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