Constella for Obsidian

Your vault in motion.

Constella turns your Obsidian vault into an interactive, local-first knowledge graph. Notes become nodes, links become connections, and your graph can be explored manually, through auto-travel journeys, visual templates, playlists, fullscreen mode, or a pop-out display window.

• GitHub: https://github.com/loopman90/constella-obsidian-plugin
• Releases: https://github.com/loopman90/constella-obsidian-plugin/releases
• Website: https://loopman90.github.io/constella-obsidian-plugin/
• Marketplace kit: MARKETPLACE.md

Constella is read-only and local. It reads vault metadata to render the graph, but it does not modify notes, does not use analytics, and does not send vault data anywhere.

Screenshots

Explore different looks for your vault. Some screenshots show an earlier settings layout; controls may differ in the latest release.

Deep Space / Cyberpunk

Circuit Board / Rainbow Flow

Clean / Constellation White

Drawing Lines

In the graph settings, open Animation > Drawing Lines to enable the effect, choose one of 11 styles, and set its speed. The same controls are available in Obsidian's plugin settings under Drawing lines. The Quick Bar drawing-lines button toggles the effect; its visibility is configurable under Quick UI. Keep the global Animation Speed above zero for moving effects.

Node Motion

Open Animation > Motion, enable Node Movement, and adjust Movement Strength and Movement Speed. Higher strength values produce progressively larger movements; zero stops decorative motion. Motion is independent of Visual Intensity and receives limited compensation when zoomed out. Pinned nodes stay fixed, and Reduce Motion suppresses decorative movement. Force Directed settles the graph before decorative movement begins.

Labels And Legend

Open Display in the graph settings to toggle Labels and Legend, or adjust Label Size. Both are off by default. These controls are also available under Visual controls in Obsidian's plugin settings. Enabled labels stay readable when zoomed out; turn on Density Mode to limit labels and reduce clutter in large graphs.

Install From Obsidian

Use this route when Constella is available in the Obsidian Community Plugins browser.

1. Open Obsidian.
2. Open Settings.
3. Go to Community plugins.
4. Turn off Restricted mode if Obsidian asks.
5. Click Browse.
6. Search for Constella.
7. Click Install.
8. Click Enable.
9. Run Constella: Open from the Command Palette.

If the Install or Add to Obsidian button is greyed out, check the latest review status on the plugin page and confirm that the GitHub release tag exactly matches the version in manifest.json.

Manual Install

Use this route if you want to test a release before it appears in the Community Plugins browser.

1. Download the release files

1. Go to the Constella releases page: https://github.com/loopman90/constella-obsidian-plugin/releases
2. Open the newest release.
3. Download exactly these three files:
   • main.js
   • manifest.json
   • styles.css

Do not download the source code zip for manual installation. Obsidian needs the three built plugin files above.

2. Find your vault folder

Your vault is the normal folder where your notes live. Open that folder first, then open or create the hidden .obsidian/plugins folder inside it.

The final plugin folder must be named exactly:

constella

The final result must look like this on every system:

Your Vault/
  .obsidian/
    plugins/
      constella/
        main.js
        manifest.json
        styles.css

3. Mac install steps

1. Open Finder.
2. Open your Obsidian vault folder.
3. Press Command + Shift + . to show hidden folders.
4. Open .obsidian.
5. Open plugins. If it does not exist, create it.
6. Create a folder named constella.
7. Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css into that folder.

Mac example:

/Users/your-name/Documents/My Vault/.obsidian/plugins/constella/

4. Windows install steps

1. Open File Explorer.
2. Open your Obsidian vault folder.
3. Click View.
4. Enable Hidden items if .obsidian is not visible.
5. Open .obsidian.
6. Open plugins. If it does not exist, create it.
7. Create a folder named constella.
8. Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css into that folder.

Windows example:

C:\Users\your-name\Documents\My Vault\.obsidian\plugins\constella\

5. Linux install steps

1. Open your file manager.
2. Open your Obsidian vault folder.
3. Press Ctrl + H to show hidden folders if .obsidian is not visible.
4. Open .obsidian.
5. Open plugins. If it does not exist, create it.
6. Create a folder named constella.
7. Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css into that folder.

Linux example:

/home/your-name/Documents/My Vault/.obsidian/plugins/constella/

6. Enable the plugin

1. Restart Obsidian, or go to Settings -> Community plugins and click Reload plugins.
2. Find Constella under installed plugins.
3. Enable it.
4. Open the Command Palette:
   • Mac: Command + P
   • Windows/Linux: Ctrl + P
5. Run Constella: Open.

