Buttons

Obsidian Buttons

Run commands and open links by clicking on ✨ Buttons ✨

Read the Documentation for more information

last updated: August 2, 2025

0.9.4

• Feature: Multi-line button names with markdown support using {} or [] delimiters (Luca-Harrison)
• Feature: Button width and height controls with width and height arguments (in em units) (Luca-Harrison)
• Feature: Button text alignment controls with align argument (left/center/right + top/middle/bottom) (Luca-Harrison)
• Enhancement: Improved button layout and formatting capabilities (Luca-Harrison)
• Enhancement: Better markdown rendering within button names (Luca-Harrison)

Install

You can find Buttons in the list of community plugins!

Usage

The quickest way to get started with Buttons is to use the Button Maker. You can open the Button Maker from the Command Palette. Here is an overview of the Button Maker options.

• Name: The name of your button.
• Button Type: Choose which type of button to create your options are:
  • Command: Click the Button to run a Command from the Command Palette.
  • Link: Click the Button to open a URL or URI.
  • Calculate: Click the Button to run a math calculation. Calculate Buttons can reference lines from the note.
  • Template: Click the Button to prepend, append, insert, or create a new note from a template note.
  • Text: Click the Button to prepend, append, insert, or create a new note with specified text.
  • Swap: A Swap Button is a special type of Inline Button. With a Swap Button you can run a different type of Button on each click.
  • Chain: A Chain Button lets you run multiple actions in sequence with a single click. See below for details.
• Action: Depending on what Button Type you choose, you will choose an Action to perform:
  • Command: Choose the Command Palette Command to run.
  • Link: Write the URL or URI.
  • Calculate: Write the math equation.
  • Template: Choose Prepend, Append, New Note, or Line and the template you want to use:
    • Prepend Template: Click the Button to prepend a template into the current note.
    • Append Template: Click the Button to append a template into the current note.
    • Add Template at Line: Click the Button to add a template into the current note at the specified line.
    • New Note From Template: Choose the Template, write the name of the new note, choose whether the new note should replace the existing tab, open a new tab or split pane.
  • Text: Choose Prepend, Append, New Note, or Line and the text you want to use:
    • Prepend Template: Click the Button to prepend text into the current note.
    • Append Template: Click the Button to append text into the current note.
    • Add Template at Line: Click the Button to add text into the current note at the specified line.
    • New Note From Template: Write the name of the new note, choose whether the new note should open in a split pane.
  • Swap: Write the button-block-ids of the Buttons the Swap Button will be on each click, e.g. [id1, id2] (for more information on Swap Buttons, see below).
• Remove: You can remove the Button after you click it. You can also remove other Buttons in the note by supplying an array of button-block-ids, e.g. [id1, id2].
• Replace: You can remove lines from the existing note which can then be replaced using the Append Template or Prepend Template Button types. Write an array with the starting and ending line numbers, e.g. [startingLine, endingLine].
• Inherit: By adding a button-block-id of another Button, the Button you are making can inherit arguments.
• Templater: If the templater arg is true you can include a Templater command inside your button. The command will be converted to its value when the button is clicked and converted back to the command after. This cannot be used with Inline Buttons.
• Custom Class: Supply a custom CSS class to style your Button.
• Color: Choose a Button color.
• Multi-line Names: Create multi-line button names using {} or [] delimiters with full markdown support for formatting.
• Width: Control button width using the width argument (in em units), e.g., width 15.
• Height: Control button height using the height argument (in em units), e.g., height 3.
• Align: Control text alignment within buttons using align with horizontal (left/center/right) and vertical (top/middle/bottom) options, e.g., align center middle.

Button Block ID

The button-block-id is a block-id placed direcly below a Button codeblock and starts with button, e.g. ^button-id. Button-block-ids can be used to:

• Create inline buttons (see below for details on inline buttons) button-button1
• Choose which Buttons to use in an Inline Swap Button: swap [button1, button2]
• Inherit arguments from another Button: id button1
• Remove multiple Buttons with a remove [button1, button2] argument

Inline Buttons

Inline Buttons can be created inline with other text, or other Buttons. An Inline Button is essentially a copy of an existing Button codeblock placed inline. To create an inline button:

1. Create a regular Button using the Button Maker or hand-written Button codeblock.
2. Ensure your Button has a unique button-block-id.
3. Go to the note you want an inline Button and run the Insert Inline Button Command, or write the button-block-id between backticks, e.g. button-id.

