# Note Mate

A vault-connected sidebar assistant: persistent chat that searches and drafts with you, customizable editor shortcuts, plus checkpoints so you review or rewind AI edits cleanly.

It's an [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) plugin. Plug in AI accounts you already use, chat beside your notes, pull in vault context, polish text where the cursor sits, and rewind changes when needed—still inside Obsidian.

## What it does for you

### Deep vault tooling

**Notebook access**

Under **Settings → Note Mate → Tools**, turn on the **vault tools** you want (**tool permissions**). From chat—or the **AI** submenu in the file menu—the assistant can:

- **Read notes** — open by path or wiki link and quote what matters.
- **Search the vault** — find notes by text or tags and follow links between them.
- **Create & edit** — draft new notes or update existing ones; every change stays traceable.
- **Auto-tag** — send a note to chat so the assistant can add tags that match your vault's conventions.

![ai-auto-tag](readme-assets/ai-auto-tag.png)

**Bases & Canvas**

Beyond markdown, the assistant understands Obsidian **Bases** (`.base`) and **Canvas** (`.canvas`) files. Point it at an existing file or describe what you want in plain language—it can draft valid structure: table views and filters for Bases, card layouts and connections for Canvas, ready to open in Obsidian.

![ai-generated-base](readme-assets/ai-generated-base.png)

![ai-generated-canvas](readme-assets/ai-generated-canvas.png)

**Insights**

Controlled separately from vault tooling. After a reply, optional cards surface takeaway angles—new vantage points, sharper questions, hooks worth promoting into notes. The goal is fresher momentum, not circling what you already said.

![insights](readme-assets/insights.png)

### Custom menu & editor shortcuts

Define your own AI actions in a vault note (`MENU.md` by default). Each entry appears under the **AI** submenu when you right-click in the editor or on a file—polish, explain, expand, translate, summarise, and more. The default template ships with sensible starters; edit the note to add, remove, or tweak actions. Manage the note path under **Settings → Note Mate → General**.

Right from the editor and file menu:

- **Custom actions** — one-click prompts built from your selection, cursor position, or the open file.
- **Send to AI session** — push the open file—plus cursor or selection—into chat for deeper back-and-forth.
- **AI Edit History** — browse AI-driven edits across sessions.

In the chat sidebar:

- **Edit a message** — fix a typo or adjust a prompt, then re-send without copy-paste.
- **Refine prompt** — polish your draft before sending, using the previous turn for context when helpful.
- **Context at a glance** — a ring in the input toolbar shows how much of the model's context window is in use; click for token and session details.

![session-status](readme-assets/session-status.png)

### Checkpoints

When the assistant edits vault files during chat, each round becomes a **checkpoint**. Review what changed, jump to the message that triggered it, then **accept** to keep the edits or **discard** to restore files from snapshots. **Accept all** clears a batch in one go when you trust the whole set. Touched files stay locked until you decide—even across sessions—so unreviewed AI changes don't collide with new ones. A badge on the session switcher reminds you when checkpoints are still pending.

![checkpoints](readme-assets/checkpoints.png)

### Todo

When a task will take several steps, the assistant decides on its own whether to build a **todo plan**—breaking the work into ordered steps, re-reading that list between tool calls, and marking progress as it goes. That keeps longer jobs on track instead of drifting or skipping substeps. The plan is pinned in chat so you can follow along too.

![ai-todo](readme-assets/ai-todo.png)

### Memory

Turn on **Memory** under **Settings → Note Mate → Memory** when you want the assistant to remember facts across sessions. Everything lives in a **memory note** in your vault—plain markdown you can open, read, and edit like any other note. The assistant picks up your changes on the next turn. Optionally enable **auto-extract** to distill durable facts from replies into the note automatically.

![ai-memory](readme-assets/ai-memory.png)

### QuickAsk

Click the **Ask** button on any assistant bubble to open a floating panel for a follow-up question—one shot, no tools, no streaming. The side conversation stays anchored to that message without adding to the main context, so you can dig deeper into a single reply without derailing the session.

![quick-ask](readme-assets/quick-ask.png)

### Models and accounts

Add your own keys: **OpenAI-compatible** endpoints (including OpenAI, Azure OpenAI, and comparable hosts), **Anthropic (Claude)**, **Google Gemini**, and saved **profiles** so switching models isn't rewriting forms each time. Vendor logos and model icons in the profile picker make it easy to spot what you're using.

### Optional extras (when you turn them on)

- **Lookups** — Web search, open a page from a URL, skim feeds—useful for research next to notes.
- **Images** — generate pictures and drop them straight into your vault (provider-dependent).
- **Richer tooling** — connect **MCP** servers for capabilities your admin or community provides.
- **Skills** — reusable instruction packs loaded from folders you choose—great for repeatable workflows.
- **Embeddings** (**experimental**) — connect an embedding provider so **tools** and **skills** can be relevance-ranked before entering the prompt, saving tokens. Vault-wide semantic search is **not** here yet; whole-library search "by meaning" is **planned / TBD**. Expect drift as this settles.
- **JavaScript snippets** (**experimental**) — run short scripts from chat for arithmetic or reshaping pasted text when enabled. Executes through the plugin, **not** a hardened sandbox; expect sizeable shifts between releases.

**Platforms & languages:** Runs on desktop and mobile (**Windows**, **macOS**, **Linux**, **iOS**, **Android**).  
UI copy ships in **English**, **日本語**, **한국어**, **简体中文**, and **繁體中文**—defaults follow locale; overrides live in plugin settings.

## Installation

### Community plugins (recommended)

1. In Obsidian, open **Settings → Community plugins**.
2. Search **Note Mate**, then choose **Install** and **Enable**.

### Manual install

1. Download `main.js`, `styles.css`, and `manifest.json` from the [latest release](https://github.com/ialex32x/ai-note-mate/releases).
2. Inside your vault, create `.obsidian/plugins/ai-note-mate/` if it doesn't exist.
3. Copy those three files into that folder.
4. Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin under **Settings → Community plugins**.

## First-time setup

1. Open **Settings → Note Mate**.
2. Under **General**, pick your active **text generation** profile (or add one first under **LLM**).
3. Add at least one **LLM** profile: an **OpenAI-compatible** endpoint, **Anthropic**, or **Gemini**, plus your model and key.
4. Optionally wire integrations—you can skip these until you need them:
   - **Image** — saves generated visuals into your vault when enabled.
   - **Embeddings** (**experimental**) — provider needed for embedding-based **tool/skill** filtering (saves tokens). Not for vault-wide semantic search yet; that mode is **planned / TBD**.
   - **Tools** — MCP servers, built-in web lookup toggles, and **tool permissions** for vault moves.
   - **Skills** — folders where optional instruction bundles live on disk.
   - **Memory** — long-term facts stored in a vault note you control.
   - **Menu note** — path to `MENU.md` (or your own file) for custom right-click actions; create from the default template if you haven't yet.
   - **Save as note directory** — default folder for exporting a session to a vault note without a prompt each time.

## Building from source

For people who want to compile the plugin locally:

- **Needs:** Node.js 18+ and npm.
- **Install:** `npm install`
- **Build:** `npm run build` (or `npm run dev` for watch mode)
- **Checks:** `npm run lint` and `npm run test`

## License

[MIT License](./LICENSE)

## Author

[ialex32x](https://github.com/ialex32x)

## Support

If this plugin helps your daily notes, consider [buying me a coffee](https://buymeacoffee.com/ialex32x).