Links in New Tabs

An Obsidian plugin that causes internal links ([[WikiLinks]], Markdown links, Properties links, Backlinks, Outgoing Links, Graph nodes, Canvas links, and Follow link under cursor) to open in a new tab by default instead of replacing the current tab.

Why this suite exists

I created this suite of Obsidian plugins and the DoomEsque theme so that I can be 100 percent certain there are no network calls or traffic: everything runs 100 percent offline, so I can use Obsidian for my notes in open-book law exams.

• Nothing in the suite makes a network request. Every test run checks the source, built bundle and styles with scripts/offline-audit.mjs, which fails on any network API (fetch, XMLHttpRequest, WebSocket, requestUrl, ...).
• Obsidian itself has separate online features. For a fully offline setup, also turn off automatic updates, Sync and Publish, and don't browse community plugins during the exam.

The suite:

• DoomEsque (theme)
• DoomEsque Settings
• Filetypes
• Inline Autocomplete
• Inline Schema Expander
• Links in New Tabs
• Pomodoro Flashcards
• Task Docket
• Whole-Tree Search

Features

• Open links in a new tab by default: Clicking any internal link opens it in a new tab (or optionally a right split or popout window).
• Smart same-note heading and block links: Anchor links within the currently active note (such as [[#Heading]] or [[CurrentNote#Section]]) scroll the current tab in place rather than opening a duplicate tab.
• Optional tab reuse: Switch to an already-open tab instead of opening a duplicate tab if the target note is already open anywhere in your workspace.
• Cmd/Ctrl+click inversion: Invert the modifier key behavior so holding Cmd (macOS) or Ctrl (Windows/Linux) while clicking a link opens it in the current tab, while context-menu "Open in new tab" continues to open in a new tab.
• Multi-window support: Seamlessly respects popout windows and multi-window desktop layouts.
• Cooperative lifecycle: Built with monkey-around to cooperate cleanly with other plugins hooking workspace.openLinkText, automatically restoring native behavior upon unload.

Privacy & Security Disclosures

In accordance with Obsidian Developer Policies:

• Zero network requests: This plugin makes no network calls, communicates with no remote servers or APIs, and contains no external tracking or telemetry scripts.
• Offline audit: Every test run checks the source, built bundle and styles with scripts/offline-audit.mjs, which fails on any network API (fetch, XMLHttpRequest, WebSocket, requestUrl, workers, dynamic import(), ...), dynamic code (eval, new Function), raw HTML injection, or remote CSS (@import, non-data: url()).
• 100% offline & local: All link resolution runs entirely in-memory within your local Obsidian vault.
• No external file access: This plugin never reads, creates, or modifies files outside of your local Obsidian vault directory.
• No account or payment required: Free and open-source under the MIT license.

Settings

Commands

• Links in New Tabs: Toggle default link opening behavior — Quick hotkey toggle to enable or disable the plugin.

Installation

Community Plugins Directory (Recommended)

1. Open Obsidian Settings → Community plugins.
2. Turn off Restricted mode.
3. Click Browse and search for Links in New Tabs.
4. Click Install, then click Enable.

Manual Installation

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest GitHub Release.
2. Create a folder named links-in-new-tabs inside your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory.
3. Move main.js and manifest.json into .obsidian/plugins/links-in-new-tabs/.
4. Reload Obsidian and enable Links in New Tabs in Settings → Community plugins.

Development

# Run unit tests
npm test

# Build production bundle
npm run build

License

MIT © blursedperf