Inline Buttons must start with button, whereas other usages of the button-block-id only require the id.

Swap Button

A Swap Button is a special type of Inline Button. When you click a Swap Button it cycles through multiple other Buttons. Use a Swap Button to run a succession of actions with one Button. To Create a Swap Button:

1. Create Buttons that perform the actions you want the Swap Button to do. Ensure each button has a unique button-block-id.
2. Create a Swap Button and supply the button-block-id of the other buttons, e.g. swap [id1, id2, id3]. Ensure the Swap Button has a unique button-block-id.
3. Insert the Swap Button as an Inline Button using the Insert Inline Button Command.

Swap Buttons can currently only be used as Inline Buttons.

Chain Button

A Chain Button allows you to run multiple actions in sequence with a single click. Each action can be any supported button type (command, text, template, link, calculate, copy, or even another chain).

Syntax:

name Manage Field
type chain
actions [
  {"type": "append text", "action": "exercise::"},
  {"type": "command", "action": "Metadata Menu: Manage field at cursor"}
]

^button-manage-field

• The actions field must be a valid JSON array of objects, each with a type and action.
• Actions are executed in order, top to bottom.
• You can mix and match any supported action types.
• You can nest chain actions for advanced workflows.

Example:

name Daily Setup
type chain
actions [
  {"type": "command", "action": "Periodic Notes: Open today's daily note"},
  {"type": "append text", "action": "## Tasks for Today"},
  {"type": "template", "action": "Daily Task Template"}
]

^button-daily-setup

How to Create:

• Use the Button Maker and select "Chain" as the button type.
• Add as many actions as you need, specifying the type and action for each.

Notes:

• If any action fails, the rest will still attempt to run.
• The actions field must be valid JSON. If you edit by hand, use a JSON validator if you run into issues.
• For text actions, the type must be one of the supported text button types: append text, prepend text, line(1) text, line(+1) text, line(-1) text, or note text.
• Line-based actions support both absolute (line(5)) and relative (line(+2), line(-1)) positioning.

Inherit Button Args

If you are using the same (or similar) Buttons across many notes, you can create one parent Button and have other Buttons inherit from the parent.

1. Create a Parent Button with the arguments you'd like to be inherited. Ensure the Parent Button has a unique button-block-id.
2. Create Child Buttons and supply the Parent Button button-block-id id parentButton.

Child Buttons can also have their own arguments. Any argument supplied on the Child supersedes arguments from the Parent Button.

Templater Button

The Templater arg allows you to supply a Templater command inside the Button. The command is converted to its value when the Button is clicked and then converted back to the Templater Command for the next click. This is best used with the New Note Button type.

A button with this command…

```button
name Make an Hourly Note
type note(<% tp.date.now("HH:MM") %>) template
action Log Template Note
templater true
```

…will convert when clicked to:

```button
name Make an Hourly Note
type note(16:20) template
action Log Template Note
templater true
```

And then 09 will change back to <% tp.date.now("HH:MM") %>.

The Templater arg also works with the Text Button type:

```button
name Add Current Time
type line(1) text
action <% tp.date.now("HH:mm:ss") %>
replace [1,1]
templater true
```

This will insert the current time on line one of the note, replacing any existing text on that line and then convert back to the Templater command for future use.

Button Styling

Style Settings

Install the Style Settings plugin for an easy way to change the default Button styling.

Custom Class

If you want a truly custom style, or want Buttons with multiple different styles, you can add a class argument in a Button and use a css snippet to style it.

Remove Button after command execution

If you have a Button that only needs to run once and then can be removed from a note (handy for inserting prompts into a Daily Note) you can add a remove true argument to your Button.

If you have multiple Buttons in a note and want to remove them all when a Button is clicked, you can supply an array of button-block-ids to the remove argument, e.g. remove [id1, id2, id3].

