Just Note

Open an Obsidian note in a focused pop-out window without tabs, sidebars, or the ribbon. The window contains a normal Obsidian file view, so editing, reading mode, links, metadata, and vault synchronization remain managed by Obsidian.

The main use case is to make an important Obsidian note feel like an independent macOS application. A Shortcut can launch a particular note directly into its own minimal Just Note window, giving dashboards, task lists, journals, and frequently used notes their own app-like icons.

Demo

Open any vault note as a focused window, move it independently, and assign a persistent color without modifying the note itself.

Usage

Use Open in Just Note from:

• The command palette
• A file's context menu
• The editor context menu

Use Just Note: Set note color… from the command palette to assign a color to the active note. Colors are stored in the plugin's internal data and apply only to Just Note windows; the Markdown file and its frontmatter are not modified.

Launch a note from macOS Shortcuts

Just Note registers an Obsidian URI that identifies a vault and a note:

obsidian://just-note?vault=My%20Vault&file=Notes%2FBrainDump.md

To create a dedicated launcher in Apple Shortcuts:

1. Open Shortcuts on your Mac and create a new shortcut.
2. Add the URL action.
3. Paste your obsidian://just-note URI into the URL field.
4. Add the Open URLs action after it.
5. Give the shortcut the name and icon you want for the note.
6. Run it once to confirm that Obsidian opens the note in a Just Note window.
7. Optionally add the shortcut to the Dock, menu bar, desktop, or another macOS launcher.

Repeat these steps with a different file value to create multiple app-like launchers, each opening its own specific Obsidian note.

The vault value is the vault name and file is the path from the vault root. Percent-encode spaces, slashes, and other special characters:

Vault name:  Work Notes
Note path:   Dashboards/Weekly Plan.md
URI:         obsidian://just-note?vault=Work%20Notes&file=Dashboards%2FWeekly%20Plan.md

Just Note must be installed and enabled in the target vault. If Obsidian is already running, the Shortcut uses that vault and opens the requested note. If Obsidian is closed, macOS launches it through the obsidian:// link.

Link from another Obsidian note

The same URI can be used as a Markdown link:

[Open Weekly Plan in Just Note](obsidian://just-note?vault=Work%20Notes&file=Dashboards%2FWeekly%20Plan.md)

Development installation

Install dependencies and start the development build:

npm install
npm run dev

Then link this repository into the vault's plugin directory:

ln -s "/absolute/path/to/this/repository" \
  "/absolute/path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/just-note"

Reload Obsidian, open Settings → Community plugins, and enable Just Note.

For a one-time production build, run:

npm run build

Implementation

The plugin uses Obsidian's native openPopoutLeaf() functionality and opens the selected TFile in that leaf. Minimal, window-scoped CSS hides the surrounding workspace chrome.

License and acknowledgment

Just Note is licensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. The project began as a reworking of Obsidian Sticky Notes and retains acknowledgment of that project's contribution and license.