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Open PowerShell Here

by Ethan Fu
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Description

Obsidian plugin: open a native terminal (PowerShell on Windows, the system default terminal on Linux, Terminal on macOS) at your vault root or any folder/file — from the ribbon or right-click menu.

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Latest Version

0.7.1
a day ago

Changelog

0.7.1

🔒 Permissions

  • No more direct filesystem access: the plugin no longer uses the Node.js fs module at all, so the Direct Filesystem Access warning from Obsidian's automated plugin review no longer applies. It never reads, writes, or checks any file, inside or outside your vault.
  • The Shell Execution warning remains. Starting a terminal requires child_process; this is inherent to the plugin and is explained in the README under Permissions & Security. No shell is involved (shell: false) and the target folder is always passed as a separate argument.

🔧 Changes

  • Linux: installed terminals are no longer looked up by scanning PATH. Candidates are started in the same order as before (preferred terminal, then the system default, then the rest alphabetically); one that is not installed is skipped and the next is tried. The terminal that worked is remembered for later clicks.
  • Linux: the Debian/Ubuntu x-terminal-emulator default is now identified with update-alternatives --query x-terminal-emulator.
  • macOS: app bundles are tried with /usr/bin/open in the same fixed locations as before (/Applications, /System/Applications/Utilities, /System/Applications, ~/Applications) instead of being checked for existence first. macOS support is still not verified on a real Mac.
  • Windows: unchanged.

📦 Release Assets

  • main.js
  • manifest.json
  • styles.css
See all version on GitHub

README file from

Github

Native Terminal Here

简体中文

Open your computer's native terminal directly from Obsidian without typing cd <folder> every time.

  • ⚡ Open at Vault Root: Click the terminal icon in the left ribbon bar.
  • 📂 Open at Any Folder or File: Right-click any folder or note in the file explorer and click Open Terminal here.

💻 Supported Platforms & Terminals

Operating System Terminal Notes
Windows PowerShell 7+ Hosted in modern Windows Terminal
Linux System default terminal No terminal is favoured; e.g. on Ubuntu 25.10+ / 26.04 the default terminal (Ptyxis) is used automatically
macOS Terminal.app (Ghostty / Kitty optional) ⚠️ Not verified on a real Mac — see the note below

On Linux the plugin uses your system's default terminal first (via xdg-terminal-exec, or the Debian/Ubuntu x-terminal-emulator alternative). Only if no default can be determined does it fall back to the first installed terminal among Alacritty, Foot, Ghostty, GNOME Terminal, GNOME Console, Kitty, Konsole, Ptyxis, WezTerm, and XFCE4 Terminal (alphabetical, none favoured). To always use a specific one, select it under Style Settings → Preferred Terminal.

⚠️ macOS support is untested. The macOS code path is covered by automated tests only; it has not been verified on a real Mac. By default the plugin opens the built-in Terminal.app at the target folder; Ghostty or Kitty is used when selected under Style Settings → Preferred Terminal and installed in /Applications or ~/Applications. If it does not work for you, please open an issue.

🚀 How to Use

1. Open at Vault Root (Ribbon Bar)

Click the terminal icon in Obsidian's left ribbon bar to open your terminal at the vault root directory.

2. Open at a Specific Folder (File Explorer)

In the left file tree:

  • Right-click any folder: Click Open Terminal here to open the terminal in that folder.
  • Right-click any note/file: Click Open Terminal here to open the terminal in the directory where that file is located.

⚙️ Optional Customization (Style Settings)

If you use the Style Settings plugin, you can easily customize:

  • Hide Ribbon Button: Hide the left ribbon icon if you only want the right-click menu.
  • Preferred Terminal (Linux / macOS): Choose Auto-detect, Ghostty, Kitty, or Ptyxis (Linux only) when multiple terminals are installed. If the selected terminal is not installed, the plugin falls back to auto-detection.

📦 Installation

Option 1: Community Plugins (Recommended)

  1. Open Obsidian Settings → Community plugins → Browse.
  2. Search for Native Terminal Here and click Install, then Enable.

Option 2: Manual Installation

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the Releases page.
  2. Place the 3 files into <vault>/.obsidian/plugins/open-powershell-here/.
  3. Reload Obsidian and enable the plugin.

🔐 Permissions & Security

Obsidian's automated plugin review reports one capability warning for this plugin. It is inherent to opening a terminal at a folder, and it is limited to that purpose.

Capability Why it is needed What it does not do
Shell execution (child_process) Launches the selected terminal as a detached process: PowerShell 7+ on Windows (hosted in Windows Terminal when available), the terminal emulator on Linux, or the terminal app via /usr/bin/open on macOS. To find out which terminal is installed, candidates are simply started in order until one succeeds; on Windows pwsh candidates are verified with a hidden version probe, and on Debian/Ubuntu update-alternatives --query x-terminal-emulator is run to identify the default terminal. No shell is involved (shell: false); no command strings are built; the target folder is passed as a separate argument and as the process working directory; the terminal session is never read, written, or monitored.

The plugin does not use the Node.js fs module: it never reads, writes, or checks any file, inside or outside your vault.

The plugin does not connect to the network, does not collect telemetry, and does not write logs.

📄 License

MIT License, see LICENSE.

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