Manual Install Troubleshooting

If Constella does not appear in Obsidian:

• Make sure the folder is named constella.
• Make sure the folder is inside .obsidian/plugins/.
• Make sure main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css are directly inside the constella folder.
• Make sure the files are from the same GitHub release.
• Restart Obsidian after copying the files.
• Check Settings -> Community plugins -> Installed plugins.

If Constella opens a blank tab:

• Update to the newest release.
• Restart Obsidian.
• Disable and re-enable Constella.
• Confirm your vault contains Markdown files.
• In Constella, use Show All Notes.
• Check whether folder, tag, date, or minimum-link filters are hiding notes.
• Turn on Include Floating Notes if you want notes without links to appear.

If not all notes are visible:

• Set Graph Scope to Global.
• Set Minimum Links to 0.
• Clear Folder Filter and Tag Filter.
• Set Date Filter to All Notes.
• Enable Include Floating Notes.
• Click Show All Notes.

Development Install

Use this route only if you are editing the source code.

npm install
npm run build

Then copy these files into your vault plugin folder:

main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

For automatic rebuilds while developing:

npm run dev

Opening Constella

You can open Constella in several ways:

• Click the ribbon icon in Obsidian.
• Run Constella: Open from the Command Palette.
• Click Constella in the status bar.

Inside the Constella view:

• Click a node to select it.
• Double-click a node to open the note.
• Hover a node to highlight its direct neighbors.
• Use the Quick Bar to start journeys, switch modes, lock the view, export PNG screenshots, open fullscreen, or open a pop-out display window.

Main Features

• Interactive Canvas knowledge graph.
• Global, Local, and Current Note graph scopes.
• Floating/orphan note support.
• Search and focus note.
• Optional search results list.
• Folder, tag, date, and minimum-link filters.
• Hover neighbor highlighting.
• Pin node, hide node, hide cluster, expand from node, and path preview.
• Auto-travel journey modes.
• Visual styles, color schemes, camera motion, node movement, pulses, particles, and drawing-line animations.
• Optional cluster halos, node icons, density mode, and depth layers.
• Trackpad-friendly zoom, View Lock, viewport preservation on graph refresh, and optional camera pause after manual navigation.
• Mini-map, graph health panel, legends, FPS indicator, and reduce-motion mode.
• Saved visual templates and playlists.
• PNG screenshot export.
• Fullscreen and second-screen pop-out display.
• JSON import/export for templates and playlists.

Control Panel

The Control Panel is organized around workflow:

• Quick: common actions.
• Quick UI: choose which Quick Bar controls are visible, including View Lock and the Drawing Lines toggle.
• Graph: scope, depth, floating notes, filters, and node interaction.
• Tools: mini-map, search results, graph health, saved views, and color rules.
• Discovery: recent, forgotten, hub, orphan, and template filtering.
• Journey: auto-travel timing and route behavior.
• Visual: visual style, color scheme, glow, node size, edge thickness, cluster halos, node icons, density mode, and depth layers.
• Background: background style, intensity, particles, and ambient effects.
• Motion: camera, movement style, pulses, click effects, and reduce motion.
• Paths: path animation, pulses, and drawing-line behavior, including 11 selectable drawing-line styles.
• Presets: templates and playlists.
• Display: labels, overlays, View Lock, viewport preservation, camera pause after manual navigation, legend, FPS, fullscreen intent, cursor hiding, and visual display toggles.

Graph Layout

In Graph > Graph Source, choose Force Directed (default) or Circle. Force Directed uses local repulsion, collision avoidance, and link attraction to separate notes and group connected notes. Node Spacing adjusts separation; Link Distance sets the preferred connection length, not an exact guaranteed distance.

The layout settles incrementally, independently of decorative node animation. Existing note positions are retained on refresh when Preserve Viewport On Refresh is enabled; pinned nodes stay fixed, and dragging temporarily holds the dragged node in place. Changing the layout rebuilds unpinned positions without automatically resetting your camera. Circle restores the original ring arrangement.

Workspace Tools

Open Workspace Tools from the Quick Bar's more-controls menu or Graph > Tools.

• Related: select a note to find matches explained by shared tags, direct links, shared neighbors, and folders. Suggestions use notes in the current graph.
• Bookmarks: save the selected note and focus it again later. Missing or filtered notes are reported without removing the bookmark.
• Presentation: choose notes, arrange their order, name and save the route, then start it. The modal closes and Previous/Next/End controls appear in the Quick Bar. Missing or filtered notes are skipped. Routes never open notes automatically.
• Compare: choose two notes to see shared and unique connections and their local text side by side.
• Changes: create a baseline, then return later to see added, modified, or removed notes and added/removed links across the vault. Mark changes as seen to update the baseline. Renames appear as removed/added paths.
• Local Graph Peek: enable in Graph > Tools to emphasize the selected note and its direct neighbors without filtering the graph or changing the viewport.
• Screenshot Privacy: enable in Graph > Tools to omit all note labels from PNG exports and use a neutral filename. Graph structure and colors remain visible.