Replace content in section

When using Template or Text Buttons, you can remove lines from the existing note which will be replaced by new content. Use the replace argument with absolute or relative line numbers:

• Absolute positioning: replace [1, 5] removes lines 1 through 5
• Relative positioning: replace [+1, +3] removes 3 lines starting 1 line after the button
• Mixed positioning: You can also mix absolute and relative: replace [10, +5]

Relative positioning is perfect for portable templates that work regardless of where they're placed in your document.

Examples

Command Button

Open the previous day's daily note using the Periodic Notes Plugin:

```button
name Open Previous Daily Note
type command
action Periodic Notes: Open previous daily note
```
^button-previous

Turn spellcheck on/off:

```button
name Toggle spellcheck
type comand
action Toggle spellcheck
color blue
```
^button-spellcheck

Link Button

Open the Obsidian Forum:

```button
name To the Forum Batman!
type link
action https://forum.obsidian.md/
```
^button-forum

Template & Line Button

Append

Append a Log Template Note:

```button
name Log
type append template
action Hourly Log Template Note
```
^button-log

Append the current time:

```button
name Log
type append text
action <% tp.date.now("HH:mm") %>
templater true
```

Prepend Template

Replace a Weather Template Note with the updated Weather:

```button
name Current Weather
type prepend template
action Weather Template Note
replace [1,5]
```
^button-weather

Prepend a weekly todo list and remove other buttons:

```button
name Monday List
type prepend template
action Monday Template Note
remove [mon,tues,wed]
```
^button-mon

```button
name Tuesday List
type prepend template
action Tuesday Template Note
remove [mon,tues,wed]
```
^button-tues

```button
name Wednesday List
type prepend template
action Wednesday Template Note
remove [mon,tues,wed]
```
^button-wed

Even better, set up those buttons and then add them all on one line as Inline Buttons:

`button-mon` `button-tues` `button-wed`

Add Template at Line

Insert templates at specific lines using absolute or relative positioning:

Absolute Line Positioning

```button
name Current Weather (Absolute)
type line(1) template
action Weather Template Note
replace [1,5]
```
^button-weatherLine-absolute

Relative Line Positioning

Perfect for portable templates that work anywhere in your document:

```button
name Current Weather (Relative)
type line(+1) template
action Weather Template Note
replace [+1,+3]
```
^button-weatherLine-relative

New Note From Template

Create a new note in a new split pane for an upcoming meeting based on a Meeting Note Template:

```button
name New Meeting
type note(Meeting, split) template
action Meeting Note Template
```
^button-meeting

Dynamically add the hour and minute to the note title and open as a new tab:

```button
name New Meeting
type note(Meeting-<%tp.date.now("HH-MM") %>, tab) note
action Meeting Note Template
templater true
```
^button-meeting2

Calculate Button

Do some simple math:

```button
name Add Em Up
type calculate
action 2+2
```
^button-add

Reference numbers outside of the Button:

Bananas Have: 5  
Bananas Lost: 5

```button
name How Many Bananas Today?
type calculate
action $1-$2
color yellow
```
^button-bananas

Natural Language Math:

5 dogs plus 2 cats divided by 2 people

```button
name Who Get The Pets?
type calculate
action $1
class sad-button
```
^button-breakup

The calculate button uses math-expression-evaluator, so it should support any symbol supported by that library.

Button Formatting Examples

Multi-line Button with Markdown

```button
name {
🚀 **Launch Process**
*Execute with style*
→ Click to proceed
}
type command
action Toggle Pin
width 18
height 4
align center middle
```
^button-formatted

Sized and Aligned Button

```button
name Action Button
type command
action Toggle Pin
width 12
height 2
align right top
color blue
```
^button-sized  

Swap Buttons

Let's create a Swap Button using the button-block-id of previous Buttons:

```button
name Crazy Swap Button
swap [add,meeting,forum]
```
^button-swap

Then insert that button inline:

`button-swap`

1. On the first click of Crazy Swap Button we will add 2+2.
2. On the second click of Crazy Swap Button we will create a new Meeting note.
3. On the third click of the Crazy Swap Button we will go to the Obsidian forum.

Note: swap count is reset if you close the note.

