ...) and the infinitive to are always left uncolored, matching iA Writer — everything else, including linking verbs like is/was, is colored the same way iA colors it. It's editor-only: nothing changes in Reading view or in exported notes. Independent of Hemingway mode, so you can use it while editing freely.

Style check

Strikes through fillers, redundancies, and clichés as you write, like iA Writer's Style Check. It only flags — nothing is deleted or sent anywhere. Fillers, redundancies, and clichés can be toggled independently, and each category's word list is fully editable in settings — not just extendable. Every list starts pre-filled with a curated default, but you can rewrite it entirely: remove a word you don't want flagged, add your own, or reset back to the default with one click. On top of the three categories there's a separate custom patterns list for anything else you want to catch. Every list uses the same syntax: one entry per line, plain text matches as a whole phrase, or wrap a line in /regex/ for full control. A struck word is never also colored by Syntax Highlight — it renders muted, like iA. Also editor-only and independent of Hemingway mode.

Usage

Toggle Hemingway mode any of these ways:

• Run the command Hemingway Typewriter: Toggle active from the command palette.
• Bind that command to a hotkey (Settings -> Hotkeys).
• Click the status bar indicator (when shown).
• Enable Show ribbon icon in settings to add a feather button to the left sidebar (off by default).

Syntax highlight and style check each have their own command too — Hemingway Typewriter: Toggle syntax highlight and Hemingway Typewriter: Toggle style check — so you can bind hotkeys and flip them on or off without opening settings, independently of Hemingway mode.

Settings

Settings are grouped into five sections:

Setting	Description
Hemingway mode enabled	Master switch — turns the writing mode on or off.
Editing
Lock editing (write-only)	Blocks editing and navigation so you can only write forward. Turn off to keep the typewriter and focus view while editing freely.
Allow Backspace while locked	Lets Backspace delete text even when editing is locked.
Lock mouse cursor	Stops mouse clicks from moving the cursor while editing is locked.
Interface
Show activation state in status bar	Shows an indicator while the mode is active.
Show notice when toggling status	Shows a brief notice when you toggle the mode.
Show ribbon icon	Adds a left-sidebar button to toggle the mode (off by default).
Focus mode
Typewriter scrolling	Keeps the active line vertically centered (works with or without focus mode).
Enable focus mode	Enters the distraction-free environment with Hemingway mode.
Hide interface chrome	Collapses sidebars and hides the ribbon, tabs, status bar, and mobile toolbar/navbar.
Center text column	Narrows and centers the editor.
Dim inactive text	Fades everything except the current sentence (iA Writer style).
Syntax highlight
Enable syntax highlight	Colors parts of speech in the editor. Independent of Hemingway mode.
Nouns / Verbs / Adjectives / Adverbs / Conjunctions	Toggle each part of speech's coloring independently.
Style check
Enable style check	Strikes through fillers, redundancies, and clichés. Independent of Hemingway mode.
Fillers / Redundancies / Clichés	Toggle each category on or off, and edit its word list directly — one entry per line, plain phrase or /regex/. A reset button restores the built-in default list.
Custom patterns	An extra, always-on list for anything not covered by the three categories above. Same one-per-line, plain-or-/regex/ syntax.

Install

You can use one of the following methods:

• BRAT — install the BRAT plugin, then add the repository Coffeegerm/hemingway-typewriter-obsidian. BRAT keeps it updated automatically.
• Manual — download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release and copy them into .obsidian/plugins/hemingway-typewriter/ in your vault, then enable the plugin under Settings -> Community plugins.
• Community plugin registry — listing is pending review.

Tip: If you also use a separate typewriter-scrolling plugin, disable one of the two typewriter features to avoid double scrolling.

Development

npm install      # install dependencies
npm run dev      # build and watch
npm run build    # type-check and produce a production main.js

Credits

Hemingway Typewriter is a fork of jobedom/obsidian-hemingway-mode by Joaquín Bernal, extended with focus mode. Thanks to the original author and contributors.

License

MIT. Original work copyright Joaquín Bernal; fork modifications copyright David Yarzebinski.

Enjoy your writing!