Neovim View

Edit your Obsidian notes in Neovim, inside an Obsidian tab. You get your own Neovim config, plugins and LSP.

Set a hotkey after you install. The plugin has no default hotkey. See Set a hotkey.

Neovim saves the note to disk. Obsidian sees the change, as with any external editor.

Requirements

• Obsidian 1.13.0 or newer, on desktop (macOS, Windows, Linux). Mobile is not supported.
• Neovim 0.10 or newer, installed on your computer.

Install

1. In Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins.
2. If Restricted mode is on, select "Turn on community plugins".
3. Select "Browse" and search for "Neovim View".
4. Select "Install", then "Enable".

Set a hotkey

The command "Neovim View: Toggle Neovim for current file" switches the current note between the Obsidian editor and Neovim. It has no default hotkey.

1. Open Settings → Hotkeys.
2. Search for "Toggle Neovim".
3. Select the + icon and press the keys that you want, for example Cmd+Shift+E (Ctrl+Shift+E on Windows and Linux).

This hotkey also works while Neovim has focus.

Usage

Open a note in Neovim

Method	Result
Toggle hotkey in a note	The same tab changes to Neovim with this note
Header button (terminal icon) in a note	Same as above
Ribbon icon (left sidebar, terminal icon)	Opens the active note in Neovim. If no note is active, opens an empty Neovim tab
File explorer → right-click → "Open in Neovim"	Opens the file in a new Neovim tab
Command palette → "Neovim View: Open Neovim"	Opens an empty Neovim tab in the vault folder

Return to the Obsidian editor

Method	Result
:q, :wq, :x	The tab shows the note in the Obsidian editor again
Toggle hotkey in a Neovim tab	Same. If you have unsaved changes, a dialog asks: Save all / Discard
Header button "Back to Obsidian editor"	Same as the toggle hotkey
Close the tab (x)	Closes Neovim. The same dialog asks about unsaved changes. Esc in the dialog saves

If Neovim cannot save (for example, a new buffer has no file name), Neovim stays open and a notice tells you why. Fix it in Neovim, then try again.

If you open another note in Neovim (:e other.md), the tab title changes. When you quit, the Obsidian editor shows that note.

Keyboard

• While Neovim has focus, it gets all keys, including Cmd+W, Cmd+O, Ctrl+Tab and Esc.
• Exceptions: the toggle hotkey, and the keys in the "Obsidian hotkeys to keep" setting (default: Cmd+P, the command palette).
• Cmd+<key> goes to Neovim as <D-key>, so you can map it. Example: vim.keymap.set("n", "<D-s>", "<cmd>w<cr>").
• Cmd+V pastes from the system clipboard.
• Accents and input methods work (´ + a = á, Japanese and Chinese input).
• The Option key types characters by default (@ [ ] { } on Spanish keyboards). To use it as Meta (<M-x>), turn on "Option key as Meta".

Mouse

Click, drag to select, right-click and scroll work. Neovim must have the mouse option set (it is on by default).

Settings

Open Settings → Neovim View.

Setting	Default	What it does
Neovim path	nvim	Where Neovim is. Use the full path if Obsidian cannot find Neovim
Start through login shell	on	Starts Neovim with your shell settings, so it finds your tools (LSP, rg, node). Not used on Windows
Shell	empty	The shell for "Start through login shell", for example /bin/zsh. If empty, the plugin uses your default shell ($SHELL). If that is not set, it uses the first of zsh, bash and sh that it finds
Font family	"JetBrainsMono NFM", "Symbols Nerd Font Mono", Menlo, monospace	The font. Use a Nerd Font to see icons. A guifont set in your Neovim config wins
Font size	14	Size in pixels
Line height	1.2	Space between lines
Option key as Meta	off	See Keyboard
Extra arguments	empty	More options for Neovim. See Use a separate Neovim config
Obsidian hotkeys to keep	Mod+P	Hotkeys that go to Obsidian, not Neovim. One per line, for example Mod+Shift+X. Mod is Cmd on macOS, Ctrl on other systems

Keyboard settings apply at once. Other settings apply to Neovim tabs that you open after the change.

Use a separate Neovim config

Use "Extra arguments" for this. Examples:

Goal	Extra arguments
Use the config in ~/.config/nvim-obsidian	NVIM_APPNAME=nvim-obsidian
Use one config file	-u ~/.config/nvim/obsidian.lua
Start Neovim with no config and no plugins	--clean

You can also change your normal config only when it runs inside Obsidian:

if vim.g.obsidian_neovim_view then
  vim.opt.wrap = true
  vim.opt.linebreak = true
end

More options: docs/neovim-config.md.

Troubleshooting

Problem	What to do
"Cannot start Neovim"	Set "Neovim path" to the full path. To find it, run which nvim in a terminal (where nvim on Windows)
LSP or other tools are not found	Turn on "Start through login shell". Your PATH must be set in a login shell file (~/.zprofile or ~/.zshrc for zsh)
Icons show as boxes	Install a Nerd Font and put its name in "Font family", for example JetBrainsMono NFM
A key goes to Obsidian, not Neovim	Remove it from "Obsidian hotkeys to keep". Click the Neovim tab to give it focus (the cursor is a filled block)
@, [, ] do not type	Turn off "Option key as Meta"
Neovim does not show changes to a note	Save your changes in Neovim first. Neovim only reloads notes with no unsaved changes
Something else	Open an issue

Limits

• Desktop only.
• No font ligatures.
• Each Neovim tab is a separate Neovim. Tabs do not share buffers or registers.
• If Neovim waits at a "Press ENTER" prompt when you close the tab, it closes after 1 second without the save dialog. Use the toggle hotkey or :q to be safe.

Privacy and file access

• The plugin starts Neovim on your computer as a separate program.
• Neovim can read and write files outside your vault. It reads your Neovim config (for example ~/.config/nvim), and it can open any file that you open with :e. Your Neovim plugins can also do this.
• The plugin itself does not use the network and collects no data. Your Neovim plugins can use the network.

For developers

• How it works
• Development and release
• Manual testing

License

MIT. See LICENSE.