Obsidian ELN Plugin

Electronic Lab Notebook (ELN) functionality integrated seamlessly into Obsidian. Transform your Obsidian vault into a powerful, structured laboratory notebook with dynamic templates, metadata management, and specialized research tools.

⚠️ Beta Release: This plugin is currently in public beta. Core features are stable, but expect some rough edges. Please report issues and backup your vault before use!

✨ Features

• 🔬 Dynamic Note Templates - Create structured lab notes with intelligent forms
• 🧪 Chemical Integration - Built-in chemical structure lookup and periodic table
• 📊 Metadata Management - Rich, nested metadata with automatic validation
• 🎨 Modern UI - Clean, intuitive interface that matches Obsidian's design
• 🔄 Reactive Fields - Template fields that update automatically based on other inputs
• 📋 Flexible Templates - JSON-based templates that are easy to customize
• 📈 Dashboard & Tracking - Monitor research progress and organize projects

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

📦 Beta Installation: Currently available via test vault, BRAT, or manual installation. Community plugin store submission coming after beta testing.

Method 1: Test Vault (Easiest - Try Before Installing)

Perfect for testing the plugin with example notes before adding to your own vault:

1. Download the test vault

   • Go to GitHub Releases
   • Download obsidian-eln-test-vault.zip

2. Extract and open in Obsidian

   • Extract the zip file
   • Open Obsidian → "Open folder as vault"
   • Navigate to the extracted folder
   • ⚠️ IMPORTANT: Select the folder that CONTAINS the .obsidian folder!
     • Some unzip tools create a parent folder (e.g., test-vault/test-vault/)
     • You need to open the inner folder, not the outer one
     • Look for the folder with .obsidian directory inside

3. Start exploring

   • Plugin is pre-installed and configured
   • Includes example notes for all template types
   • Assets folder included for full visual experience

Method 2: BRAT (Recommended for Existing Vaults)

⚠️ Warning: This is a beta plugin. Only recommended if you:

• Have backups of your vault
• Understand the risks of beta software
• Are comfortable troubleshooting issues
• Can tolerate potential data loss or corruption

The easiest way to add to an existing vault with automatic updates:

1. Backup your vault first! (seriously, do this)

2. Install BRAT plugin

   • Open Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins
   • Search for "BRAT" and install it

3. Add ELN Plugin

   • Open command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P)
   • Type "BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing"
   • Enter: fcskit/obsidian-eln-plugin
   • Enable the plugin in Settings → Community plugins

4. Done! BRAT will auto-update when new betas release

📚 Detailed BRAT Installation Guide

Method 3: Manual Installation

For users who prefer manual control:

1. Download the latest release

   • Go to GitHub Releases
   • Download obsidian-eln-0.7.0-beta.1.zip

2. Extract to your vault

   • Navigate to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ folder
   • Create folder: .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-eln/
   • Extract the zip contents into this folder

3. Enable the plugin

   • Open Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins
   • Enable "Electronic Lab Notebook"

Method 4: Install from Source

For developers or advanced users who want to build from source:

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/fcskit/obsidian-eln-plugin.git
   cd obsidian-eln-plugin

2. Install dependencies

   npm install

3. Build the plugin

   npm run build

4. Copy to your vault

   # Copy to your vault's plugin folder
   cp main.js manifest.json styles.css /path/to/your/vault/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-eln/

5. Enable the plugin

   • Reload Obsidian
   • Settings → Community plugins → Enable "Electronic Lab Notebook"

Requirements

• Obsidian 0.15.0 or higher
• Desktop recommended (mobile support experimental)

Recommended Companion Plugins

For the best experience, install these community plugins:

• Dataview - Enables dynamic list generation in project notes and other templates
• Pixel Banner - Display banner images for daily notes and project notes
• Chem - Renders chemical structures (SMILES strings) in chemical templates

Optional: Assets Package

If using Method 2, 3, or 4, you may want the assets package for full template rendering with images:

1. Download obsidian-eln-assets.zip from the latest release
2. Extract to your vault root (creates assets/ folder)
3. Templates will now display images correctly for projects, devices, contacts, and daily notes

Note: Test vault (Method 1) already includes the assets folder.

⚠️ Important: Always backup your vault before installing beta software!

First Steps

1. Create Your First Note: Use Ctrl/Cmd+P → "ELN: Create Note"
2. Choose a Template: Try "Basic Experiment" or "Chemical"
3. Fill the Form: Enter your research data in the structured form
4. Explore Features: Try different templates and customization options

📖 Documentation

👥 For Users

• Installation Guide - Complete setup instructions
• Features Overview - All plugin capabilities
• Template System - Understanding and customizing templates
• Template Examples - Ready-to-use templates

🔧 For Developers

• Architecture Overview - System design and components
• Development Setup - Environment setup
• API Reference - TypeScript interfaces and APIs
• Contributing Guide - How to contribute

🎯 Use Cases

Academic Research

• Experiment documentation and tracking
• Literature review organization
• Research proposal development
• Thesis and dissertation writing

Industry R&D

• Product development tracking
• Quality control documentation
• Regulatory compliance
• Patent documentation

Educational Settings

• Student lab reports
• Course experiment tracking
• Teaching material development

🏗️ Project Structure

obsidian-eln-plugin/
├── src/                    # Source code
│   ├── main.ts            # Plugin entry point
│   ├── core/              # Core business logic
│   ├── ui/                # User interface components
│   └── utils/             # Utilities and helpers
├── docs/                  # Documentation
│   ├── user/              # User guides
│   ├── developer/         # Developer documentation
│   └── examples/          # Template examples
├── tests/                 # Test files
├── images/                # Screenshots and assets
└── release/               # Built plugin files

🛠️ Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16+ and npm
• TypeScript knowledge
• Obsidian for testing

Setup

git clone https://github.com/fcskit/obsidian-eln-plugin.git
cd obsidian-eln-plugin
npm install
npm run dev

Available Scripts

• npm run dev - Development build with watch mode
• npm run build - Production build
• npm run test - Run tests
• npm run build-css - Compile modular CSS

See Development Setup for detailed instructions.

📸 Screenshots

Note Creation Dialog

Nested Properties Editor

Integrated Image Viewer

Periodic Table Integration

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Ways to Contribute

• 🐛 Bug Reports - Help us identify and fix issues
• 💡 Feature Requests - Suggest new functionality
• 📝 Documentation - Improve guides and examples
• 🔧 Code Contributions - Implement features and fixes
• 🧪 Testing - Help test new features and releases

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🔗 Links

• GitHub Repository
• Issue Tracker
• Discussions
• Releases

🙏 Acknowledgments

This project builds upon the excellent work of the Obsidian community and integrates functionality previously available in the obsidian-eln-vault project, now enhanced with plugin-specific capabilities.

Credits

• Footer Implementation: Inspired by Rich Foot plugin by jparkerweb
• Development: This plugin was developed with AI assistance (GitHub Copilot and Claude)

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Version: 0.7.0-beta.1 | Status: Public Beta | Last Updated: January 27, 2026

📢 Beta Feedback

This is a beta release! We need your feedback to make it better:

• 🐛 Found a bug? Report it here
• 💡 Have a suggestion? Start a discussion
• ⭐ Like the plugin? Give us a star on GitHub!

Your feedback helps shape the future of this plugin. Thank you for being an early adopter!

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Interactive Periodic Table of Elements