1321
kepano
@kepano #1321
making /obsidian • writing stephango.com
209030 Follower 311 Following
Obsidian Web Clipper now lets you save directly to .md files so you can use the browser extension with any text editor
great new release: II by DESTIINO/Yuksek
Obsidian 1.8.9 is now available to all for desktop and mobile
- Improved performance for navigating large numbers of files in the file explorer
- List auto-numbering now preserves custom starting numbers
- When "Smart indent lists" is disabled, the editor no longer automatically renumbers lists
- Fixed regression causing large vaults to take significantly longer to load and save the cache
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-03-05-desktop-v1.8.9/
- Improved performance for navigating large numbers of files in the file explorer
- List auto-numbering now preserves custom starting numbers
- When "Smart indent lists" is disabled, the editor no longer automatically renumbers lists
- Fixed regression causing large vaults to take significantly longer to load and save the cache
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-03-05-desktop-v1.8.9/
new project — defuddle
> de·fud·dle /diˈfʌdl/ transitive verb
> to remove unnecessary elements from a web page, and make it easily readable.
Inspired by my work on Obsidian Web Clipper I created Defuddle, an open source library to replace Mozilla's Readability in my projects. Defuddle extracts the main content from web pages. It's a bit more forgiving and tunable to my preferences.
Notably, Defuddle uses a website's mobile styles to find unnecessary elements that can be removed from the page.
still a work in progress but you can try it out in Obsidian Web Clipper 0.10.9, or install it via NPM
> de·fud·dle /diˈfʌdl/ transitive verb
> to remove unnecessary elements from a web page, and make it easily readable.
Inspired by my work on Obsidian Web Clipper I created Defuddle, an open source library to replace Mozilla's Readability in my projects. Defuddle extracts the main content from web pages. It's a bit more forgiving and tunable to my preferences.
Notably, Defuddle uses a website's mobile styles to find unnecessary elements that can be removed from the page.
still a work in progress but you can try it out in Obsidian Web Clipper 0.10.9, or install it via NPM
perhaps it's more accurate to call personal notes an ecosystem rather than a garden — the most memetic notes survive
if a note is memetic enough it spreads to other notes as a link... if a note is never linked from/to it slowly becomes extinct
if a note is memetic enough it spreads to other notes as a link... if a note is never linked from/to it slowly becomes extinct
Fractal journaling and random revisit
I use Obsidian’s unique note hotkey to write individual thoughts as they come up throughout the day. This automatically creates a note with the prefix YYYY-MM-DD HHmm to which I may append a title that describes the idea.
Every few days I review these journal fragments and compile the salient thoughts. I then review these reviews monthly and yearly. Each time I pull out the most useful things, and draw connections where relevant. Yearly this takes the form of "40 questions to ask yourself every year". The result is a fractal web of my life that I can zoom in and out of at varying degrees of detail. I can trace back where individual thoughts came from, and how they bubbled up into bigger themes.
1/2
I use Obsidian’s unique note hotkey to write individual thoughts as they come up throughout the day. This automatically creates a note with the prefix YYYY-MM-DD HHmm to which I may append a title that describes the idea.
Every few days I review these journal fragments and compile the salient thoughts. I then review these reviews monthly and yearly. Each time I pull out the most useful things, and draw connections where relevant. Yearly this takes the form of "40 questions to ask yourself every year". The result is a fractal web of my life that I can zoom in and out of at varying degrees of detail. I can trace back where individual thoughts came from, and how they bubbled up into bigger themes.
1/2
Obsidian 1.8.8 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile.
A few highlights:
- Improved performance for navigating large numbers of files in the file explorer
- List auto-numbering now preserves custom starting numbers
- When "Smart indent lists" is disabled, the editor no longer automatically renumbers lists
- Fixed regression in Electron causing large vaults to take longer to load and save the cache
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-25-desktop-v1.8.8/
A few highlights:
- Improved performance for navigating large numbers of files in the file explorer
- List auto-numbering now preserves custom starting numbers
- When "Smart indent lists" is disabled, the editor no longer automatically renumbers lists
- Fixed regression in Electron causing large vaults to take longer to load and save the cache
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-25-desktop-v1.8.8/
freedom of encryption is a human right
Obsidian is now free for work.
