How to vibe codeObsidian

Prerequisites

• Node.jsFree

  Required for running the TypeScript build toolchain and Electron/Tauri development environment.

• GitHubFree

  Source code repository hosting and CI/CD version control.

• 

  macOS / Windows PCFree

  Required desktop environment to build, bundle, and test cross-platform Electron applications.

AI coding tools

• Claude Code

  The best terminal coding agent for scaffolding multi-file desktop apps, writing complex file-system parsers, and debugging build loops.

• Cursor

  An AI-native code editor ideal for iterative UI polish, tweaking CSS themes, and reviewing component diffs.

Build guide

1. 01Scaffold Electron Desktop Shell & Local File System Bridge

   Initialize a cross-platform desktop application shell using Electron and TypeScript, establishing secure IPC bridges to read, write, and watch local directories containing Markdown files.

   Scaffold a cross-platform Electron desktop application using TypeScript, Vite, and React. Create a main process that exposes secure IPC handlers (`window.electronAPI`) for reading directory contents, loading file trees recursively, reading plain text Markdown files, and saving files back to disk. Implement a local file system watcher using Chokidar or Node's `fs.watch` that notifies the renderer process whenever external changes occur in the active vault directory. Ensure proper error handling for missing permissions, locked files, and large directories. Set up a clean Tailwind CSS layout with a collapsible left sidebar, main editing pane, and right inspector panel.

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2. 02Implement CodeMirror 6 Editor & Markdown Parser

   Integrate CodeMirror 6 as the core text editing engine with custom extensions for live preview syntax toggling, headings, lists, and inline formatting.

   Integrate CodeMirror 6 into the React frontend as the main note editor. Configure syntax highlighting for Markdown, line numbers, autocompletion, and keybindings (including optional Vim mode). Build a custom CodeMirror view plugin or decorator that implements 'Live Preview' behavior: when the cursor is outside a Markdown formatting token (like `**bold**`, `# heading`, or `[[link]]`), render the styled DOM element inline while keeping the raw syntax accessible when editing. Add keyboard shortcuts for toggling bold, italic, lists, and headers.

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3. 03Build Bi-Directional Linking & Wiki-Links Engine

   Parse `[[Wiki-links]]` across all vault files, construct an in-memory index of forward links and backlinks, and build an autocomplete popup for link creation.

   Create a background indexing service in the frontend/main process that scans all Markdown files in the active vault upon startup and on file changes. Parse out all `[[Wiki-links]]` and `#tags` using regular expressions or an AST parser. Build an in-memory graph index mapping every note to its outgoing links and incoming backlinks. Implement an autocomplete dropdown that triggers when the user types `[[` inside CodeMirror, showing a searchable list of matching note titles from the vault. Clicking a suggestion inserts the link and updates the backlist inspector panel for the currently viewed note.

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4. 04Develop Interactive Force-Directed Graph View

   Build an interactive D3.js or HTML5 canvas graph visualization that renders notes as nodes and bi-directional links as edges.

   Build a dedicated Graph View panel using D3.js force simulation (or HTML5 Canvas for performance). Transform the in-memory note and backlink index into a node-edge graph structure. Render notes as interactive circular nodes and links as connecting lines, with node sizing scaled by backlink count. Support pan, zoom, hover tooltips displaying note titles, and click-to-navigate functionality that opens the selected note in the editor pane. Include basic filter controls to filter by tags or search queries.

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5. 05Create Canvas Spatial Workspace

   Implement an infinite spatial canvas workspace allowing users to place note cards, media, and spatial connections freely.

   Build an infinite spatial Canvas workspace view where users can pan and zoom across a 2D plane. Allow users to create card nodes (linked to local Markdown notes or containing freeform text), color them, resize them, and draw connecting directional arrows between cards. Store canvas layouts in a JSON file alongside the vault. Implement smooth drag-and-drop mechanics, multi-selection bounding boxes, and zoom-to-fit controls.

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6. 06Add Plugin Extension API & Settings UI

   Design a sandboxed plugin architecture allowing community JavaScript/TypeScript scripts to register UI extensions, commands, and workspace views.

   Design and implement a local plugin extension architecture for the desktop app. Create a plugin manifest reader that scans a `.obsidian/plugins` directory in the vault. Provide a safe API (`window.obsidianAPI` or similar context) exposed to plugins that allows them to register custom status bar items, editor commands, ribbon icons, and sidebar views. Build a searchable Settings modal that lists core and community plugins with toggles to enable or disable them instantly without restarting the app.

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Cost vs paying for Obsidian