New Note Button

A simple Obsidian plugin that adds an Apple Notes-like New Note button to Obsidian Mobile.

The plugin displays a floating button in the bottom-right corner of the screen, allowing you to create a new note with a single tap.

Motivation

On iOS, Apple Notes provides an easily accessible button for creating a new note from almost anywhere in the app.

Obsidian Mobile does not currently provide an equivalent persistent button in the main editor interface.

New Note Button aims to provide that experience while keeping the implementation small and unobtrusive.

The button is rendered independently from Obsidian's tab/title bar, so it does not depend on plugins such as Commander.

Features

• Floating New Note button in the bottom-right corner
• Designed primarily for Obsidian Mobile / iOS
• One-tap note creation
• Opens the newly created note immediately
• Hides while either mobile sidebar is open
• Respects the iOS safe area
• Uses Obsidian theme variables where possible
• Independent from the title bar and tab bar
• No dependency on Commander

Installation

Community plugins

Once the plugin is listed in the Obsidian Community Plugins directory:

1. Open Settings → Community plugins in Obsidian.
2. Select Browse and search for New Note Button.
3. Install the plugin, then enable it.

Manual installation

Download the latest release from GitHub:

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.

2. Create the following directory inside your vault:

   .obsidian/plugins/new-note-button/

3. Place the three downloaded files inside that directory.

4. Restart Obsidian.

5. Open:

   Settings → Community plugins

6. Enable New Note Button.

Development

Clone this repository into your Obsidian development vault:

cd /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins
git clone https://github.com/prtta/new-note-button.git
cd new-note-button
npm install
npm run dev

Reload Obsidian after making changes.

Run npm run build for a type-checked production build and npm test for automated lifecycle and note-creation checks using a mocked Obsidian API.

How it works

The button creates an empty Untitled.md in the location selected in Obsidian's new-note settings and immediately opens it in editing mode. If that name already exists, the plugin uses Untitled 1.md, Untitled 2.md, and so on. Existing files are never overwritten.

The button is hidden while either mobile sidebar is open and returns when the sidebar closes.

Privacy

New Note Button works entirely inside your vault. It does not use network connections, accounts, analytics, telemetry, or advertising.

Project Structure

new-note-button/
├── README.md
├── LICENSE
├── AGENTS.md
├── manifest.json
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
├── esbuild.config.mjs
├── main.ts
├── styles.css
└── tests/

Design Principles

New Note Button should remain:

• Small
• Fast
• Mobile-first
• Visually unobtrusive
• Compatible with Obsidian themes
• Independent from Obsidian's header controls
• Focused on one task: creating a new note quickly

The initial implementation intentionally avoids becoming a general-purpose toolbar or command launcher.

Compatibility

New Note Button requires Obsidian 1.13.7 or later and is designed for iPhone and iPad. The button is intentionally hidden on desktop and Android. Keyboard-aware repositioning is not included in the current version.

License

MIT © 2026 prtta