Bring to Front
rockbenben149 downloadsAutomatically brings the window to front when modals or notices appear in the background.
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What it does
When Obsidian is running in the background and a popup or notice appears, Bring to Front automatically pulls the Obsidian window to the foreground so you don't miss it.
It works the moment you enable it — no setup, no keywords, nothing to configure. If you want, you can later filter what triggers it (see Settings).
Desktop only (Windows / macOS / Linux). It uses Electron window APIs and does not run on mobile.
Installation
From Obsidian (recommended)
- Open Settings → Community plugins.
- Turn off Restricted mode, then click Browse.
- Search for Bring to Front, then Install and Enable.
Or open the community plugin page directly.
Manual
From the latest release, download
main.jsandmanifest.json.Put both files into this folder (create it if it doesn't exist):
YourVault/.obsidian/plugins/bring-to-front/Reload Obsidian, then enable the plugin in Settings → Community plugins.
Usage
There's nothing to set up — once enabled, it just works. Whenever Obsidian is in the background and a popup (modal) or notice appears, the window jumps to the front. When the window is already focused, it does nothing.
Example: never miss a reminder
A great pairing is with reminder plugins like Reminder or Tasks, so a reminder never stays hidden while you work in another app:
Keep the default settings — no keywords needed.
Create a task with a due time, for example using the Reminder plugin syntax:
- [ ] Submit report (@2026-06-09 14:30)Switch to another app.
When the reminder pops up, Obsidian comes to the front automatically.
Getting pulled forward too often? Use Keywords or Watch scope below to limit it to only the popups you care about.
Settings (all optional)
Open Settings → Community plugins → Bring to Front. The defaults work well for most people; change these only if you want to fine-tune.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Language | Interface language | Auto-detect |
| Keywords | Only trigger when the popup text contains one of these comma-separated words (case-insensitive). Empty = any popup. | Empty |
| Watch scope | What to watch: Modals (dialogs), Notices (toasts), both, or a custom CSS selector | Modals & notices |
| CSS selector | Your own selector (shown only when Watch scope = Custom) | Empty |
| Focus cooldown | Minimum seconds between two bring-to-front actions, so it doesn't interrupt repeatedly. 0 = no cooldown | 5 seconds |
| Debug mode | Print match details to the console (Ctrl+Shift+I) | Off |
Filtering examples (optional)
| Goal | Keywords | Watch scope |
|---|---|---|
| Bring to front on anything (default) | (empty) | Modals & notices |
| Only reminder dialogs | snooze, done |
Modals |
| Only error / sync toasts | error, failed |
Notices |
| A specific plugin's popup | (empty) | Custom: [data-type="my-plugin"] |
Tip: use a short cooldown (1–30 s) for things you want to see right away, or a longer one (≥ 120 s) if it feels intrusive.
How it works
Bring to Front watches the Obsidian window for new popups and notices. When one appears while the window is in the background (and matches your optional keywords/scope), it raises the window via Electron's window APIs — restore if minimized, show if hidden, briefly pin on top, then focus. If the window is already focused, it stays out of the way.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Try this |
|---|---|
| Pops up too often | Increase Focus cooldown, or add Keywords to narrow what triggers it. |
| Doesn't pop up | Make sure Obsidian is actually in the background; clear Keywords and set Watch scope to "Both"; confirm the popup text matches your keywords. |
| Want to see what happens | Enable Debug mode, open the console (Ctrl+Shift+I), and watch for [Bring to Front] messages. |
Development
git clone https://github.com/rockbenben/bring-obsidian-to-front.git
cd bring-obsidian-to-front
npm install
npm run dev # watch build
npm run build # production build
License
MIT — see LICENSE. Issues and suggestions are welcome on GitHub.