Material File Icons for Obsidian

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Replace the default file explorer icons in Obsidian with Material Icon Theme icons, matched by file extension and filename.

Screenshots

File explorer

Icons are applied by extension and filename — canvas notes, Markdown templates, folders, and more each get a distinct icon (see preview above).

Settings

Toggle file and folder icons independently, enable custom rules, and switch the settings UI language (10 languages supported).

Custom rules

Add a rule for any extension (without the leading dot) and pick an icon from the Material Icon Theme library. Custom rules override default matching when enabled.

Icon picker

Search and browse 500+ icons when configuring a custom rule.

Features

• Extension matching — longest suffix wins (e.g. d.ts before ts)
• Filename matching — e.g. .gitignore, Makefile, docker-compose.yml
• Folder icons — closed / open states
• Custom rules — override icons per extension with a searchable icon picker
• Toggles — enable or disable file / folder icons independently
• Settings UI — English, 简体中文, 繁體中文, 日本語, 한국어, Deutsch, Français, Español, Русский, Português
• Light & dark — icons follow Obsidian’s theme

Installation

From a release (recommended)

Release tags match manifest.json version exactly (e.g. 1.0.0, not v1.0.0) for Obsidian community installs.

1. Download from Releases:
   • Zip: material-file-icons-x.x.x.zip — extract into .obsidian/plugins/
   • Or download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css into .obsidian/plugins/material-file-icons/ (required for Obsidian community install)
2. Enable Material File Icons under Settings → Community plugins

Upgrading from an older build? The plugin id is now material-file-icons. Remove .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-material-icon/ if present, then install into material-file-icons/.

Manual build

git clone https://github.com/liicos/obsidian-material-icon.git
cd obsidian-material-icon
npm install
npm run build
cp main.js manifest.json styles.css /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/material-file-icons/

Development

npm install
npm run dev      # watch mode (does not regenerate icon data)
npm run build    # full production build
npm run build-icons   # regenerate src/icon-data.ts only

Path	Purpose
src/main.ts	Plugin logic
scripts/build-icons.mjs	Extract SVGs from material-icon-theme → src/icon-data.ts
styles.css	Icon and settings styles

Do not edit src/icon-data.ts by hand. To add custom extension mappings, edit the custom block at the end of scripts/build-icons.mjs, then run npm run build-icons.

Built artifacts main.js and src/icon-data.ts are gitignored; run npm run build after cloning.

Icon matching priority

1. Custom rules (when enabled)
2. Exact filename
3. Longest matching extension
4. Default file icon

Acknowledgements

File icons are derived from PKief/vscode-material-icon-theme (MIT).

License

MIT