Note Colab

Share an Obsidian note as a clean web page, send it directly to another vault, or edit it together in real time.

Note Colab works immediately with the hosted service at notecolab.com. You do not need an email address or password to share your first note.

Your first five minutes

1. Install and enable Note Colab in Obsidian.
2. Follow the short first-use guide. Note Colab connects automatically and creates an anonymous identity for the hosted service.
3. Open the note you want to share.
4. Open the command palette with Ctrl/Cmd+P and run Note Colab: Share note. You can also open the Note Colab dashboard from the ribbon and select Share current note.
5. Choose who should have access, then copy and send the link.

That is all you need to start. If anything feels confusing or stops you from using Note Colab, please tell me on GitHub. Feature requests are welcome too.

Install

From Obsidian's Community plugins directory

1. Open Settings → Community plugins.
2. Turn off Restricted mode if Obsidian asks you to.
3. Select Browse, search for Note Colab, and select Install.
4. Select Enable.

Manual installation

1. Download main.js and manifest.json from the latest GitHub release.
2. Create <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/notecolab/.
3. Put both files in that folder.
4. Reload Obsidian and enable Note Colab under Settings → Community plugins.

Share a note

Open a Markdown note, then run Note Colab: Share note from the command palette or select Share current note in the Note Colab dashboard.

Choose the access that fits what you want to do:

For a view-only or editable link, you can also choose an expiry time and adjust the web reader's appearance. To send a note directly to another vault, select a trusted contact or paste the recipient's User ID.

Select Share & copy web link or Share with invited collaborators when you are ready. Note Colab copies the resulting link so you can send it using your preferred messaging app.

Note Colab adds colab_* properties to shared-note frontmatter. Keep these properties in the note. They identify the server copy and contain the information the plugin needs to reconnect securely.

Open a note someone shared

• Web link: Open the link in a browser. No Obsidian installation is needed to read a view-only note or join an editable session.
• Share link in Obsidian: Run Note Colab: Import shared note and paste the link.
• Direct delivery: Accept the notification in Obsidian. You can enable Auto-accept shared notes in settings if you want future deliveries to enter the vault without confirmation.

A directly delivered view-only note is a mirror. It stays synchronized with the owner's version and cannot be edited accidentally. Run Create editable copy of read-only note to make an independent local copy.

If a link belongs to a different Note Colab server, the plugin shows the server name and asks you to trust it before connecting. Direct invitations only work when both people have identities on the server hosting the note.

Collaborate and manage shares

Editable notes synchronize while they are open. Use Stop share sync to stop the live connection without removing the share. Use Revoke note share to remove the server copy and disable its links.

The bottom-right status indicator shows Only you here or You + N others for the current note. Click it to see participants and their public usernames, when set. The web reader and editor show the same presence information. You count while the note is the active tab in a focused, visible window. Switching tabs or apps removes you from the count without stopping background sync. Multiple connections from one signed-in account count once per note; anonymous sessions count separately. Older clients without foreground reporting are not included, and a disconnected client cannot show a current count.

Your public username and foreground presence are visible to the hosting server and people with access to the note, including anonymous link visitors. Full User IDs and private trusted-contact aliases are not included in the participant list. Presence is temporary and does not record an activity history.

Open the dashboard from the ribbon or run Note Colab: Open dashboard to:

• share the active note;
• see notes you own and notes shared with you;
• copy or revoke links;
• manage collaborators;
• review storage use;
• remove server copies you no longer need.

Run Note Colab: Manage shared links while viewing a shared note to create separate links with different permissions, expiry times, labels, or reader appearance. Revoking one link does not revoke the others.

Your identity and settings

Open Settings → Note Colab to find your User ID, sharing defaults, trusted contacts, and storage information.

• Your User ID lets another Note Colab user invite you directly.
• An optional public username makes your User ID easier for collaborators to recognize.
• Trusted-contact aliases are private to your vault.
• A Web password is optional unless you want to use the server's web dashboard.

Save your full User ID and set a Web password before buying storage. Together, they can restore the same identity, notes, and plan after reinstalling the plugin or moving to another vault.

Changing Server URL creates a separate identity on the new server. It does not move shares, contacts, or account settings between servers.

Troubleshooting

• Typing disappears or the cursor jumps while another sync plugin is active: If you use SimpleSync, update it to version 0.1.28 or later on affected devices. Older builds can overwrite recent edits. Test with a disposable shared note open in both Obsidian and the web editor after updating.
• Share current note does nothing: Make sure a Markdown note is open and active, then try Note Colab: Share note from the command palette.
• Automatic connection fails: Open Settings → Note Colab, confirm the Server URL, and try connecting again.
• The note is already shared: Run Note Colab: Manage shared links to copy its existing link or create another one.
• A recipient cannot accept an invitation: Confirm that both users are connected to the same Note Colab server. Ordinary view-only and editable links can be opened across servers.

Privacy essentials

• Current clients encrypt stored Markdown, titles, and supported embedded images on your device before upload.
• The decryption key is stored after # in a share link. Keep the complete link private and send it only to intended recipients.
• Anyone with a view-only link can read and copy the shared content. Anyone with an editable link can also change it.
• Live collaboration text is visible to the collaboration relay while a room is active. Do not treat live collaboration as a zero-knowledge channel.
• Share metadata, including identifiers, permissions, timestamps, sizes, collaborators, image filenames, and MIME types, is visible to the server.
• Older shares may retain a plaintext title until a current owner client updates them.
• Note Colab stores its server credential and private key in Obsidian plugin data, and stores note keys in shared-note frontmatter. Protect your vault and its backups accordingly.
• The plugin has no telemetry or advertising.

Use a server you trust and always use HTTPS.

Use another server

Note Colab can connect to a compatible self-hosted service:

1. Open Settings → Note Colab.
2. Enter the server origin, such as https://notes.example.com. Do not append /api/v1.
3. Select Connect and enter a registration code if the server requires one.
4. Confirm that a new User ID appears, then test a share.

The server must implement the Note Colab HTTP and WebSocket contract. Identities and direct invitations are scoped to one server.

Feedback and support

Please open a GitHub issue to report a bug, request a feature, or explain what is holding you back from using Note Colab. Do not include private notes, complete share links, API keys, or other credentials.

Development

Use a separate test vault for plugin development.

npm ci
npm test
npm run build

Copy main.js and manifest.json into <test-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/notecolab/, then reload Obsidian.

License

The public plugin is available under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE in the repository root.