Floating Note Manager

A lightweight, desktop-only Obsidian plugin to search, create, and edit Markdown notes in native floating windows without interrupting your workflow.

Latest release: 0.1.25 | Download | MIT license

Features

• Global hotkey (opt-in): summon a dedicated note picker from another application without intentionally restoring the main Obsidian window.
• Search or create: type a filename and press Enter on the first option to create that note, or use the arrows to open an existing match.
• Native Markdown editor: notes open in original Obsidian floating editor windows, not in a replacement editor.
• Hide and recall: Esc tucks away a floating note, preserving its editor for quick recall.
• Window controls: recent notes, per-note sizing and optional always-on-top pinning.

Installation

Use the Add to Obsidian link on the official Community Directory listing, or install manually by downloading the latest Release's three separate assets (main.js, manifest.json and styles.css) into:

<Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/floating-note-manager/

Restart Obsidian and enable Floating Note Manager under Settings > Community plugins. Optionally enable a system-wide shortcut in settings; it is off by default.

Migrating from 0.1.22 or earlier

Breaking identifier change: The official plugin ID changed from obsidian-floating-note-manager to floating-note-manager to meet Obsidian Community directory requirements. Obsidian sees them as separate plugins.

1. Completely exit Obsidian and back up the vault and the old plugin's data.json.
2. Install version 0.1.23 into a new floating-note-manager folder. Do not delete or overwrite the old folder.
3. Optional: with Obsidian closed, copy the old plugin's data.json into the new plugin directory to retain your shortcut and recent note settings.
4. Disable the old plugin before enabling the new one. Never enable the same global shortcut in both.
5. Restart Obsidian and verify new settings, note creation and window behavior. Your Markdown documents are not modified.

Community Directory review

Version 0.1.25 reduces non-blocking review warnings and moves the standalone picker styling into the standard styles.css asset. The Community Directory review-branch scan completed with no blocking errors.

Version 0.1.24 addresses the two blocking source-code audit findings in the initial 0.1.23 review: the duplicated settings heading and direct style assignments. It also replaces the plugin-name-prefixed command name and an unnecessary raw DOM creation. The new release intentionally includes only the three Obsidian-required assets.

Compatibility and privacy

• Desktop Obsidian 1.13.1 or newer (minimum declared version). Not intended for mobile.
• Native window management and global shortcuts use desktop Obsidian/Electron interfaces. Availability depends on operating system, app build and other shortcuts.
• Search matches Markdown filenames and paths, not full note contents.
• The plugin works locally without network services or telemetry. Only preferences, recent file paths and window state are stored in its own data.json. Your Markdown files remain in the vault.

Development

Requires Node.js 24+ and npm:

npm ci
npm run build
npm test

Source: src/; tests: tests/. Build output: main.js.

License

MIT License, Copyright 2026 WinterSimon. This is a community-developed plugin not affiliated with Obsidian.