tegwick
f0be5799aa
The most INTENT-aligned tool yet and the file-backed counterpart to Roam: file-over-app vaults (plain .md folders, files canonical, MetadataCache a derived index), in-file git-diffable addressing/structure (^block-id, wikilink embeds, YAML frontmatter), and a plugin API (Plugin onload/onunload over App.vault/metadataCache/workspace) that doubles as an adapter host — so a vault is dual-attachable (file-store direct or in-app plugin). Mined the plugin download rankings as demand evidence per the research brief: #1 is drawings (Excalidraw, non-Markdown content), query-as-DB (Dataview/Tasks) is top-tier but an add-on, Git is top-7 (bolt-on history), Remotely Save shows sync-to-anywhere demand. Added UC-53 (attach local vault w/ live concurrent native editor), UC-54 (query-defined dynamic page), UC-55 (non-Markdown content types), UC-56 (outbound publish of a projection); enriched UC-15/28/34/36/40/51/52. Boundary: a vault is one file-backed candidate shard, not the federation layer and not a file-sync target. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 4.8 <noreply@anthropic.com>
260614 — Obsidian deep dive (file-over-app vaults, plugin API, ecosystem signal)
Date: 2026-06-14
What this is
A focused study of Obsidian — core/extension architecture and the plugin ecosystem — read through shard-wiki's lens. Obsidian is the most INTENT-aligned tool in the research set: INTENT names Obsidian vaults as a shard participant, and its "file over app" model (notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you own; the app is a lens) is the closest cousin to shard-wiki's Markdown-first, sovereignty-preserving thesis. It is the file-backed counterpart to the Roam dive (same tool category, opposite storage model: Roam = client DB + API; Obsidian = files on disk).
Distinctive material:
- Architecture — vault = folder of
.md+.obsidian/config; files canonical; MetadataCache is a derived, async-rebuilt index (links, embeds, tags, frontmatter, block IDs, resolved/unresolved links, backlinks) - In-file, git-diffable addressing/structure —
[[wikilinks]],![[embeds]](transclusion),^block-idspan refs, YAML frontmatter/properties - Plugin API —
Pluginonload/onunload;Appmodulesvault(CRUD + file events),metadataCache,workspace(CM6, views),fileManager.renameFile;manifest.json; community plugins, Restricted Mode - Ecosystem popularity → UC signal (§7) — ranked download data mined for use cases, per the research brief
Contents
| Path | Role |
|---|---|
findings.md |
File-over-app architecture, in-file addressing, plugin API as adapter host, capability profile, plugin-popularity → UC mapping, derived-index lesson, INTENT mapping, UC seeds, sources |
Status
Initial deep dive complete. Four new use cases promoted to spec/UseCaseCatalog.md
(UC-53 attach a local vault with a live concurrent native editor, UC-54 query-defined
dynamic page, UC-55 carry non-Markdown content types, UC-56 outbound publish of a
projection); UC-15/28/34/36/40/51/52 enriched. Logged for SHARD-WP-0002 (T14):
dual attachment mode (file-store or in-app plugin host), consume-native-derived-
index capability, non-Markdown content types in the page model, outbound publish,
external-writer tolerance.
Key takeaways recorded: (1) Obsidian validates files-canonical / index-derived —
shard-wiki's projection model. (2) Fine-grained addressing & structure can be portable
in-file text (^block-id, frontmatter), not DB state (contrast Roam). (3) The
ecosystem is demand evidence — the #1 plugin is drawings (non-Markdown content),
query-as-DB (Dataview/Tasks) is top-tier but an add-on, and Git is top-7 (users
bolt on the portable history shard-wiki provides natively). Boundary: a vault is one
file-backed candidate shard, not the federation layer and not a file-sync target
(not-a-sync-daemon).