Starting today, the Obsidian Commercial license is optional. Anyone can use Obsidian for work, for free. Explore the organizations that support Obsidian on our site.
https://obsidian.md/blog/free-for-work/
Starting today, the Obsidian Commercial license is optional. Anyone can use Obsidian for work, for free. Explore the organizations that support Obsidian on our site.
https://obsidian.md/blog/free-for-work/
Obsidian 1.8.7 is now available to all for desktop and mobile — lots of small bug fixes.
Mobile changelog
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-18-mobile-v1.8.7
Desktop changelog
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-18-desktop-v1.8.7
Mobile changelog
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-18-mobile-v1.8.7
Desktop changelog
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-18-desktop-v1.8.7
what feature should we remove from Obsidian?
- something old that no longer serves its purpose
- something that could be a plugin
- something you never use
- ?
- something old that no longer serves its purpose
- something that could be a plugin
- something you never use
- ?
Obsidian 1.8.6 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-12-desktop-v1.8.6
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-12-desktop-v1.8.6
there's been a sharp acceleration in Obsidian community plugin submissions, in part due to the rise of AI coding tools
it's a "good problem to have" but it's overwhelming our review process — our human reviewers can't keep up
what should we do?
1. lower the bar for plugin review, introduce more community heuristics
2. invest in AI code-review tools to try and automate the process (not easy)
3. ?
it's a "good problem to have" but it's overwhelming our review process — our human reviewers can't keep up
what should we do?
1. lower the bar for plugin review, introduce more community heuristics
2. invest in AI code-review tools to try and automate the process (not easy)
3. ?
Obsidian 1.8.5 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-03-desktop-v1.8.5
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-02-03-desktop-v1.8.5
lately I have been focused on writing and building more than speaking, so there was a lot to catch up on!
106
Jackson Dahl
@jackson·15:53 04/02/2025
/dialectic w/ Steph Ango (@kepano) is out now.
Steph is a designer, artist, entrepreneur, toolmaker, and CEO of
/obsidian, the tool I use to write, think, and store my ideas.
This is a must-listen for any designer or creative person. We discuss constraints, style, principles, reduction, digital durability, investing time, choosing what to work on, compounding, patience, and communicating your ideas.
Steph has worked across mediums: hardware, software, industrial design, packaging, open-source, content, instruments, and more. He's a toolmaker first and foremost, and we talk about how creative constraints enable us to stoke the flame inside us.
Steph is a prolific writer whose clarity and concision inspire me, and we discuss many of his most empowering ideas.
I believe these ideas will challenge you in unexpected ways and push you to be more creative, agentic, and optimistic.
Pods:
https://pods.media/dialectic/8-steph-ango-tools-for-amplifying-our-light?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC
Steph is a designer, artist, entrepreneur, toolmaker, and CEO of
/obsidian, the tool I use to write, think, and store my ideas.
This is a must-listen for any designer or creative person. We discuss constraints, style, principles, reduction, digital durability, investing time, choosing what to work on, compounding, patience, and communicating your ideas.
Steph has worked across mediums: hardware, software, industrial design, packaging, open-source, content, instruments, and more. He's a toolmaker first and foremost, and we talk about how creative constraints enable us to stoke the flame inside us.
Steph is a prolific writer whose clarity and concision inspire me, and we discuss many of his most empowering ideas.
I believe these ideas will challenge you in unexpected ways and push you to be more creative, agentic, and optimistic.
Pods:
https://pods.media/dialectic/8-steph-ango-tools-for-amplifying-our-light?referrer=0x9b902482E62Db8FC486C3f1acAA568006021DbEC
Obsidian 1.8.4 is now available with a few bug fixes.
- Fixed iOS issue with black screen after install.
- Fixed pressing Enter in a blockquote continues the blockquote correctly.
- Fixed canvas preview images failing to display.
- Fixed bug causing some plugins to not focus the correct tab when they open a file.
- Fixed iOS issue with black screen after install.
- Fixed pressing Enter in a blockquote continues the blockquote correctly.
- Fixed canvas preview images failing to display.
- Fixed bug causing some plugins to not focus the correct tab when they open a file.
Web views in 1.8 work just like any other Obsidian tab, meaning you can split vertically, split horizontally, stack tabs, pop out new windows, etc
this opens up new workflows for web research, or editing websites generated from your .md files
this opens up new workflows for web research, or editing websites generated from your .md files
Obsidian 1.8.3 is now available to all for desktop and mobile!
- Web viewer. New core plugin lets you open external links within Obsidian on desktop. This makes it easier to read linked content without leaving the app and improves multitasking for web research. The plugin can be enabled manually in settings.
- Improved iCloud sync. Obsidian no longer waits to confirm that configuration files have synced.
- New mobile onboarding. This guided flow helps new mobile users create and sync a vault.
- New "Download attachments for current file" command. Downloads all externally embedded images and replaces the external links with internal embeds.
See the changelog for dozens more improvements and bug fixes.
- Web viewer. New core plugin lets you open external links within Obsidian on desktop. This makes it easier to read linked content without leaving the app and improves multitasking for web research. The plugin can be enabled manually in settings.
- Improved iCloud sync. Obsidian no longer waits to confirm that configuration files have synced.
- New mobile onboarding. This guided flow helps new mobile users create and sync a vault.
- New "Download attachments for current file" command. Downloads all externally embedded images and replaces the external links with internal embeds.
See the changelog for dozens more improvements and bug fixes.
if I spent less time using Obsidian I might have more time to improve it, but then I wouldn't know what to improve
goofing around with some ui ideas for kepiano
music notation is hard for me, so I'm trying to create an intentional synesthetic connection between notes and colors in my brain
I made a new version of kepiano that connects via midi and displays the notes as flexoki colors (oh and there's a woodworking project in there too)
I made a new version of kepiano that connects via midi and displays the notes as flexoki colors (oh and there's a woodworking project in there too)
Obsidian 1.8.3 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile
Release notes:
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-28-desktop-v1.8.3/
Release notes:
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-28-desktop-v1.8.3/
think of local-first as a hardening function
local systems should remain operational even when the infrastructure isn't... when the infrastructure comes back online, changes are synced
it's the same reason you might want a battery or generator if the electrical grid goes down
local systems should remain operational even when the infrastructure isn't... when the infrastructure comes back online, changes are synced
it's the same reason you might want a battery or generator if the electrical grid goes down
computers started local-first and will go back to local-first
CMSes are a relic
Priorities for my personal site:
1. I can write and publish directly from Obsidian
2. I can preview the site offline
3. I can switch hosts easily, all the data is in my control
For a personal site I find that CMSes like Wordpress, Squarespace, and Webflow, add too much complexity and liability, while being less customizable. Friction has to be super low, otherwise I won't update it.
Instead learn to use a static site generator. There are many options: Jekyll, Hugo, Quartz, Astro, Eleventy, etc. It's become simple to build and deploy them. Once you have it set up, everything else is a breeze.
Some more detail on how I set up my website are at the bottom of this post: https://stephango.com/vault
1. I can write and publish directly from Obsidian
2. I can preview the site offline
3. I can switch hosts easily, all the data is in my control
For a personal site I find that CMSes like Wordpress, Squarespace, and Webflow, add too much complexity and liability, while being less customizable. Friction has to be super low, otherwise I won't update it.
Instead learn to use a static site generator. There are many options: Jekyll, Hugo, Quartz, Astro, Eleventy, etc. It's become simple to build and deploy them. Once you have it set up, everything else is a breeze.
Some more detail on how I set up my website are at the bottom of this post: https://stephango.com/vault
Obsidian 1.8.2 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile.
Contains many small improvements including:
– Numbered lists automatically update when modified
- Search in file shows the number of results
- Added "Insert footnote" command
- Added search to the Tags view
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-22-desktop-v1.8.2/
Contains many small improvements including:
– Numbered lists automatically update when modified
- Search in file shows the number of results
- Added "Insert footnote" command
- Added search to the Tags view
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-22-desktop-v1.8.2/
2024 Obsidian Gems of the Year results are in!
Explore the 33 winning projects across seven categories:
– Best new plugins
– Best new themes
– Best existing plugins
– Best tools
– Best content
– Best templates
– Best integrations
https://obsidian.md/blog/2024-goty-winners/
Explore the 33 winning projects across seven categories:
– Best new plugins
– Best new themes
– Best existing plugins
– Best tools
– Best content
– Best templates
– Best integrations
https://obsidian.md/blog/2024-goty-winners/
Voting has started for the fifth Gems of the Year awards! I can't believe it's been five years.
2024 Gems of the Year categories:
1. Best content
2. Best template
3. Best tool
4. Best existing plugin
5. Best LLM integration
6. Best third-party integration
7. Best new theme
8. Best new plugin
Join us on the official Obsidian Discord to vote:
https://obsidian.md/community
2024 Gems of the Year categories:
1. Best content
2. Best template
3. Best tool
4. Best existing plugin
5. Best LLM integration
6. Best third-party integration
7. Best new theme
8. Best new plugin
Join us on the official Obsidian Discord to vote:
https://obsidian.md/community
I have had dozens of cameras but the Sony RX100V is my favorite camera I have ever owned:
- tiny, fits in any pocket
- has an excellent pop-up viewfinder
- starts shooting faster than opening an app
- goes down to f1.8, ideal for low depth of field, fast moving subjects, low light
- the back screen flips up so I can shoot 90 degrees to the subject, ideal for street photography
- I can transfer photos wirelessly to my iPhone for editing
this camera is 9 years old but I cannot find anything better on the market today
- tiny, fits in any pocket
- has an excellent pop-up viewfinder
- starts shooting faster than opening an app
- goes down to f1.8, ideal for low depth of field, fast moving subjects, low light
- the back screen flips up so I can shoot 90 degrees to the subject, ideal for street photography
- I can transfer photos wirelessly to my iPhone for editing
this camera is 9 years old but I cannot find anything better on the market today
Here's a little tool I built to design Flexoki 2.0. I wanted artistic control over ramping while still interpolating colors programmatically with Oklab.
In the future it could be used to create more hues and emulate watercolor pigment types within the Flexoki color space.
In the future it could be used to create more hues and emulate watercolor pigment types within the Flexoki color space.
Obsidian 1.8.1 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile!
It includes several new commands and improvements for the Web Viewer plugin, along with a brand new onboarding flow for the mobile app.
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-07-desktop-v1.8.1
It includes several new commands and improvements for the Web Viewer plugin, along with a brand new onboarding flow for the mobile app.
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2025-01-07-desktop-v1.8.1
Flexoki 2.0 introduces 88 new colors that feel like watercolor pigments on paper. This is a continuation of my attempt to bring the feeling of analog color to digital emissive screens.
Flexoki 1.0 only provided the a range of values for the grayscale colors. What I have been working to solve since then is how to expand the palette to a full range of values for every color, without desaturating the pigment effect. I'm very happy with how this turned out.
Flexoki is open source under the MIT license, and already available for most text editors, terminals, and many other apps. Flexoki 2.0 makes it into a more capable color system for UIs and more complex projects.
stephango.com/flexoki
Flexoki 1.0 only provided the a range of values for the grayscale colors. What I have been working to solve since then is how to expand the palette to a full range of values for every color, without desaturating the pigment effect. I'm very happy with how this turned out.
Flexoki is open source under the MIT license, and already available for most text editors, terminals, and many other apps. Flexoki 2.0 makes it into a more capable color system for UIs and more complex projects.
stephango.com/flexoki
You built a house on someone else's land, and then they tore it down.
Build a house on your own land. From there you can create roads, bridges, tunnels to other people's land.
On the web land is infinite. You can make your own land.
Build a house on your own land. From there you can create roads, bridges, tunnels to other people's land.
On the web land is infinite. You can make your own land.
there can never be too much frangipane
first project of 2025: kepasa stamps for my stationery and dinner menus
Gems of the year nominations are open! Share your favorite Obsidian projects of 2024 by January 11th:
https://obsidian.md/blog/2024-goty-nominations/
https://obsidian.md/blog/2024-goty-nominations/
a side effect of tracking everything in /obsidian... I made this 2024 year in review for my partner — luckily she's also into data visualization 🥰
The accounting tool Bench shut down with no warning 3 days before the end of the year. They had raised $110m in venture capital.
The app is no longer accessible. There will be a way to export your data, but it's not available yet.
File over app is not just for individuals.
The app is no longer accessible. There will be a way to export your data, but it's not available yet.
File over app is not just for individuals.
