Obsidian Canvas is a core plugin included for free with Obsidian that provides an infinite space to research, brainstorm, diagram, and lay out ideas. It allows you to organize notes visually, embed various media types, and is extensible and interoperable. The Canvas is flexible and intuitive, packed with functionality, and offers features like connections, pan and scroll, zoom, card selection, arrangement, grouping, colors, and export options. It is widely used by the Obsidian community for personal and professional purposes.
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)
Double click 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
Smart auto-resize cards
Manually resize cards
Delete card
Connections (7 tips)
Connect two cards
Remove label from connection
Connect to a group
Update connection target
Delete connection
Pan and scroll (4 tips)
Scroll up and down
Hold middle or right click to pan
Zoom (6 tips)
Hold Space and scroll
Zoom to fit all cards
Zoom to selection
Zoom to selection with hotkey
Select cards (5 tips)
Select a single card
Drag to select multiple cards
Select all cards in the canvas
Arrange cards (10 tips)
Move cards
Duplicate cards
Move card along an axis
Snap card to grid
Move card without aligning
Bulk arrange selected cards
Spread selected cards evenly
Group cards (6 tips)
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.