Hidden Folders Access

An Obsidian plugin that makes hidden root-level folders (names starting with a dot, e.g. .claude, .github) fully visible to Obsidian — file explorer, search, graph, metadata cache, and Bases — while keeping their names hidden on disk so external tools (Claude Code, git, editors, etc.) keep working unchanged.

Why

Obsidian normally ignores any path starting with .. That makes sense for .obsidian/ and friends, but it means useful content stored in dot-folders can't participate in search, the link graph, or Bases. Renaming the folder breaks external tools. Symlinks break Obsidian Sync and cross-platform workflows.

This plugin solves the problem without touching the filesystem: you pick which hidden root folders Obsidian should index, and the plugin injects them into the live vault cache.

Features

• Per-folder opt-in from the settings tab.
• Full integration: file explorer, Quick Switcher, search, graph, metadata cache, Bases, Dataview, and any plugin that uses the standard vault API.
• Live updates via filesystem watchers (create / modify / rename / delete).
• Clean disable: turning a folder off (or disabling the plugin) removes every injected entry — nothing on disk is touched.
• Desktop-only, cross-platform (Linux / macOS / Windows).

Installation

Community plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, go to Settings → Community plugins.
2. Disable Restricted mode if it's enabled.
3. Select Browse, search for Hidden Folders Access, install it, then enable it.

You can also browse the catalog on the Obsidian Community website.

Manual installation

If the plugin isn't listed in the community catalog yet (or you want a specific version):

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Copy them into <Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/hidden-folders-access/.
3. Reload Obsidian and enable Hidden Folders Access in Settings → Community plugins.

BRAT (bleeding edge)

BRAT (Beta Reviewers Auto-update Tool) installs plugins straight from a GitHub repo and keeps them updated automatically. Use this if you want the latest commits — things might break.

1. Install Obsidian42 - BRAT from Settings → Community plugins → Browse and enable it.
2. Run BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing from the command palette.
3. Paste https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-hidden-folders-access.
4. Select the latest version and confirm.
5. Enable Hidden Folders Access in Settings → Community plugins.

Use

1. Open Settings → Hidden Folders Access.
2. Toggle on any folder you want Obsidian to index (e.g. .claude).
3. The files immediately appear in the file explorer and become queryable from Bases, Dataview, search, etc.

Full user documentation lives in docs/.

How it works

The plugin wraps two undocumented methods on Obsidian's desktop FileSystemAdapter (listRecursiveChild and reconcileFile) so whitelisted hidden paths skip the internal hidden-path filter and flow through reconcileFileInternal just like normal files. A fs-watcher is registered for each enabled folder so changes propagate live. On disable, every injected entry is removed and the original methods are restored.

Technical design notes: documentation/Architecture.md and documentation/Domain Model.md.

Development

bun install
bun run dev     # watch build, copies to $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_LOCATION/.obsidian/plugins/hidden-folders-access
bun run tsc:watch
bun run lint
bun test

See DEVELOPMENT.md for the full workflow.

Compatibility

• Obsidian 1.4+
• Desktop only (isDesktopOnly: true). Mobile Obsidian does not expose the filesystem primitives this plugin relies on.

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

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Everything I build is documented in my newsletter and on my YouTube channel.

News & support

To stay up to date about this plugin, Obsidian in general, Personal Knowledge Management and note-taking:

• Subscribe to my newsletter
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Join the Knowii community and learn to organize your notes and put your knowledge to work, together with fellow knowledge workers

If this plugin is useful to you, here are the best ways to support my work ❤️:

• Join the Knowii community
• Become a GitHub Sponsor
• Buy me a coffee
• Subscribe to my YouTube channel
• Check out my products

Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue.