Ordinal Headings

Word-style numbers for Heading 1–6. By default the numbers are visual only, so the Markdown stays clean, and they update as you edit. Live Preview and Reading view are both supported, on desktop and on Android.

How numbering works

Numbers appear next to headings while you edit or read. They are not written into the file until you bake them. They update when you add, remove, or reorder headings.

If a heading already starts with a number-like prefix, such as 1. or 2.1, the visual label is skipped so you do not see 1. 1. Title.

These titles are also skipped, so they do not take a number:

• Obsidian’s inline note title
• A filename title injected by Better Export PDF or Pagina
• A Conspectus table-of-contents title

Styles

Choose a preset in Settings → Ordinal Headings, or build a custom format. Tokens you can use:

{n} {dotted} {1}–{6} {roman} {Roman} {alpha} {Alpha} {zh}

Presets include decimal, parenthetical, classic outline, chapter, and Chinese 第X章.

Under Backup, Export settings and Import settings save or restore the configuration as ordinal-headings-settings.json.

Put numbers into the note

Baking writes the numbers into the current note only. It does not number the rest of the vault, and it does not insert numbers while you type. Baking is useful when you want the numbers in a PDF, in Obsidian Publish, in search, or in the outline.

1. Open the note.
2. In Settings → Ordinal Headings, choose the style. Bake uses the active preset.
3. Open the command palette (Ctrl+P on Windows, Cmd+P on Mac, or the Commands entry on Android).
4. Run Bake numbers into current note.

For the decimal preset, this:

# Intro
## Background

becomes:

# 1 Intro
## 1.1 Background

The exact text follows your preset or custom format.

After you add, remove, or reorder headings, run Bake numbers into current note again. Bake removes an old recognizable prefix first, so a heading becomes # 2.2 Title rather than # 2.2 2.1 Title.

To take the numbers back out, run Strip baked numbers from current note.

One note at a time

ordinal-headings: off
ordinal-headings-style: zh-chapter

• ordinal-headings: off or on turns numbering off or on for this note.
• ordinal-headings-style picks a preset for this note, such as decimal, zh-chapter, or custom.

Toggle numbering for current note writes that on/off flag for the open note.

Commands

Command	What it does
Bake numbers into current note	Write numbers into this note’s Markdown
Strip baked numbers from current note	Remove recognizable number prefixes
Toggle numbering for current note	Turn numbering on or off for this note
Refresh heading numbers	Redraw the visual numbers

Support

Star history