supernote-obsidian-plugin

What the plugin does

The Supernote (Unofficial) plugin connects two note taking worlds. The author uses a Supernote device for handwritten notes and reading documents, and Obsidian for organizing digital notes, and this plugin bridges the two. It imports handwritten notes directly from the Supernote device into Obsidian without sending anything to the cloud, then lets the user view, export, and organize those notes on a desktop, phone, or tablet. The no cloud emphasis is stated up front, which matters to people who choose Obsidian for local first storage.

The README summarizes the plugin as having seven main features. Those cover viewing note files inside the vault, linking to them from Markdown, embedding them inline, exporting them to common formats, pulling in notes edited that day, mirroring a live device image, moving files to and from the device over Wi Fi, and an extensible OCR path that turns notes into Markdown. The plugin is presented as unofficial, meaning it is not produced by the Supernote manufacturer, and the README credits an earlier TypeScript library the author forked. The scope is narrow and practical: keep the handwriting on your own machine while making it usable inside Obsidian's linking and search, rather than replacing either tool.

Viewing, embedding, and exporting notes

Two of the seven features are about seeing the notes inside Obsidian. The plugin can view Supernote .note files directly in the vault, and those files can be linked from ordinary Markdown notes with a syntax like My Note. Because the link target is the .note file, the handwriting stays a first class citizen of the vault instead of an attachment filed away from the text.

Embedding goes further. A note can be placed inline in another note with the embed syntax, and the README says the embedded view is scrollable and includes page navigation, so a long handwriting page can be read in context. A single page can be pulled out with a page parameter, for example pointing at page two. Export is the third part of this group: a .note file can be written out as a PNG, an SVG, a PDF, or a Markdown file, and attached to the vault. The FAQ adds detail about the export rendering. By default the viewer and the PDF or SVG exports draw pen strokes as vector paths so they stay sharp at any zoom, but a setting named Vector ink can be turned off if the ink renders wrong, falling back to the device's rasterized ink. PNG export and the thumbnail sidebar stay rasterized either way.

Importing, mirroring, and syncing

The remaining features move data between the device and Obsidian. One command imports all of today's modified Supernote notes and text into the current Obsidian note, which the README suggests pairing with daily notes. Another copies a live image from the device through Supernote's screen mirroring feature and inserts it into the current note. File transfer uses the device's Browse and Access Wi Fi feature, so files can be downloaded or uploaded directly, and a sync command copies every Supernote file into the vault.

The seventh feature is an extensible OCR path, marked beta. The README explains that a companion plugin can be built to customize how pages are recognized during conversion to Markdown, and it links an ocr-plugins document describing the hook. This makes the Markdown output adjustable without baking one OCR engine into the core. The plugin also points to a screenshots gallery and a video demo so new users can see each feature before installing. Together these seven features cover the full loop: get notes onto the device, read them in Obsidian, export or transcribe them, and keep the two in sync, all without a cloud account in the middle. The README also points to a SCREENSHOTS.md gallery and a video demo so a new user can see each of the seven features before deciding to install.

Installation and support

Installation offers three routes. The simplest is the Obsidian Community Plugin Store, where the plugin is listed under the name Supernote (Unofficial). People who want to test beta builds use BRAT, a separate Obsidian plugin, by adding the repository URL through its interface. Manual installation means copying main.js and manifest.json from a GitHub release into the vault's plugin folder. All three methods land the plugin in the user's vault rather than on a server.

Support material is spread across a few files. The README links a known issues list and asks users to open a new issue if theirs is not listed. A FAQ answers two questions: why generated Markdown has no table of contents, which the Obsidian Outline sidebar already provides, and how to disable vector ink when exports look wrong. Developer notes for building, releasing, OCR plugins, and a related web component live in DEVELOPER.md. The author thanks Tiemen Schuijbroek for the initial Supernote TypeScript library that was forked to start this plugin, and says personally no funding is accepted, pointing donors instead to the Signal Foundation or ISRG. The plugin is maintained as a community project rather than a commercial product. The author notes the plugin was built by forking an existing Supernote TypeScript library, which is why the credit line points to that earlier work.

Editorial conclusion

The plugin is written in TypeScript and hosted at github.com/philips/supernote-obsidian-plugin.