# Claude Context – Obsidian Plugin

## Project overview

An Obsidian community plugin that manages and copies vault context to clipboard for use with LLMs. Stores conventions, structure, and rules in a dedicated folder and provides one-hotkey copy with multi-LLM output formatting, prompt templates, frontmatter presets, granular section selection, and context history.

- **Entry point**: `src/main.ts` → compiled to `main.js` via esbuild
- **Release artifacts**: `main.js`, `manifest.json`, `styles.css` (optional)
- **Plugin ID**: `claude-context`
- **Desktop only**: `true` (uses Node.js `fs` and `child_process` for external sources)

## Environment & tooling

- **Runtime**: Obsidian (Electron/Chromium)
- **Language**: TypeScript (`strict: true`)
- **Package manager**: npm
- **Bundler**: esbuild (config in `esbuild.config.mjs`)
- **Target**: ES2018, CommonJS output
- **Dependencies**: only `obsidian` (latest) – no external runtime deps

### Commands

```bash
npm install          # Install dependencies
npm run dev          # Watch mode (incremental, inline sourcemaps)
npm run build        # Type-check + production build (minified, no sourcemaps)
```

### Testing

Manual only – copy `main.js`, `manifest.json`, `styles.css` to `<Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/claude-context/`, reload Obsidian, enable plugin.

## Source file structure

```
src/
├── main.ts                # Plugin class, command registration, core copy logic
├── settings.ts            # ClaudeContextSettings interface, defaults, settings tab UI
├── generator.ts           # Context generator modal (vault structure setup wizard)
├── sources.ts             # External context sources (freetext, file, folder, shell)
├── source-modal.ts        # Modal for adding/editing context sources
├── presets.ts             # Frontmatter preset parser & executor (ai-context block)
├── targets.ts             # Multi-target output system (format, truncation, token limits)
├── target-modal.ts        # Modal for adding/editing output targets
├── templates.ts           # Prompt template engine & 5 starter templates
├── template-modal.ts      # Modal for adding/editing templates + import/export
├── history.ts             # Context history manager (save, cleanup, versioning)
├── history-modal.ts       # History viewer modal (browse, diff, restore)
├── content-selector.ts    # Heading/block tree parser for granular selection
├── file-selector-modal.ts # Modal for selecting files and sections
├── preview.ts             # Preview modal before copying
```

## Plugin commands

| ID | Name | Description |
|----|------|-------------|
| `copy-context` | Copy context to clipboard | Main command – copies all context files + sources |
| `copy-context-with-note` | Copy context with current note | Same as above but always includes active note |
| `copy-context-selective` | Copy context (select sections) | Opens file/heading selector modal |
| `copy-context-from-preset` | Copy context from frontmatter preset | Reads `ai-context` YAML block from active note |
| `generate-context` | Generate context files | Opens setup wizard to create initial context folder |
| `view-history` | View context history | Opens history browser with diff and restore |

Ribbon icon: `clipboard-copy` → triggers `copy-context`.

## Settings (`ClaudeContextSettings`)

| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---------|------|---------|-------------|
| `contextFolder` | `string` | `'_claude'` | Vault folder containing context `.md` files |
| `separator` | `string` | `'---'` | Text separator between files in output |
| `includeFilenames` | `boolean` | `true` | Add `# === filename ===` headers |
| `showPreview` | `boolean` | `false` | Show preview modal before copying |
| `includeActiveNote` | `boolean` | `false` | Always append the currently open note |
| `excludedFiles` | `string[]` | `[]` | Filenames to skip (case-insensitive) |
| `sources` | `ContextSource[]` | `[]` | External context sources |
| `showSourceLabels` | `boolean` | `true` | Add position/name labels to source output |
| `promptTemplates` | `PromptTemplate[]` | `[]` | Prompt templates with placeholders |
| `defaultTemplateId` | `string \| null` | `null` | Template applied automatically on copy |
| `history` | `HistorySettings` | see below | History configuration |
| `targets` | `OutputTarget[]` | `[]` | Multi-LLM output targets |
| `primaryTargetId` | `string \| null` | `null` | Target that goes to clipboard |
| `targetOutputFolder` | `string` | `'_claude/outputs'` | Folder for secondary target files |

