json-canvas

JSON Canvas

Obsidian Canvas files use the open JSON Canvas format: a .canvas file is plain JSON describing nodes (cards) laid out on an infinite spatial board and edges (connections) between them.

Write canvas files with the write_file tool — pass the full JSON as the file content with a .canvas extension. The plugin classifies .canvas as a text file, so read_file returns its JSON for editing. After writing, the user opens the file in Obsidian to see it rendered; remind them a .canvas file shows as raw JSON in a text editor but renders as a board in Canvas view.

Top-Level Structure

{
	"nodes": [],
	"edges": []
}

Both arrays are optional. nodes holds the cards; edges holds the connections.

Coordinates

The canvas is an infinite 2D plane. Each node has a top-left origin (x, y) and a width/height in pixels. x increases rightward, y increases downward. Lay nodes out with enough spacing that they don't overlap (e.g. step x by width + 100).

Nodes

Every node requires: id, type, x, y, width, height.

• id — a unique string. Use a 16-character lowercase hex string (e.g. "a1b2c3d4e5f60718"); each id must be unique within the file.
• color (optional, any node) — a preset "1"–"6" or a hex string like "#FF0000".

Preset colors: "1" red, "2" orange, "3" yellow, "4" green, "5" cyan, "6" purple.

Text node

Holds Markdown content (Obsidian Flavored Markdown is supported, including wikilinks):

{
	"id": "6f0ad84f44ce9c17",
	"type": "text",
	"x": 0,
	"y": 0,
	"width": 400,
	"height": 200,
	"text": "# Hello\n\n**Bold** text and a [[Linked Note]]."
}

File node

References a vault file (note, image, PDF, etc.) by path. Optional subpath targets a heading (#Heading) or block (#^block-id):

{
	"id": "a1b2c3d4e5f67890",
	"type": "file",
	"x": 500,
	"y": 0,
	"width": 400,
	"height": 300,
	"file": "Folder/My Note.md",
	"subpath": "#Overview"
}