Cornell Notes

Cornell Notes for Obsidian

Renders cornell fenced code blocks as a two-column Cornell Notes layout in Reading view.

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Features

• Two-column layout: Cues / Questions (28%) left, Notes (72%) right
• Supports any Markdown in both columns: paragraphs, lists, tables, code blocks, callouts, math, mermaid diagrams, images, wikilinks
• Mobile-responsive: columns stack vertically on narrow screens
• Plain-text storage — readable and editable without the plugin

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Installation

Community plugins (once approved)

Settings > Community plugins > Browse > search Cornell Notes > Install > Enable

Manual install

1. Download main.js, manifest.json, styles.css from the latest release
2. Copy all three files into <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/cornell-notes/
3. Settings > Community plugins > enable Cornell Notes

Via BRAT (beta)

1. Install BRAT
2. BRAT > Add Beta Plugin > https://github.com/bytetiles/obsidian-cornell-notes

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Usage

Wrap your Cornell Notes rows in a 4-backtick cornell fence. Use ::cue to start a row and ::note to start the note for that row.

::cue
What is a window function?
::note
A calculation across related rows **without collapsing** them.

Unlike GROUP BY, all original rows stay visible.

::cue
What does PARTITION BY do?
::note
Splits rows into logical groups inside the window.

| PARTITION BY | GROUP BY       |
|--------------|----------------|
| keeps rows   | collapses rows |

Syntax rules

Always use 4 backticks for the outer fence (````cornell). This lets you freely use triple-backtick code blocks inside.

Rich content examples

Code block in notes:

::cue
Java import syntax
::note
```java
import org.example.project.Course.*;
```

Callouts, math, diagrams:

::cue
> [!tip] Tip in cue
::note
> [!warning] Warning callout

Inline math: $E = mc^{2}$

$$\int_0^\infty e^{-x^2}\,dx = \frac{\sqrt{\pi}}{2}$$

::cue
Mermaid in note
::note
```mermaid
graph LR
  A --> B --> C
```

Mobile view

On screens narrower than 700 px the columns stack vertically (notes first, then cues below).

Known limitations