Napkin Notes

Minimal Obsidian plugin for turning handwritten notes, sketches, and whiteboard photos into simple, interactive image carousels.

Does your handwriting suck too much for OCR? No problem - easily sync your physical and digital notes with inline Napkin Notes.

Features

• Filesystem upload or QR code upload from your phone
• Group your physical notes into inline, PDF-style viewers
• Optional image annotations for easy search
• Responsive design for desktop and mobile
• Light/Dark mode support

Usage

1. Open a note and open the command palette (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P) > "Insert Napkin Notes"
2. Upload images directly or scan the QR code to upload from your phone
3. Optionally add annotations
4. Insert into your note

Upload methods

Choose your preferred upload method. On the Obsidain mobile app, you'll only be able to choose "from Filesystem" (i.e. your photo gallery)

From Filesystem

From Camera (Wifi required)

Scan the QR code to send images instantly from your phone. Capture new photos or upload from your gallery straight to your desktop.

• Smart phone must be on same wifi network as your computer to send
• If you get "low memory" error with camera capture, your phone unfortunately isn't optimized for camerea capture. Use photo gallery instead.

Markdown Format

Images references are stored as plain text in a code block:

```napkin-notes
[[assets/napkin-note-2026-01-15-16-16-37-1.jpg]]


[[assets/napkin-note-2026-01-15-16-16-37-2.jpg]]
Optional description
```

Settings

• Set custom folder for attachments (defaults to your Obsidian attachment location setting)
• Napkin Mode: adds (dirty) paper napkin texture to your Napkin Notes.

License

MIT

Author

Claire Froelich

🍠 Buy me a potato