Brief

Brief is a client workspace manager for Obsidian. Switch between client spaces, create structured notes with consistent frontmatter, and auto-generate client dashboards — all from a side panel or the command palette.

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Features

• Client spaces — switch the active client from the status bar, ribbon, or command palette; each client gets its own accent color
• Smart note creator — choose a note type, fill in metadata, and Brief creates the note with the right frontmatter and folder
• Client dashboards — auto-generated overview of all notes in a client folder, grouped by type with relevant columns
• Brief panel — a sidebar with quick access to every action; all buttons are context-aware and disable when no editor is active
• Frontmatter repair — scan the current note for missing or malformed frontmatter fields and fix them in one step
• Template application — merge a note-type template into an existing note without touching its content

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Client Context Switcher

Switch the active client space at any time. The current client is shown in the status bar and highlighted in the ribbon icon. Each client can have an accent color — used as a colored dot in the status bar and as the banner accent in modals.

Commands:

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Smart Note Creator

Open the note creator modal from the panel or command palette. Choose a note type, fill in a title, tags, and optional metadata — Brief creates the note in the right folder with consistent frontmatter.

Supported note types:

Commands:

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Client Dashboard

Each client has a dashboard note — a single file that gives an overview of all notes in the client folder. Brief generates a structured block inside the file, grouped by note type, with type-specific columns.

Click Create dashboard in the Brief panel to generate the initial file, or Update dashboard to regenerate the block after adding new notes. Content you write outside the generated block is never touched.

Example output:

## Meetings (3)

| Note | Date | Attendees |
|------|------|-----------|
| [[Kick-off]] | 2026-04-01 | Alice, Bob |
...

## Projects (2)

| Note | Date | Status | Deadline |
|------|------|--------|----------|
| [[Website redesign]] | 2026-03-15 | In progress | 2026-06-01 |
...

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Brief Panel

Open the sidebar panel from the ribbon or with the Open panel command. The panel gives quick access to every action in one place.

• Active client — shows the current client with its accent color, a Switch button, Set color, and dashboard controls
• Note Creator — New note button and secondary actions for template and frontmatter repair

All buttons that require an active editor are automatically disabled when no note is open.

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Installation

Manual

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release
2. Copy them into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/brief/
3. Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin under Settings → Community plugins

Via BRAT

1. Install the BRAT plugin
2. Open BRAT settings → Add Beta Plugin
3. Enter stephanteig/obsidian-brief

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Settings

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License

MIT © Stephan Teig