Obsidian Canvas is a core plugin that provides an infinite space for visualizing ideas, allowing users to organize notes, embed various media, and create diagrams. It features extensibility through an API, supports local storage in JSON format, and offers numerous tips for creating, modifying, connecting, and arranging cards. Community demos showcase its diverse applications in personal and professional contexts.
Obsidian
Infinite space to research, brainstorm, diagram, and lay out your ideas. Canvas is a core plugin included for free with Obsidian.
A playground for thought
Canvas allows you to organize notes visually — an infinite space to research, brainstorm, diagram and lay out your ideas.
Embed your notes alongside images, PDFs, videos, audio, and even fully interactive web pages.
Obsidian 1.0 for desktop and mobile
A new way to think
Effortlessly add existing notes and media from your vault, and edit them within a Canvas view.
Canvas views can be embedded in notes, and even nested within another Canvas.
Obsidian 1.0 for desktop and mobile
Extensible and interoperable
Like everything else in Obsidian, Canvas is extensible and designed to be durable. Our API makes it easy to create plugins that add new capabilities to Canvas. Your Canvas files are stored locally using the open JSON Canvas file format that we designed to work with other tools. Apps, scripts, and plugins can easily enhance Canvas by adding or modifying cards and connections.
Obsidian 1.0 for desktop and mobile
Flexible and intuitive
Canvas is packed with functionality. This collection of tips will help you discover how you can use Canvas to its fullest.
Create a canvas (3 tips)
From ribbon
Create in folder
From command palette
Card types (6 tips)
Text card
Markdown file embed
Image & video
PDF file
Webpage
Nested canvas
Create cards (10 tips)
Click toolbar to create text card
Click toolbar to create note card
Double click to create
Drag from toolbar to create
Right click to create
Connect and create
Paste text to create
Create website by pasting URL
Create YouTube embed
Bulk create cards from folder
Modify cards (7 tips)
Swap file for card
Convert text card to file
Narrow down to headings
Change URL of webpage card
Smart auto-resize cards
Manually resize cards
Delete card
Connections (7 tips)
Connect two cards
Add label to connection
Remove label from connection
Add color to connection
Connect to a group
Update connection target
Delete connection
Pan and scroll (4 tips)
Scroll up and down
Hold Shift to scroll left and right
Hold Space and drag to pan
Hold middle or right click to pan
Zoom (6 tips)
Hold Ctrl or Cmd and scroll
Hold Space and scroll
Zoom to fit all cards
Zoom to fit all cards with hotkey
Zoom to selection
Zoom to selection with hotkey
Select cards (5 tips)
Select a single card
Drag to select multiple cards
Add or remove one card from selection
Add or remove multiple cards from selection
Select all cards in the canvas
Arrange cards (10 tips)
Move cards
Duplicate cards
Move card along an axis
Snap card to grid
Snap card to align with other cards
Move card without aligning
Align selected cards on one end
Align selected cards on both ends
Bulk arrange selected cards
Spread selected cards evenly
Group cards (6 tips)
Right click to create group
Create group of a certain size
Create group around cards
Rename a group
Select a group
Nest groups
Colors (6 tips)
Add color to card
Add color to group
Add color to connection
Pick a custom color
Remove color
Export (2 tips)
Export what you see to image
Export entire canvas to image
Community demos
Explore how members of the Obsidian community are using Canvas for the personal life and at work.