MyLoc

MyLoc is an Obsidian plugin for location-aware note taking with two separate concerns:

• presence logging: log in to and log out from saved places
• location insertion: insert the current location into a note without changing presence state

The plugin is built around place notes stored in your vault, active sessions stored in plugin state, and a global monthly timeline written automatically.

Core Model

Places

Places are normal markdown files stored under a configured root folder such as Places/.

Each place note defines:

• where the place is
• how large its detection radius is
• optional alternate text for inline logging
• optional place-specific inline insert text

Active sessions

When you log in to a place, the plugin creates an active session for that place. Multiple places can be active at the same time.

Logs

Every login/logout event is always written to:

• the place note
• the monthly global timeline

Inline insertion into the current note is optional.

Features

• Log in to one or more nearby places
• Log out from one or more active places
• Show all active places in a dedicated command
• Store places as editable markdown notes in your vault
• Create a new place from the current location
• Automatically append login/logout entries to place files
• Automatically append login/logout entries to a monthly global timeline
• Insert the current location into a note without changing session state
• Prompt to log in first when inserting inside unlogged nearby places
• Use place-specific inline_text for insert output when available
• Optionally create a per-visit note when logging in, for free-form notes about that specific visit

Commands

Insert current location

Gets the current location and inserts it into the current note.

Behavior:

• detects nearby saved places
• if there are nearby saved places that are not currently active, prompts:
  • Log in and insert
  • Insert only
  • Cancel
• if the detected place has inline_text, also offers:
  • standard full location output
  • place-specific inline text

This command does not log you in or out unless you explicitly choose Log in and insert.

Default full output:

Pantheon
48.846222, 2.346414
[Open in Map](https://www.openstreetmap.org/?...)

Log in

Starts one or more active place sessions.

Behavior:

• detects nearby places and preselects unlogged matches
• lets you select saved places manually from the full known-places list, even when they are not detected nearby
• lets you create a new place at the current location
• always writes login entries to:
  • the place note
  • the monthly timeline
• optionally appends inline login text to the current note
• optionally creates a per-visit note for a selected place (see Visit Notes)

Log out

Ends one or more active place sessions.

Behavior:

• shows all active places
• preselects places matching the current location when possible
• always writes logout entries to:
  • the place note
  • the monthly timeline
• optionally appends inline logout text to the current note

Active places

Shows the current active sessions and lets you log out from selected places.

It also includes Check past time..., which lets you choose a date and time and see which places were active then based on the timeline.

Create place note manually

Creates a place note without using the current device location.

Use this when you want to prepare known places in advance. The command asks for:

• place path
• latitude
• longitude
• radius
• optional inline_name
• optional inline_text
• optional tags

Place Notes

Places are discovered from markdown files under the configured places root folder.

Recommended path example:

Places/France/Paris/Pantheon.md

Required frontmatter:

---
myloc-type: place
name: Pantheon
inline_name: ""
inline_text: ""
location: [48.846222, 2.346414]
radius: 120
tags:
  - paris
  - monument
---

Field meanings:

• myloc-type: must be place
• name: canonical place name
• inline_name: optional alternate label used by inline login/logout templates
• inline_text: optional place-specific text for Insert current location
• location: latitude/longitude pair
• radius: detection radius in meters
• tags: optional tags stored in frontmatter

When a new place is created by the plugin, the body is initialized like this:

# Pantheon

## Details
- Address: Rue Soufflot, Paris, France
- Coordinates: 48.846222, 2.346414
- Radius: 120 m
- Map: [Open in Map](...)

## Log

The plugin appends login/logout entries under ## Log, using logged in / logged out wording and a daily-note link for the event date. The daily-note filename format is configurable in MyLoc settings. When available, the Daily Notes core plugin folder is still reused for the link path.

Example:

- [[2026-06-20]] 14:22 logged in
- [[2026-06-20]] 16:05 logged out · 1h 43m

Timeline

The plugin writes a monthly timeline file inside the timeline folder under your places root.

Example path:

Places/_timeline/2026-06.md

Example content:

- [[2026-06-20]] 14:22 logged in [[France/Paris/Pantheon|Pantheon]]
- [[2026-06-20]] 16:05 logged out [[France/Paris/Pantheon|Pantheon]] · 1h 43m

The daily-note link uses the configured daily note filename as its display text, so folder paths stay hidden in the timeline.

Timeline entries do not include the note from which the command was run.

