VSCode Clickable Obsidian Links

I use VSCode and Obsidian a lot. Nothing beats plaintext. I mix and match documentation between the two extensively. Typically, my VSCode files contain the stuff that goes public, while Obsidian hosts the more meta stuff that doesn't.

One day, it annoyed me that I couldn't click on Obsidian links in my VSCode README's. This isn't possible because VSCode - for security reasons - only calls up certain schemas like "https://" or "vscode://". So I wrote this extension.

It makes obsidian:// links clickable in textfiles as well as markdown previews. The extension intercepts the links and opens them using your operating system, so Obsidian handles them.

Sure, it's all plain textfiles, so there are other approaches to linking. One could e.g. put her Obsidian notes on github and just use http URLs. Valid approach. But I like Obsidian URLs (and especially advanced URIs) for their ability to decouple links from the physical structure using id's. I.e., I don't want my links to break if I rename a file or move a repo.

On a side note, if you also want the opposite direction (that is, stable links in your Obsidian notes pointing to some local file), checkout HookMark.

Usage

Using the extension couldn't be any simpler:

1. Install it.
2. Open a textfile that contains some obsidian://... link. If you have none, take a look at TESTCASE.{md|txt} in this repo. Of course, for the links to resolve to one of your Obsidian notes, you'll have to modify them.
3. As with any link, if you're in the source view, Cmd+Click it. If you're in the Markdown Preview, just click it.
4. You are asked permission to open the link in this plugin. Say ok.
5. Obsidian should pop up, showing the link target.

The Obsidian Advanced-URI plugin would also allow for other fancy when opening notes but I do not currently have a usecase for that.

Configuration

For completeness, the document schemas and maximum filesize can be configured. This should usually not be required. The only thing I could think of is that the plugin causes some kind of delay when opening very large files. I have never observed such though. I can also not come up with a good idea why one would work with very large textfiles on a regular basis in VSCode. But who am I to assume what you do ;).

Troubleshooting

If it does not work, try opening the link using your OS. E.g. ...

... on a Mac terminal:

open 'obsidian://...'

... on a Windows PowerShell:

Start-Process 'obsidian://...'

This should open Obsidian because it should've installed a URL-handler for this schema. This mechanism is the prereq to use this plugin. If it does not work, something is wrong with your Obsidian installation.

If it does work, then there's likely some problem with this extension. I added some log statements in the code. You can see the output in the builtin developer tools (on a Mac: Help > Toggle Developer Tools, then select the "Console" tab). If you suspect a code problem, open an issue providing that information.

Coding notes

Adding the ability to open an Obsidian link in the sourcecode view is quite straightforward. Just register the command and be done.

For the markdown preview-view, things are more tricky. In a first step, the obsidian://... links must be rewritten to vscode://... links, so that the VSCode security requirements are fullfilled. The URL schematic for that is vscode://<extensionId>/open?.... Because Obsidian links will typically already be URL-encoded, double encoding has to be prevented. I solve this by base64-encoding the entire Obsidian URL. With the Preview pane rewritten, the links are now clickable. By adding a UriHandler that basically reverses the process, we get the original URL which can then be opened externally.