Vault Web

Open and edit your vault in a local browser tab.

Vault Web is a desktop-only plugin that starts a small local server on 127.0.0.1 and opens a browser interface for the current vault. It is useful when you want to keep notes next to a browser page, split your screen, or use a regular browser tab while still writing to the same local Markdown files.

Vault Web is not a cloud sync service or a hosted web app. It runs on your machine and works with the vault that is currently open in the desktop app.

Features

• Browse and search Markdown notes.
• Edit notes in the browser with autosave.
• Switch between Edit and Preview.
• Render Markdown tables and Mermaid diagrams.
• Follow wiki links.
• Inspect outgoing links and backlinks.
• Open the current note in the desktop app.
• Collapse and resize the notes sidebar and links panel.
• Switch between dark and light themes.
• Optionally import colors and fonts from the current desktop theme.
• Configure the local port, Node.js path, and startup behavior.

Requirements

Vault Web requires Node.js on your computer because the browser interface is served by a local Node server.

Download Node.js from the official website if it is not already installed:

https://nodejs.org/

Usage

Run Vault Web: Open from the command palette or click the globe icon in the left ribbon. The plugin starts the local server and opens the vault web interface in your default browser.

You can also enable auto-start in the plugin settings:

• Start server when Obsidian opens
• Open browser after auto-start

Theme source can be set to Vault Web or Desktop theme. When Desktop theme is selected, Vault Web imports the current desktop theme colors and fonts into the browser interface.

The default local address is:

http://127.0.0.1:4177

If that port is already used, change it in the plugin settings.

What to expect

Vault Web focuses on a fast side-by-side writing workflow:

• write notes while reading in a browser;
• keep the same Markdown files on disk;
• use the desktop app and browser view at the same time;
• switch quickly between raw Markdown editing and rendered preview.

It does not try to reimplement every desktop app feature. Plugin views, canvas files, advanced editor extensions, and full theme compatibility are outside the current scope.

Security

Vault Web is designed for local use:

• the server binds to 127.0.0.1;
• API requests require a per-plugin token;
• requests with a foreign Origin header are rejected;
• the token is stored in local plugin data.

This plugin starts a local Node.js process and can read and write Markdown files in the currently opened vault. This is necessary for the browser editor to work, but it also means you should only use the plugin on computers and vaults you trust.

Troubleshooting

If the browser does not open or the page does not load:

• make sure Node.js is installed;
• set the full path to node.exe in the plugin settings if auto-detection fails;
• try another port if 4177 is already in use;
• check whether antivirus or browser security software is rewriting local scripts.

On Windows, a common Node.js path is:

C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe

Development

For contributors:

npm install
npm run build

main.ts is the plugin source. main.js is the bundled plugin entry point. The browser app and local server live in vault-web/.

Vault Web bundles its browser app into main.js and restores it into the plugin folder at runtime. Mermaid is shipped from the bundled vault-web/vendor/mermaid.min.js; the browser app does not load Mermaid from a CDN.