Bookmarks, routes, and the changes baseline are stored only in this vault's plugin settings. Note contents are never modified or sent to a server. Compare renders plain text, including Markdown syntax, without loading embedded media.

Keyboard Controls

Inside the Constella view:

• Space: start or pause.
• Arrow Left: previous journey node.
• Arrow Right: next journey node.
• Enter: open the selected node.
• Escape: stop or close the control panel.

Privacy

Constella:

• works locally;
• uses no telemetry;
• uses no analytics;
• uploads no vault data;
• does not automatically modify notes;
• uses no external API.

Constella enumerates Markdown files in the vault because it needs file paths and link metadata to draw the graph. This is expected behavior for a local graph plugin.

Releases

Obsidian expects the GitHub release tag to match the manifest.json version exactly.

Constella follows minor-version discipline for larger changes. Do not overwrite existing releases. Use the next meaningful version, such as 0.6.0, 0.7.0, and eventually 1.0.0.

Correct:

0.6.0

Incorrect:

v0.6.0

Each release must include:

main.js
manifest.json
styles.css

The GitHub Actions workflow builds the plugin, uploads release assets, and creates artifact attestations for release files.

Project Structure

src/
  core/
  graph/
  discovery/
  path/
  templates/
  playlists/
  screensaver/
  display/
  performance/
  settings/
  ui/
docs/
  index.html
  media/

Control Panel Layout

Interactive Graph

Enable or disable Interactive Graph in Settings > Interaction > Graph interaction, or with the hand button in the quick bar. The new interaction is enabled by default. Turning it off restores the previous graph navigation. The same main switch is available in Obsidian's plugin settings.

Click selects without recentering; double-click opens a note. Drag a node to move it, or drag empty space to pan. Dragging starts after five pixels and never opens the note. Connected nodes can follow with adjustable strength; pinned neighbors stay fixed. You can also enable automatic pinning after a drag. Pins retain their coordinates through refreshes in the open window; coordinates are not saved across an Obsidian restart.

Controls include node dragging, connected-node movement, automatic pinning, background panning, scroll/trackpad zoom, double-click opening, and the node context menu. Right-click offers Open, Preview, Focus, Pin/Unpin, and Hide. Camera pause can last during interaction, for a configured number of seconds, or until Play. Camera speed and View Lock remain in the Camera section. Quick UI controls the hand, Back, Forward, and Note Preview buttons separately. Interaction preferences are saved and restored on restart.

The in-graph settings follow this order: Graph, Visual, Background, Animation, Camera, Interaction, Quick UI, and Performance. Graph contains source filters, tools, discovery, and presets. Tools uses separate Search, Health, and Saved Views tabs; their visibility preferences remain available above the tabs.

The quick bar groups navigation, appearance, and actions. The More controls menu contains additional options and automatically includes appearance selectors in narrow windows. Quick UI settings still control which items are available.

Sliders have a numeric value and a reset icon that restores that individual control's default. Controls for disabled effects are hidden until enabled. The bottom status line shows visible notes versus all Markdown notes in the vault, active filters, graph scope, and playback or camera-lock state. Close the settings panel with its close button or Escape. You can hide this line with Graph Status Bar in Visual > Display.

Build Checks

The Quick Bar provides Back, Forward, and Note Preview. History is local to each graph window and restores camera position and zoom; notes removed from the current view are reported rather than silently changing filters. Preview shows up to 16,000 characters of local note text, without loading remote images.

Search settings across sections from the panel's search field. In Graph > Tools, type a note query, use Up/Down to choose a match, and press Enter to select it. Typing alone does not move the camera. The result list can still be disabled. Click the bottom note-count status to inspect filter exclusion counts in order and restore all notes. A loading failure offers Retry; an empty filtered graph also offers Show all notes.

Run npm test for navigation history, filter accounting, 10,000-note coverage, and graph load recovery. Native integration checks are tracked in TESTING.md.

Useful commands:

npm run typecheck
npm run version:check
npm run build

See CHANGELOG.md for release notes.

Use MARKETPLACE.md for the final Obsidian plugin page text, privacy explanation, screenshot checklist, and release checklist.