Every .canvas file in your content folder becomes a page. Open the demo canvas to try it.
URLs
A canvas is published at its path without the extension: maps/overview.canvas becomes /maps/overview. If a note already uses that URL (maps/overview.md), the note keeps it and the canvas moves to /maps/overview-canvas. The build prints a warning when this happens. Link to a canvas with its file name, including the extension: [[overview.canvas]].
Canvases inside hidden folders (.obsidian, _private, and so on) are skipped, like notes.
What is rendered
Nodes follow JSON Canvas 1.0:
| Node | Rendering |
|---|---|
| Text | Markdown rendered with the same pipeline as notes, so wikilinks, callouts, and math work |
| File | A card linking to the note (title and excerpt), or to a canvas or base page. Images are displayed. Other attachments link to the file |
| Link | A card with the site's host name that opens the URL in a new tab (only http and https URLs) |
| Group | A labelled box, with its background image if set |
Edges are drawn as curves between node sides (the nearest sides when fromSide or toSide is missing), with arrowheads, labels, and colors. Preset colors 1 to 6 use Obsidian's palette; hex colors are used as given.
Navigating
- Drag the background or scroll to pan. Hold
CtrlorCmdwhile scrolling (or pinch on a trackpad) to zoom. - Focus the canvas and use the arrow keys to pan,
+and-to zoom, and0to fit it to the screen. - The toolbar in the corner has zoom and fit buttons.
Canvas text, card titles, and edge labels are included in search. Notes a canvas links to appear as connections in the graph-view.
Not supported
- File nodes show a note's title and excerpt, not the full note, and ignore
subpath. - Link nodes are not embedded as live web pages.
- Canvases are read-only: nodes cannot be moved or edited.
- Canvas links do not add backlinks to the linked notes.
![[file.canvas]]in a note renders as a link to the canvas page, not an embedded canvas.