Visit Notes

Presence logging records the fact of a visit. A visit note is an optional place to write about a specific visit.

Visit notes are created only from the Log in flow: each selected place shows a visit toggle (off by default). Enable it to create a visit note for that login.

Visit notes are stored in their own folder under the places root, grouped by month:

Places/_visit-notes/2026-07/202607041630_Pantheon.md

The filename is {yyyymmddhhmm}_{place name}. Each note is seeded with the creation time, the location captured at login, a link back to the place note, and an empty ## Notes section for you to fill in:

---
myloc-type: visit
name: "Pantheon"
location: [48.846222, 2.346414]
tags:
  - paris
  - monument
created_date: 2026-07-04
created_time: 16:30
---

# Pantheon — 2026-07-04 16:30

- Place: [[Places/France/Paris/Pantheon|Pantheon]]
- Coordinates: 48.846222, 2.346414
- Map: [Open in Map](...)
- Address: Rue Soufflot, Paris, France

## Notes

The visit note is linked back from the place note's login line and, when inline logging is enabled, from the inline login text in your current note. Created visit notes open automatically so you can start writing.

Because visit notes carry myloc-type: visit (not place), they are never treated as places or matched against your location.

Inline Logging

Login/logout can optionally append text to the current note.

These templates are configured globally in settings:

• Inline log heading
• Inline login text
• Inline logout text

If Inline log heading is set, inline logs are appended under that exact heading when it exists in the current note. If the heading is not found, the plugin falls back to appending the text at the end of the current cursor line.

Default values:

📍 Logged in: {place} · {time}
📍 Logged out: {place} · {time} · {duration}

Supported placeholders:

• {place}: wikilink to the place note, displayed using inline_name if set, otherwise name
• {placeName}: canonical place name
• {inlineName}: raw inline_name
• {placeLink}: wikilink to the place note
• {date}
• {time}
• {datetime}
• {duration}: meaningful for logout templates

Place-Specific Insert Text

inline_text is used only by Insert current location.

If the detected place has a non-empty inline_text, the insert prompt lets you choose it instead of the standard full output. {place} in inline_text is also the aliased wikilink form.

Supported placeholders in inline_text:

• {place}
• {placeName}
• {inlineName}
• {placeLink}
• {lat}
• {lon}
• {coords}
• {mapUrl}

Example:

inline_text: "At {place} ({coords}) · {placeLink}"

Settings

The plugin settings are intentionally small.

Storage

• Places root folder
• Timeline folder name
• Visit notes folder name
• Default radius

Inline logging

• Inline logging enabled by default (enabled by default for new installs)
• Inline log heading
• Daily note filename format
• Inline login text
• Inline logout text

Location

• Allow reverse geocoding
• Allow approximate IP fallback
• Address language
• Timezone

Privacy: when Allow reverse geocoding is enabled (the default), your coordinates are sent over HTTPS to OpenStreetMap Nominatim to resolve an address. When Allow approximate IP fallback is enabled, your IP is sent to an IP-geolocation service. Both can be turned off; GPS/geolocation itself never leaves the device.

Usage Examples

Create a place

1. Run Log in
2. Choose Create new place here
3. Enter a path such as France/Paris/Pantheon
4. Enter radius, optional inline_name, optional inline_text, and tags
5. Confirm

Log in at a nearby place

1. Run Log in
2. Select one or more detected places
3. Optionally enable inline append
4. Confirm

Result:

• active session is created
• place note gets a login entry
• timeline gets a login entry
• current note gets inline text only if you chose that option

Insert location without logging in

1. Run Insert current location
2. If prompted, choose Insert only
3. Choose standard output or place inline_text when available

Development

Commands

npm install
npm test
npm run lint
npm run build
npm run deploy:prod
npm run deploy:test
npm run deploy

.env for vault deployment

Create a .env file in the project root:

OBSIDIAN_PLUGIN_PATH=/path/to/your/main/vault/.obsidian/plugins/myloc/
OBSIDIAN_TEST_PLUGIN_PATH=/path/to/your/test/vault/.obsidian/plugins/myloc/

Deployment scripts:

• npm run deploy:prod: build output must already exist or be built separately; copies main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css to the main vault
• npm run deploy:test: build output must already exist or be built separately; copies main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css to the test vault
• npm run deploy: runs build, then deploys to both prod and test vaults

Current code layout

myloc/
├── main.ts
├── location-service.ts
├── note-service.ts
├── ui.ts
├── types.ts
├── utils.ts
└── tests/