Explorer Stepper

Explorer Stepper is a lightweight Obsidian plugin for navigating to the previous or next file in the current folder.

Features

• Navigate to the previous or next file with configurable hotkeys.
• Include every direct child file, including Markdown, images, PDFs, and Canvas files.
• Sort file names naturally, so file2 appears before file10.
• Stay in the current folder without scanning nested folders.
• Stop at the first and last file instead of wrapping around.
• Display commands and notices in English or Chinese based on the Obsidian interface language.

How It Works

Explorer Stepper reads the direct files in the active file's folder and sorts them by file name using locale-aware natural ordering. It then opens the adjacent file in the current tab.

For example:

file1.md
file2.md
file10.md

Folders are not included in the sequence, and files inside nested folders are not scanned.

Installation

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest GitHub release.

2. Create this folder inside your vault:

   <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/explorer-stepper/
   

3. Copy both files into that folder.

4. Reload Obsidian.

5. Open Settings → Community plugins and enable Explorer Stepper.

Configure Hotkeys

1. Open Settings → Hotkeys.
2. Search for explorer-stepper or Explorer Stepper.
3. Assign shortcuts to:
   • Explorer Stepper: Go to previous file
   • Explorer Stepper: Go to next file

The plugin intentionally does not provide default shortcuts to avoid conflicts with existing Obsidian or plugin hotkeys.

Boundary Behavior

When the active file is already the first or last file in the sorted sequence, Explorer Stepper stays on the current file and displays a localized notice. Navigation does not wrap around.

If there is no active file, the plugin asks you to open one before using a navigation command.

Language Support

The plugin uses Chinese when the Obsidian locale starts with zh. All other locales use English.

Development

npm install
npm test
npm run build

The production build creates main.js in the project root.