Simple Table Formulas

An Obsidian plugin that adds spreadsheet-style formulas to Markdown tables. Write a formula directly into a table cell (e.g. =SUM(B2:B4)), then run a command to evaluate it. The computed value is baked into the cell, with the original formula preserved in an inline %%...%% comment so it can be recovered and re-edited later.

The goal is to have computed data in markdown tables for situations where a dedicated spreadsheet is overkill, but all data, computed and the formulas, is stored in plain text in the markdown file for future portability.

I built this plugin for my personal use initially on 2026-07-11 and 2026-07-12. I built it with the assistance of Claude Code using Sonnet 5 as the model. I have personally reviewed all code and manually modified it during the process. This was an LLM assisted, but careful development process as I used this as an opportunity to focus on using an LLM for development work while focusing on high level details.

Commands

• Table Calc: Calculate table — evaluates every formula in the table under the cursor and bakes the results in place.
• Table Calc: Edit formula at cursor — restores the bare formula in a baked cell so it can be edited again.

Development

• npm i — install dependencies.
• npm run dev — compile src/main.ts to main.js in watch mode.
• npm run build — type-check and produce a production build.
• npm test — run the Vitest unit test suite.
• npm run lint — run ESLint.

Manually installing the plugin

Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css (if present) to VaultFolder/.obsidian/plugins/simple-table-formulas/, then reload Obsidian and enable the plugin under Settings → Community plugins.