Obsidian Opener

A lightweight macOS menu bar app that makes .md files open directly in Obsidian.

Features

• Default .md handler — Set Obsidian Opener as the default app for Markdown files on macOS
• Vault-aware — Configure which Obsidian vault to open files in
• Smart import — Files outside your vault are automatically copied into a configurable import folder (default: Inbox) and then opened
• Menu bar app — Lives in the menu bar, stays out of your Dock

Installation

Download

Grab the latest .zip from Releases, unzip, and drag Obsidian Opener.app to your Applications folder.

Build from Source

git clone https://github.com/Fletcher-Alderton/ObsidianOpener.git
cd ObsidianOpener
xcodebuild -project ObsidianOpener.xcodeproj -scheme ObsidianOpener -configuration Release -derivedDataPath /tmp/ObsidianOpenerBuild

The built app will be at /tmp/ObsidianOpenerBuild/Build/Products/Release/ObsidianOpener.app.

Or use the included build script:

./scripts/build-release.sh 1.0
# Output: release/ObsidianOpener-v1.0.zip

Setup

1. Launch Obsidian Opener — it will appear in your menu bar.
2. Configure your vault — Click the menu bar icon and select your Obsidian vault path.
3. Set as default .md handler:
   • Right-click any .md file in Finder → Get Info
   • Under Open with, select Obsidian Opener
   • Click Change All… to apply to all .md files

How It Works

When you open a .md file, Obsidian Opener uses the obsidian:// URI scheme to open it in your configured vault.

• Files inside the vault are opened directly.
• Files outside the vault are copied into the import folder (default: Inbox) within your vault, then opened from there. This ensures every file you open is accessible within Obsidian.

Requirements

• macOS 13+ (Ventura or later)
• Obsidian installed

License

MIT © 2025 Fletcher Alderton