- Overview
- Scorecard
- Updates2
Easy Symbols is an Obsidian plugin that makes it easy to write arrows, symbols, subscripts, and superscripts in your notes.
You're taking notes and want to add an arrow, a subscript, or a Greek letter. A whole math expression feels like extra work for one small symbol.
With Easy Symbols, just type ->, x_i, or \alpha to see →, xi, or α. No $ signs needed. Your Markdown stays unchanged.
Works offline in Live Preview and Reading Mode. Move your cursor away to see the symbols. Move it back to edit. Source Mode shows your original text.
Arrows
| What you type | What you see |
|---|---|
-> |
→ |
<- |
← |
<-> |
↔ |
--> |
⟶ |
<-- |
⟵ |
<--> |
⟷ |
=> |
⇒ |
<=> |
⇔ |
Subscripts & superscripts
Start with a single letter. Subscripts and superscripts can contain letters and numbers, in either order.
| What you type | What you see |
|---|---|
x_i |
xi |
A_123 |
A123 |
x_ij |
xij |
x^2 |
x2 |
x^23 |
x23 |
x_i^2, x^2_i |
xi2 |
Math operators
| What you type | What you see |
|---|---|
>= |
≥ |
<= |
≤ |
!= |
≠ |
~= |
≈ |
+- |
± |
-+ |
∓ |
<= means ≤. For ⇐, use \Leftarrow.
Symbols from commands
Backslash commands are case-sensitive. This setting includes arrow and operator commands.
| What you type | What you see |
|---|---|
\alpha |
α |
\beta |
β |
\gamma |
γ |
\delta |
δ |
\theta |
θ |
\lambda |
λ |
\mu |
μ |
\sigma |
σ |
\omega |
ω |
\Delta |
Δ |
\infty |
∞ |
\emptyset |
∅ |
\sum |
∑ |
\partial |
∂ |
\nabla |
∇ |
\forall |
∀ |
\exists |
∃ |
\in |
∈ |
\subset |
⊂ |
\land, \wedge |
∧ |
\lor, \vee |
∨ |
\rightarrow |
→ |
\leftarrow |
← |
\leftrightarrow |
↔ |
\longrightarrow |
⟶ |
\longleftarrow |
⟵ |
\longleftrightarrow |
⟷ |
\Rightarrow |
⇒ |
\Leftarrow |
⇐ |
\Leftrightarrow |
⇔ |
\geq |
≥ |
\leq |
≤ |
\neq |
≠ |
\approx |
≈ |
\pm |
± |
\mp |
∓ |
Install
- Create
plugins/easy-symbols/inside your vault’s configuration folder (.obsidianby default). - Copy
main.js,manifest.json, andstyles.cssinto it, then reload Obsidian. - Enable Easy Symbols in Settings → Community plugins.
Choose which conversions to enable in Settings → Easy Symbols. All four are on by default.
Notes
- Code, existing math formulas, note properties, and link destinations stay unchanged.
- Braces and nested expressions are unsupported; use Obsidian’s built-in math for full equations.
- Live Preview’s table editor and some embedded views may show the original text.
- Mobile support, minimum-version compatibility, and performance on large notes still need testing.
Build from source
Requires Node.js 22.12+ or 24+ and npm.
npm ci
npm run check
npm run dev watches for changes. npm run build generates main.js.