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Obsidian

Obsidian Keybindings

Obsidian is a Markdown-based knowledge management and note-taking application with a graph view, backlinks, and an extensive plugin ecosystem. Keybindings shown use Ctrl for Windows/Linux; substitute Cmd on macOS.

General

  • Command Palette (Ctrl+P): Access any command by name. The most important shortcut.
  • Quick Switcher (Ctrl+O): Fuzzy-find and open any note in the vault.
  • Settings (Ctrl+,): Open the settings panel.
  • Toggle Left Sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+L): Show or hide the left sidebar.
  • Toggle Right Sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+R): Show or hide the right sidebar.
  • Close Current Tab (Ctrl+W): Close the active tab.

File Operations

  • New Note (Ctrl+N): Create a new note.
  • New Note in New Tab (Ctrl+Shift+N): Create a new note in a new tab.
  • Save (Ctrl+S): Save the current note (auto-save is on by default).
  • Open in Default App (Ctrl+Shift+D): Open the current file in the system's default application.
  • Delete File: No default shortcut. Use the command palette or right-click the file.
  • Move File: No default shortcut. Use the command palette: "Move file to another folder".

Editing

  • Bold (Ctrl+B): Toggle bold on the selection.
  • Italic (Ctrl+I): Toggle italic on the selection.
  • Strikethrough (Ctrl+Shift+X): Toggle strikethrough.
  • Highlight (Ctrl+Shift+H): Toggle highlight (==text==).
  • Inline Code (Ctrl+E): Toggle inline code on the selection.
  • Toggle Checkbox (Ctrl+Enter): Toggle a checklist item (- [ ] / - [x]).
  • Insert Link (Ctrl+K): Insert a Markdown link.
  • Insert Internal Link ([[): Type [[ to start linking to another note.
  • Toggle Heading (Ctrl+1-6): Set heading level 1 through 6 (with Heading Hotkeys plugin or via command palette).
  • Indent (Tab): Indent the current line or list item.
  • Unindent (Shift+Tab): Unindent the current line or list item.
  • Swap Line Up (Alt+Up): Move the current line up.
  • Swap Line Down (Alt+Down): Move the current line down.
  • Toggle Comment (Ctrl+/): Insert/remove an HTML comment (<!-- -->).
  • Follow Link (Ctrl+Click or Alt+Enter): Open the link under the cursor.
  • Open Link in New Tab (Ctrl+Alt+Enter): Open the link in a new tab.
  • Go Back (Ctrl+Alt+Left): Navigate to the previous note.
  • Go Forward (Ctrl+Alt+Right): Navigate to the next note.
  • Go to Tab (Ctrl+1-8): Switch to tab 1 through 8.
  • Last Tab (Ctrl+9): Switch to the last tab.
  • Next Tab (Ctrl+Tab): Switch to the next tab.
  • Previous Tab (Ctrl+Shift+Tab): Switch to the previous tab.
  • Search in Current File (Ctrl+F): Find text in the current note.
  • Search and Replace (Ctrl+H): Find and replace in the current note.
  • Search in All Files (Ctrl+Shift+F): Global search across all notes in the vault.

Views

  • Toggle Reading/Editing View (Ctrl+E): Switch between editing (source/live preview) and reading mode.
  • Toggle Source/Live Preview: Set in settings or via the command palette.
  • Open Graph View (Ctrl+G): Open the graph view (with core plugin enabled).
  • Open Outline (via command palette): Show the document outline / table of contents.
  • Open Backlinks (via command palette): Show all notes that link to the current note.
  • Open Local Graph: Show a graph centered on the current note.

Split & Panes

  • Split Right: Right-click the tab and select "Split right", or use the command palette.
  • Split Down: Right-click the tab and select "Split down".
  • Focus Next Pane: No default shortcut. Bind via the Hotkeys settings.
  • Close Pane (Ctrl+W): Close the active pane.

Canvas

  • New Canvas: Use the command palette or file menu.
  • Add Card (Double-click): Add a new card to the canvas.
  • Add Note from Vault (Drag): Drag a note from the sidebar onto the canvas.
  • Connect Cards: Drag from the edge of one card to another to create a connection.
  • Zoom In/Out (Ctrl+= / Ctrl+-): Zoom the canvas view.
  • Reset Zoom (Ctrl+0): Reset canvas zoom to 100%.

Customization

  • Hotkeys Settings: Go to Settings > Hotkeys to view and customize every keybinding.
  • Community Plugins: Extend Obsidian with hundreds of community plugins via Settings > Community Plugins > Browse.
  • Vim Mode: Enable vim keybindings via Settings > Editor > Vim key bindings.
  • CSS Snippets: Customize the appearance via CSS files in .obsidian/snippets/.
  • Templates: Set up a templates folder in Settings > Core Plugins > Templates for reusable note structures.