Releases

0.8.4

• Feature: Relative line number positioning with line(+N) and line(-N) syntax for text and template buttons
• Feature: Relative line number positioning for replace [+N,+M] functionality
• Enhancement: Buttons now work portably regardless of their position in the file
• Addresses GitHub issue #165 with improved DataView refresh button capabilities

0.8.0

• Updated the button maker UI for improved user experience
• Feature: Multi-line text buttons for more complex text insertion
• Added comprehensive documentation at https://buttonslovesyou.com

0.7.0

• Append text no longer creates a newline
• Styling improvements to align with default themes
• Chain buttons: run multiple actions with a single button press

0.6.0

• Enhancement: Inline Buttons now work in Live Preview!
• Various bugfixes

0.5.1

• Bugfix: Templater commands that move, rename, etc should be working again
• The default templates plugin should be working again
• sets a default name for a button so problems don't happen.

0.5.0

• Enhancement: Moved to more reliable templater processor ([shabegom])
• Bugfix: buttons now render in Live Preview mode when Obsidian starts (Lx)
• Bugfix: improve reliability of templater option (Lx)
• Enhancement: improve speed of remove option (Lx)
• Feature: Add default folder and prompt for name settings (unxok)
• Features: Button type copy for "copy text to clipboard", and custom color for button background and tex (rafa-carmo)
• Feature: adds hidden attribute to buttons (Liimurr)
• Enhancement: Create folder for new note if it doesn't exist (SabriDW)
• Bugfix: fix template search with folders having "/" prefixed (Balake)
• Feature: Open new tab when creating new file (0snug0)
• Update Readme: new note from template (antulik)

0.4.4

• Bugfix: blue and purple colors should now work
• Bugfix: reduced the height of the Button Maker for smaller displays

0.4.3

• New Line Template Button: insert a template into the current note at a specified line

0.4.2

• Scrollable Button Maker
• Add custom button-block-id inside the Button Maker

0.4.0

• Inline Buttons! You can add buttons inline using the button block-id (^button-id) using this syntax `button-id`
• Insert Inline Button: Use Insert Inline Button from the command palette to quickly insert a new inline button
• Button Maker: Open the Button Maker from the command palette to quickly and easily create a new button
• New Button Arg - swap: use the swap [id1, id2, id3] arg along with an inline button to create a button that performs multiple actions on each click
• New Button Arg - templater: the templater arg allows you to put a templater command inside a button. When the button is clicked the templater command is converted to it's value and then is converted back to the templater command: note(<% tp.date.now("MM-DD") %>) template

0.3.2

• Fix the uncaught Type Error if there are no button block-ids in the vault
• Fix the position error if not on insiders build

0.3.0

• You can add a block-id below a button block. The button block-id can be used to inherit arguments from a button or to remove multiple buttons
• remove can now be an array of button block-ids to remove (it can still be true to remove the clicked button)
• replace now takes an array like [startLine,endLine] to define the start and end line to be replaced.
• append, prepend, remove, replace have been updated to use the button position. name is no longer required.

0.2.10

• Bugfix: new notes created by a template can now have - and ! and other characters in their title.

0.2.9

• You can open a note created via template type button in a split pane by using note(Note Name, split) template

0.2.8

• You can now have the core Templates plugin disabled if you are using Templater. You still need to define a Templates folder

0.2.6

• Bugfix for converting button values to lowercase
• add some padding around the button

0.2.4

• Add a command palette command to add a button codeblock to a note
• Set default button styles with Style Settings plugin

0.2.3: Calculate button type

• Added a calculate button type that can do maths and output results
• calculate can reference numbers outside the button by their line number
• Bug Fix: Removed extra whitespace when using the append action
• Bug Fix: Button names are now escaped in regex which prevents an error when adding content to a note

0.2.2: Remove logging

• Remove mobile logging that was accidentally included in the previous release

0.2.1: Styling update

• Updated default button styling

0.2.0: Add replace argument and note() template feature

• Removed the shine hover effect because it looked crummy on movible
• Added a replace argument that replaces content between a specified header and the button
• Added a note() template feature that will create a new note based on a specified template

0.1.1: Released to Community Plugins!

• Buttons is now available in the list of community plugins within Obsidian

0.1.0: Add template feature

• Added the template button type
• prepend or append a specified template into a note

0.0.5: Add remove feature

• Added a remove argument that removes the button after it is clicked