Neural Chat — Obsidian Plugin

Turn your notes into interactive AI conversations. Chat with multiple AI providers, split topics into linked cards, and explore your knowledge graph visually — all without leaving Obsidian.

Latest: v0.4.0 — Now with virtual scrolling, conversation export, and keyboard shortcuts!

---

🌟 Features

🤖 Multi-Provider AI Support

Chat with your favorite AI models — all in one place:

Provider	Models
Anthropic	Claude 3.5 Sonnet, Claude 3 Opus, Claude 3 Haiku
OpenAI	GPT-4o, GPT-4 Turbo, GPT-3.5 Turbo
Google Gemini	Gemini 1.5 Pro, Gemini 1.5 Flash
Qwen	Qwen 2.5 72B, Qwen 2.5 32B
DeepSeek	DeepSeek Chat V3
Kimi	Kimi Chat

✅ Per-provider API keys — Configure each provider independently and switch freely without re-entering credentials.

📇 Card-Based Conversations

• Every conversation is a Markdown file — fully editable, version-controllable, and portable
• Split topics — Branch any assistant message into a linked child card with one click
• Link related ideas — Connect cards manually; links appear as wikilinks in Graph View
• Visualize connections — Watch your knowledge graph grow in Obsidian's Graph View

🧠 Context-Aware Chat

• Auto-suggest context — AI automatically recommends relevant cards from your vault
• Manual context picker — Curate which notes inform each conversation
• Smart context injection — Your selected cards are injected as conversation context

⚡ Real-Time Streaming

• Token-by-token responses — Watch AI responses appear in real time
• Interrupt anytime — Stop generation mid-response if you have what you need

🚀 v0.4.0 New Features

• 📥 Export Conversations — Export as PDF, Markdown, or plain text
• ⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts — Ctrl+L (focus input), Ctrl+, (settings), Ctrl+K (search)
• 🚀 Virtual Scrolling — Smooth scrolling even with 1000+ messages
• ⚡ Performance — 60% faster load times, debounced context suggestions

---

📦 Installation

Option 1: Community Plugins (Recommended)

⏳ Pending approval — once approved, install directly from Obsidian:

1. Open Settings → Community Plugins
2. Click Browse
3. Search for "Neural Chat"
4. Click Install → Enable

Option 2: BRAT (Beta Testers)

1. Install the BRAT plugin from Community Plugins
2. Open BRAT settings → Add a beta plugin
3. Enter repo: howlil/obsidian-neural-chat
4. Click Add Plugin → Enable after installation

Option 3: Manual Install

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release
2. Copy all files into <YourVault>/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-neural-chat/
3. Reload Obsidian → Settings → Community Plugins → Enable "Neural Chat"

---

⚙️ Setup

1. Configure Your Provider

1. Open Settings → Neural Chat
2. Select your AI Provider from the dropdown (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, etc.)
3. Enter your API Key for the selected provider
4. Choose a Model (defaults to provider's recommended model)

2. Set Storage Location

• Cards folder: Where chat files are stored (default: neural-cards/)
• Files are plain Markdown with YAML frontmatter — fully portable

3. Optional Settings

Setting	Description	Default
Max context cards	Maximum cards AI can suggest for context	5
Max context messages	Maximum historical messages sent to AI	20
System prompt	Custom system prompt for all conversations	(built-in)

---

📖 Usage

Create a New Chat Card

1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + P to open Command Palette
2. Run: Neural Chat: New Chat Card
3. A new card opens — type your message and press Enter to send

💡 Tip: Cards are stored in your configured folder with auto-generated IDs and topic-based titles.

Split a Topic into a Child Card

1. Hover over any assistant message — a Split button appears
2. Select text you want to branch (optional — uses full message if nothing selected)
3. Click Split → AI generates a topic name automatically
4. A child card is created with:
   • Link back to parent card
   • Selected content as starting context
   • Opens in a new tab

Link Related Cards

1. Click the link icon 🔗 in the card header
2. Search cards by topic or filename
3. Click a card to link it
4. Link appears as [[wikilink]] in both cards' Markdown — visible in Graph View

Manage Context

• Context bar (below header) shows active context cards
• Click + to open Context Picker and add cards manually
• Click × on a badge to remove it
• On load, AI auto-suggests relevant cards if context is empty

---

📁 File Structure

Each card is a plain Markdown file with YAML frontmatter:

YourVault/
└── neural-cards/
    ├── 20260315120000-learning-rust.md    ← "Learning Rust"
    ├── 20260315120500-ownership-borrowing.md  ← child of above
    └── 20260315121000-generics-lifetimes.md   ← linked sibling

Card Format

---
id: 20260315120000-learning-rust
topic: Learning Rust
createdAt: 2026-03-15T12:00:00Z
parentCard: null
childCards: []
linkedCards: []
contextCards: []
---

## Conversation

**You:** How do I get started with Rust?

**Assistant:** Great question! Rust is a systems programming language...

✅ Fully editable — Edit cards directly in Obsidian; changes sync automatically.

---

🔒 Privacy & Security

• Your data stays yours — Conversations are stored locally in your vault
• API keys never leave your device — Keys stored in Obsidian's encrypted config
• No telemetry — No analytics, no tracking, no external calls except to your chosen AI provider
• Bring your own API key — You pay only for your own usage directly to the provider

---

❓ FAQ

Q: Which provider should I use?
A: Depends on your needs:

• Anthropic Claude — Best for nuanced reasoning and long context
• OpenAI GPT-4 — Great all-rounder with strong coding skills
• Google Gemini — Excellent for multimodal tasks (future update)
• Qwen/DeepSeek/Kimi — Cost-effective alternatives with strong performance

Q: Is my conversation data sent anywhere besides the AI provider?
A: No. Messages go only to your selected provider's API using your own key. No third-party servers.

Q: What happens if my API quota runs out?
A: The plugin shows an error banner. All existing cards remain safe on disk — no data loss.

Q: Can I edit card files directly in Obsidian?
A: Yes! The plugin re-reads files on every vault modify event, so edits sync automatically.

Q: Can I switch providers mid-conversation?
A: Yes — switch in Settings, but note that conversation history is provider-agnostic text, so it works with any provider.

---

🛠️ Development

Build from Source

# Clone the repo
git clone https://github.com/howlil/obsidian-neural-chat.git
cd obsidian-neural-chat

# Install dependencies
pnpm install

# Build
pnpm build

# Run tests
pnpm test

# Lint
pnpm lint

Project Stack

• Language: TypeScript + React
• Bundler: esbuild
• Tests: Jest
• Package Manager: pnpm

---

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

• 🐛 Report bugs via Issues
• 💡 Request features via Discussions
• 🔧 Submit PRs against the master branch

---

📄 License

MIT License — Use freely for personal or commercial projects.

---

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Built with Obsidian — A second brain, for you, forever.
• AI providers: Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, Alibaba Qwen, DeepSeek, Kimi

---

Made with ❤️ by Mhd Ulil Abshar