Cammvas

A dedicated mind-mapping experience inside Obsidian Canvas.

Cammvas adds the interactions people expect from standalone mind-mapping software while keeping every map as a standard .canvas file in the vault. Build branches from the keyboard, drag nodes onto other nodes to restructure a map, collapse complete subtrees, and navigate the hierarchy without leaving Canvas.

What Cammvas Adds

• Mind-map keyboard workflow: Enter creates a sibling, Tab creates a child, Shift + Enter inserts a line break, and arrow keys navigate the tree.
• Drag to create branches: drop one or multiple selected nodes onto another node to reparent their complete branches, with cycle prevention and a highlighted target.
• Collapsible branches: fold and restore complete descendant trees directly from their parent nodes.
• Automatic tree layout: compact contour-based placement with left, right, and balanced branches.
• Branch-only re-layout: manually organize only the descendants of the selected node without moving its ancestors.
• Branch-aware dragging: moving a node moves its descendants while preserving their relative positions.
• Map outline: search, navigate, group, rename, and reorganize roots from a synchronized sidebar.
• Branch colors: configurable palettes with automatic propagation through each branch.
• Canvas-native storage: no proprietary format, external service, network request, or telemetry.

Quick Start

1. Open a Canvas and activate Mindmap mode from the Canvas controls.
2. Double-click empty Canvas space to create a root node.
3. Use Enter and Tab for the conventional mind-mapping workflow.
4. Restructure branches by dropping nodes onto other nodes.
5. Use the node chevrons to collapse or expand branches.

The Canvas controls also include toggles for Drag to reparent and Mind mapping Enter and Tab. Right-click a parent node to re-layout only that branch.

All behavior can be configured under Settings > Cammvas.

Keyboard Workflow

When Mind mapping Enter and Tab is enabled, plain Enter starts editing a selected node or creates a sibling while editing, plain Tab creates a child, Shift + Enter inserts a line break, and arrow keys navigate between nodes.

Cammvas does not assign default hotkeys to Add child node, Add sibling node, or Create root node. All commands remain available from the command palette and can be assigned custom hotkeys under Settings > Hotkeys.

Installation

Community Plugins

Once Cammvas is accepted into the Obsidian community directory:

1. Open Settings > Community plugins.
2. Search for Cammvas.
3. Select Install, then Enable.

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
2. Create .obsidian/plugins/cammvas/ inside the vault.
3. Place the three files in that folder.
4. Enable Cammvas under Settings > Community plugins.

Compatibility

Cammvas requires Obsidian 1.13.4 or newer. Desktop and mobile use the same Canvas files and core mind-mapping features. On mobile, long-press and drag a node to reparent it; mouse- and modifier-specific interactions remain desktop-only. Several advanced Canvas interactions depend on undocumented runtime APIs, so compatibility is tested against current Obsidian releases.

Privacy And Permissions

Cammvas runs locally, makes no network requests, and collects no telemetry. It writes Canvas changes through Obsidian's vault API. Clipboard access occurs only after an explicit Copy node link action and writes the generated obsidian://cammvas-navigate link to the clipboard; Cammvas never reads clipboard contents.

Origin And Attribution

Cammvas is an independent Obsidian plugin developed by cuatrecasespro. It is based on the MIT-licensed Mindvas project by mobench and retains its original copyright and license notice.

Cammvas extends that foundation with a workflow designed to reproduce dedicated mind-mapping software inside Canvas, including drag-to-reparent branch creation, persistent branch collapsing, conventional mind-map hotkeys, spatial navigation, configurable branch palettes, root creation, and an expanded synchronized outline.

Cammvas is not affiliated with or endorsed by the original Mindvas project.

License

MIT. See the license file for the original and current copyright notices.

Contributing

Bug reports and feature requests are welcome in the issue tracker.