# Note Toolbar puts a context-aware command bar inside each Obsidian note

> The Note Toolbar plugin adds toolbars to Obsidian notes whose items can be commands, file links, URLs, menus or scripts, and whose visibility follows rules based on file names, paths and properties. It is a GPL-3.0 TypeScript plugin whose releases land roughly weekly.

**chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar** — Flexible, context-aware toolbars for your notes in Obsidian.

- Repository: https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar
- Website: https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar/wiki
- Stars: 792 · Forks: 24
- Language: TypeScript
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-20 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/chrisgurney-obsidian-note-toolbar

## A toolbar that belongs to the note, not the app window

Note Toolbar is an Obsidian community plugin that adds toolbars to notes, and its central idea is that the bar is context aware. The plugin description says it lets you create context-aware toolbars which can include commands, file and folder links, websites and URIs, menus, and scripts. Where the toolbar sits is configurable: below the Properties section, at the top or bottom of notes, in the tab bar, or as a floating button, and it can stick to the top of a note on scroll.

Two access patterns go beyond the top of the note. A toolbar can appear when text is selected, and on mobile the toolbar is reachable from navigation bars, with extra options offered there. The plugin can also add a toolbar to the New tab view or completely replace that view with a launchpad for the vault. For a plugin whose feature list is otherwise about item types, that range of placements is the part that changes how a note feels to write.

## Items can be commands, links, menus or running scripts

An item on a toolbar is one of several kinds, and the kinds matter because each has a different failure mode. A command item runs an Obsidian command, a file or folder item links inside the vault, a URL item opens a website, a menu item opens a list of choices, and a script item runs code.

Script items are the most capable and the most exposed. The plugin supports Dataview, the JS Engine, Templater, and built-in support for JavaScript. Running a script can require the plugin to read a file from the vault, which is exactly why the disclosure list separates vault read from vault enumeration. The plugin also ships a Gallery of 130 or more items that can be added to a toolbar in a couple of clicks or taps, and the README notes that every Gallery item script can be inspected and modified after it has been added to a toolbar, which is the honest way to treat a large preset library.

## Display rules decide which toolbar belongs to which note

Visibility is decided by flexible rules that can look at file names, paths, properties and more. That is the mechanism behind the plugin's name and its main advantage over Obsidian's own command palette: the same command can be available in a daily note and absent from a project note without anyone maintaining two ribbon layouts.

Items within a toolbar have their own conditions too. A toolbar can show items based on the current platform, or on whether the editor is in editing mode, and each item can display an icon, a label, or both, with optional tooltips. Obsidian's built-in icons and labels, which can include emojis, are used rather than a custom icon set. Where the rules get complicated, right-clicking or long pressing a toolbar swaps it with another, changes its position or style, or opens configuration, so corrections do not require leaving the note.

## Styling covers borders, wrapping, alignment and auto-hide

The styling options are the ones people usually want on mobile and rarely find elsewhere: adding borders, sticking to the top of the note on scroll, auto-hiding, choosing whether the toolbar wraps on mobile, making items look like buttons or act like tabs, and aligning items left, right, centered or evenly spaced. Styles can be changed or overridden separately on mobile, meaning phone and tablet get their own treatment.

There is also a deeper styling route through the Style Settings plugin, which the project documents for colours, positioning and sizing. That dependency is worth noting before install, because it is a second plugin to trust. Note Toolbar Callouts are a further feature, letting a toolbar be carried inside a callout block rather than attached to the note frame. The project was runner up in the Obsidian Gems of the Year 2024 in the new plugins category, and the wiki holds the gallery, the user guide and a roadmap.

## What the plugin asks the vault for

The disclosure section is unusually explicit, and it is the first thing to read. To provide the built-in library of tools and scripting extensibility, the plugin needs access to read, write and list files within a vault, though the README notes that the majority of these features are completely optional.

The three specific requests are distinct. Vault read covers reading individual vault files through the Obsidian API, used by script items to read in a user script to execute it if configured to do so, and by the plugin's modal API to display a file. Vault enumeration covers listing all files in the vault and giving the plugin every file path, used by the settings interface to show lists of files or folders for selection. The third disclosure is a warning that the plugin uses some Obsidian APIs newer than the declared minAppVersion, internal APIs that the note says will be public in a newer release.

