obsidian-canvas

Obsidian Canvas Skill

When to Create a Canvas

• Only when a topic folder has 3 or more notes (index + at least 2 deep dives).
• Canvas file lives in the same folder as the notes: {Folder}/{Topic}.canvas
• Skip canvas creation for single standalone notes.

Workflow

Step 1 — Check for Existing Canvas

• Use canvas_read to check if {Folder}/{Topic}.canvas exists.
• Exists → enter update mode (Step 4).
• Does not exist → enter create mode (Steps 2–3).

Step 2 — Plan Layout

Node	Position	Size
Index note	Center {x: 0, y: 0}	400 × 200
Deep-dive 1	{x: 500, y: -300}	250 × 130
Deep-dive 2	{x: 500, y: 0}	250 × 130
Deep-dive 3	{x: 500, y: 300}	250 × 130
Deep-dive N	Continue 300px apart vertically	250 × 130

Adjust x-offsets for very large sets (wrap into 2 columns at 6+ deep dives).

Step 3 — Create Canvas

Call canvas_create with:

{
  "path": "Folder/Topic.canvas",
  "nodes": [
    {
      "id": "index",
      "type": "file",
      "file": "Folder/Topic — Index.md",
      "x": 0, "y": 0,
      "width": 400, "height": 200
    },
    {
      "id": "dive-01",
      "type": "file",
      "file": "Folder/01 - Subtopic.md",
      "x": 500, "y": -150,
      "width": 250, "height": 130
    }
  ],
  "edges": [
    {
      "id": "edge-dive-01-index",
      "fromNode": "dive-01",
      "fromSide": "left",
      "toNode": "index",
      "toSide": "right"
    }
  ]
}

Edge direction convention: deep-dive → index (deep dives point to their hub). Cross-edges between deep-dives: add only when those notes explicitly wikilink to each other. Label edges only when the relationship is non-obvious.

Step 4 — Update Mode

1. Call canvas_read to get current nodes and edges.
2. Compare against current notes in the folder.
3. Add nodes for any notes not yet on the canvas.
4. Remove nodes for notes that no longer exist.
5. Reconcile edges accordingly.
6. Call canvas_update with the full updated JSON.

ID Convention

Use short, stable, human-readable IDs:

• Index node: "index"
• Deep-dive nodes: "dive-01", "dive-02", etc.
• Edges: "edge-{fromId}-{toId}"

Node Types

Use	Type
Linking to a .md note	"file"
Free-floating label	"text"
Group/section boundary	"group"

Always use "file" for note nodes in this skill. "text" nodes are only for adding short annotations if helpful.