Obsidian has completed a second independent audit by the security firm
Cure53.
The report finds that incremental updates since Obsidian 1.5.3 maintained the highest degree of attention to security, and that no new vulnerabilities were introduced.
https://obsidian.md/blog/cure53-second-client-audit/
Particular emphasis was placed on hardening the Web viewer plugin during its development process, to ensure it would pass our strict security standards.
We're proud to report that the Cure53 team reviewed the resolutions and concluded that their recommendations have been properly followed.
We make Obsidian so we can capture our own private thoughts and ideas. Independent audits help us ensure that our code and procedures meet the highest security standards. We will continue working with industry-leading security firms to provide comprehensive coverage and transparency towards this commitment.
Cure53.
The report finds that incremental updates since Obsidian 1.5.3 maintained the highest degree of attention to security, and that no new vulnerabilities were introduced.
https://obsidian.md/blog/cure53-second-client-audit/
Particular emphasis was placed on hardening the Web viewer plugin during its development process, to ensure it would pass our strict security standards.
We're proud to report that the Cure53 team reviewed the resolutions and concluded that their recommendations have been properly followed.
We make Obsidian so we can capture our own private thoughts and ideas. Independent audits help us ensure that our code and procedures meet the highest security standards. We will continue working with industry-leading security firms to provide comprehensive coverage and transparency towards this commitment.
"It is said that when carpenters take a break from their work, the tomte can be seen working on the house with their little axes."
"They can be irritable and vindictive when insulted. The tomte's wrath cannot be taken lightly due to their immense strength despite their size."
"They can be irritable and vindictive when insulted. The tomte's wrath cannot be taken lightly due to their immense strength despite their size."
is there a city that has better street food than Taipei?
if there is I want to go there next
if there is I want to go there next
a quick demo of how I edit my website with /obsidian 1.8
write in obsidian → auto-build in jekyll → preview local site in web viewer tab → push to github → auto-deploy to live site
I've been making websites for twenty five years, and this is by far the nicest it's ever been
write in obsidian → auto-build in jekyll → preview local site in web viewer tab → push to github → auto-deploy to live site
I've been making websites for twenty five years, and this is by far the nicest it's ever been
Obsidian 1.8.0 lets you open external links in tabs so you can multi-task on research projects, or quickly read an article without losing focus
Obsidian 1.8.0 (early access) is now available to Catalyst members for desktop and mobile!
- New web viewer plugin
- New command to download local images
- Improvements for iCloud on mobile
Web viewer is a new core plugin that lets you open external links within Obsidian. This simplifies reading linked content without leaving the app and makes multitasking on web research projects easier. This plugin is disabled by default, and needs to be enabled manually in settings.
Download attachments for current file is a new command that downloads all externally embedded images and replaces the external links with internal embeds.
iCloud no longer waits to finish syncing your configuration files. If a configuration file was offloaded, it will be redownloaded and you will be prompted to reload the app once the file was been synced.
Release notes:
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2024-12-18-desktop-v1.8.0
- New web viewer plugin
- New command to download local images
- Improvements for iCloud on mobile
Web viewer is a new core plugin that lets you open external links within Obsidian. This simplifies reading linked content without leaving the app and makes multitasking on web research projects easier. This plugin is disabled by default, and needs to be enabled manually in settings.
Download attachments for current file is a new command that downloads all externally embedded images and replaces the external links with internal embeds.
iCloud no longer waits to finish syncing your configuration files. If a configuration file was offloaded, it will be redownloaded and you will be prompted to reload the app once the file was been synced.
Release notes:
https://obsidian.md/changelog/2024-12-18-desktop-v1.8.0
my partner took me to a ceramics class for my birthday and now I'm thinking we should make all our own plates and bowls and mugs
my 2024 side quest was making all the furniture for our house, maybe 2025 will be ceramics?
my 2024 side quest was making all the furniture for our house, maybe 2025 will be ceramics?
context: Bending Spoons is the rollup company that bought Evernote and is squeezing everything they can out of the remaining user base
1321
kepano
@kepano·20:50 17/12/2024
Thanks for reaching out. Do you mind if I share this email on social media to gauge the reaction from our community?
Thanks for reaching out. Do you mind if I share this email on social media to gauge the reaction from our community?