External URLs are gathered in one place, src/utils/Urls.ts, which the disclosure says contains all external URLs referenced by the plugin, including the user guide, the donation page and a page for sharing toolbars and toolbar items with other users.

## Building from source with the repository's own scripts

The repository is TypeScript with esbuild doing the bundling, and the npm scripts in package.json show the workflow. The build type checks without emitting and then runs the esbuild config in production mode, the dev script regenerates the version file first, and a separate typecheck script exists for CI:

```json
    "build": "tsc --noEmit --skipLibCheck && node esbuild.config.mjs production",
    "dev": "npm run prebuild && node esbuild.config.mjs",
    "typecheck": "tsc --noEmit --skipLibCheck"
```

Running npm run build is the documented path for producing the plugin, with the prebuild step handled by build/generate-version.mjs and the release flow in build/release.mjs. The package version is 1.35.19 with a release version of 1.35 and a settings version of 20260812.1, which is the kind of triple versioning that matters when a settings migration ships in the same release as a feature. Documentation is generated with typedoc, and the project keeps a SECURITY.md and per-language READMEs in Chinese and Japanese alongside the English one.

## Where a per-note toolbar is the wrong answer

If you want a single place to reach every command, this plugin duplicates what Obsidian already offers in its ribbon and command palette, and it adds a second surface to learn. The per-note placement pays off when the same action repeats across many notes, and it pays off more on mobile, where the navigation bar and long press are the scarce affordances. It does not pay off when one command is used in one note.

The permissions are the other constraint. Enumeration of the entire vault is needed for the settings interface to offer file and folder pickers, so a user who will not open up their vault to a plugin cannot use the folder mapping or script selection at all. Script items add a third layer of exposure, since JavaScript runs with the plugin's own access, which is why the Gallery scripts are meant to be inspected before use.

On cadence, the last push was on 2026-10-22 and three tagged releases, 1.35.16, 1.35.17 and 1.35.19, landed between 2026-10-09 and 2026-10-14. That is a fast release rhythm for a plugin, so plan for frequent version notes rather than reading the release page once and installing a year later.

## Conclusion

Note Toolbar suits Obsidian users who keep repeating the same commands across notes and want them to appear next to the text they act on, especially on mobile where the ribbon and navigation bars are the only chrome available. It does not suit users who want one global command surface, since Obsidian already offers that, and it is a poor fit for anyone unwilling to grant a plugin read and enumeration access to the whole vault. Before installing, check the disclosure list for vault read, vault enumeration and the use of Obsidian APIs newer than the declared minAppVersion, and note that the plugin is published as GPL-3.0 with version 1.35.19 released on 2026-10-14 and the last push on 2026-10-22.

## FAQ

### How do I install the Note Toolbar plugin in Obsidian?

Note Toolbar is published as an Obsidian community plugin, and the README links its plugin listing on obsidian.md. The installation walkthrough lives in the project wiki rather than in the README, so start from the wiki user guide after adding the plugin from the community list.

### What kinds of items can I put on a Note Toolbar?

Items can link to Obsidian commands, files and folders, websites and URIs, menus, and scripts. Script items support Dataview, the JS Engine, Templater and built-in JavaScript, and a Gallery of 130 or more ready-made items can be added to a toolbar.

### Does Note Toolbar work on mobile?

Yes. The README shows mobile options for accessing the toolbar, lists navigation bars as a place to reach it, and documents mobile specific styling such as whether the toolbar wraps, plus separate style overrides for phones and tablets.

### What vault permissions does Note Toolbar request?

The plugin needs to read, write and list files within the vault. Vault read is used by script items and by the modal API to display a file, vault enumeration gives the plugin every file path in the vault for the settings interface, and the plugin also uses some Obsidian APIs newer than the declared minAppVersion.

## Sources

- [chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar on GitHub](https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar/blob/master/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar/wiki)
- [README](https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar/blob/master/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/chrisgurney/obsidian-note-toolbar/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/chrisgurney-obsidian-note-toolbar