Obsidian Design Studio

Open format · local files · shared capability

Design files you can read. Tools you can change.

Obsidian Design Studio is a local-first visual editor and a living open technological commons. Its readable .obsdesign format keeps creative work portable, inspectable, and ready to evolve from real user needs.

Install the plugin Install the agent skill
Working Obsidian editor Frozen v1 contract AGPL commons
room-workspace.obsdesign 100%
Layers
▣ Room workspace
T Room title
□ Content card
□ Chat rail
Design
X80
Y100
W1200
H800
Fill#193830

Why this exists

The format is the durable product.

A useful editor can change. Your source should stay readable, versioned, recoverable, and independent of one host or subscription.

01 / OWNERSHIP

Your files remain yours

Documents are local JSON. Using the editor does not transfer rights in your designs, content, linked assets, or exports.

02 / SAFETY

Unknown data fails closed

Malformed files, future versions, and unknown v1 properties are preserved rather than normalized into silent data loss.

03 / COMMONS

Needs become capabilities

Users bring the job and judgment. Maintainers and agent harnesses turn bounded gaps into tested, reviewable improvements.

One canonical procedure

Install the skill.

Hermes can install Design Mode directly from the public repository. Claude Code and Codex use tiny repository pointers to the same canonical skill—never divergent copies.

Read the skill architecture
Hermes Agent 
hermes skills install https://github.com/ZenithResearch/obsidian-design-studio/tree/main/skills/obsidian-design-studio

Current boundary: Design Mode is operational. Unsupported primitives stop at a capability-gap handoff until an explicitly reviewed contribution path opens.

Reference editor

Install the Obsidian plugin.

  1. Clone and verifyBuild the exact reviewed source with Node.js 20 or later.
  2. Copy three filesInstall main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css in the vault plugin directory.
  3. Enable Community pluginsApprove the vault trust prompt, reload plugins, and enable Obsidian Design Studio.
  4. Create a designRun Create new design document from the command palette.
Open the complete user manual
Build and install 
git clone https://github.com/ZenithResearch/obsidian-design-studio.git
cd obsidian-design-studio
npm ci
npm run verify
npm run build
PLUGIN_DIR="/path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-design-studio"
mkdir -p "$PLUGIN_DIR"
cp main.js manifest.json styles.css "$PLUGIN_DIR/"

Documentation

Use it. Inspect it. Improve it carefully.

Start with the practical manual or enter through the format, renderer, test, and governance boundaries.

USER MANUAL

Install and design

Plugin setup, editor controls, save behavior, recovery, skill use, limitations, and troubleshooting.
TECHNICAL DOCUMENTATION

Architecture and contracts

Format authority, renderer boundaries, tests, build commands, skill architecture, compatibility, and security.
SOURCE

Read the repository

AGPL source, governance, v1 schema, capability manifest, conformance fixtures, examples, and evidence.

Claim boundary

A foundation to prove, not parity to announce.

The current foundation is not Figma-equivalent. It supports artboards, rectangles, text, deterministic local source, and a working Obsidian editor. Images, vectors, groups, components, collaboration, and general web rendering remain capability gaps to earn through real workflows.