xminder

XMinder

An Obsidian plugin for reading, writing, and embedding XMind mind maps directly inside your vault.

English · 中文

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Introduction

XMinder brings full mind map support to Obsidian. Create or open .xmind files as interactive, editable mind maps without leaving your note-taking workflow. All changes are auto-saved back to the original .xmind format, keeping your files compatible with the XMind desktop application.

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Key Features

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Create & Open

Opening an XMind File

Embedding in a Markdown Note

# Inline read-only preview (click to open full editor)
![[my-diagram.xmind]]

# Clickable link that opens the XMind view
[[my-diagram.xmind]]

Exporting to Mermaid Mindmap

The exported Mermaid format can be pasted directly into notes where the Mermaid plugin renders it as a visual mind map:

mindmap
  root(("Central Topic"))
    Main Topic 1
      Subtopic 1
      Subtopic 2
    Main Topic 2
      Subtopic 3

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Features & Shortcuts

Toolbar

Left toolbar (top-left corner):

Right-bottom toolbar:

Keyboard Shortcuts

Command Palette

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Settings

Open Settings → Community Plugins → XMinder:

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Project Info

Project Structure

obsidian-xminder/
├── src/
│   ├── main.ts                        # Plugin entry point & lifecycle
│   ├── settings.ts                    # Settings definition and UI tab
│   ├── i18n.ts                        # Internationalization (en/zh)
│   ├── xmind/
│   │   ├── types.ts                   # Internal type definitions
│   │   ├── parser.ts                  # .xmind → XMindData (ZIP + JSON/XML)
│   │   ├── serializer.ts              # XMindData → .xmind (ZIP)
│   │   └── canvas.ts                  # Export to Obsidian Canvas format
│   ├── views/
│   │   ├── XMindView.ts               # FileView with mind-elixir renderer
│   │   └── LayoutEngine.ts            # Custom layout engine for node positioning
│   └── markdown/
│       ├── EmbedProcessor.ts          # ![[]] / [[]] post-processor (Reading mode)
│       └── LivePreviewProcessor.ts    # CodeMirror extension (Live Preview mode)
├── .github/
│   └── workflows/
│       └── release.yml                # CI/CD workflow with artifact attestation
├── styles.css                         # Source stylesheet
├── manifest.json                      # Obsidian plugin manifest
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── esbuild.config.mjs                 # Build configuration with dependency bundling

Environment Requirements

Install Dependencies

npm install

Development Build (watch mode)

npm run dev

To test with Obsidian, symlink the plugin folder into your vault:

ln -s /path/to/obsidian-xminder \
  "/path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-xminder"

Then enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins and reload Obsidian after each change (Cmd+R / Ctrl+R).

Production Build

npm run build

Output in dist/:

dist/
├── main.js        # Bundled plugin (all dependencies inlined)
├── manifest.json
└── styles.css

Clean build (removes dist/ first):

npm run build:clean

Manual Deployment

1. Build the plugin:

   npm install && npm run build
   

2. Copy to your vault:

   mkdir -p "<your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-xminder"
   cp dist/{main.js,manifest.json,styles.css} \
     "<your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-xminder/"
   

3. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins

GitHub Actions CI/CD

The repository includes a release workflow that:

• Triggers on any git tag push
• Builds the plugin with npm run build
• Generates GitHub artifact attestations for build provenance
• Creates a GitHub Release with main.js, styles.css, and manifest.json

To publish a release:

git tag -a v1.0.8 -m "Release v1.0.8"
git push origin v1.0.8

Key Dependencies

Platform Support

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XMind File Format

.xmind files are ZIP archives. This plugin reads and writes:

Files in content.xml format are upgraded to content.json on first save.

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License

MIT