### History settings

| Setting | Type | Default |
|---------|------|---------|
| `enabled` | `boolean` | `false` |
| `storageFolder` | `string` | `'.context-history'` |
| `maxEntries` | `number` | `50` |
| `autoCleanupDays` | `number` | `30` |

## Architecture & key modules

### Context sources (`sources.ts`)

Four source types, each with `position: 'prefix' | 'suffix'`:

| Type | Config | Notes |
|------|--------|-------|
| `freetext` | `{ content: string }` | Inline text snippets |
| `file` | `{ path: string }` | External file (absolute path, requires Node.js `fs`) |
| `folder` | `{ path: string; recursive: boolean; pattern?: string }` | Directory with optional glob filter |
| `shell` | `{ command: string; args: string[]; cwd?: string; timeout?: number }` | Command output (default timeout 5s, max 1MB) |

### Output targets (`targets.ts`)

Three built-in targets (can add custom):

| Name | Tokens | Format | Strategy |
|------|--------|--------|----------|
| Claude | 200,000 | `xml` | `summarize-headers` |
| GPT-4o | 128,000 | `markdown` | `summarize-headers` |
| Compact (8k) | 8,000 | `plain` | `drop-sections` |

**Formats**: `markdown` (default), `xml` (wraps in `<file name="...">` tags), `plain` (strips markdown).

**Truncation strategies**: `truncate` (hard cut), `summarize-headers` (keep headers, collapse content), `drop-sections` (remove low-priority sections entirely).

**Priority order for truncation**: VAULT.md > context files > conventions > structure > active note > examples/templates.

### Prompt templates (`templates.ts`)

Handlebars-like engine with variables: `{{context}}`, `{{selection}}`, `{{active_note}}`, `{{active_note_name}}`, `{{date}}`, `{{time}}`, `{{datetime}}`, `{{vault_name}}`. Supports `{{#if var}}...{{else}}...{{/if}}` conditionals.

Five starter templates: Code Review, Summary, Q&A, Continue Writing, Explain.

### Frontmatter presets (`presets.ts`)

Reads `ai-context` YAML block from the active note's frontmatter:

```yaml
ai-context:
  template: "Template Name"
  include-linked: true
  link-depth: 2          # 0-10
  include-tags: [tag1]
  exclude-paths: [archive/]
  exclude-tags: [draft]
  max-tokens: 50000
  include-active-note: true
```

Features: hierarchical tag matching, link traversal with cycle detection, token budgeting, full validation with errors/warnings.

### Content selector (`content-selector.ts`)

Parses heading tree (H1–H6) and block IDs (`^blockid`) from markdown files. Enables partial file selection via `FileSelectorModal`. Output marks partial files with `(partial)` suffix.

### History (`history.ts`)

Stores each generated context as JSON in vault. Tracks metadata: template used, included files/sources, active note, char/token counts, user notes. Auto-cleanup by age and entry count.

## Coding conventions

- `main.ts` handles plugin lifecycle and command registration – all feature logic lives in dedicated modules.
- Each module exports its types/interfaces alongside implementation.
- Modals are in separate `*-modal.ts` files, business logic in the corresponding `.ts` file.
- Settings are persisted via `loadData()`/`saveData()` with `Object.assign` merge pattern.
- VAULT.md is always sorted first in context output.
- Token estimation: `chars / 4` (rough approximation).
- No external runtime dependencies – everything bundled into `main.js`.

## Obsidian plugin conventions

- Add commands with stable IDs – never rename after release.
- Use `this.register*` helpers for cleanup on unload.
- No network calls without explicit user opt-in and documentation.
- No telemetry, no remote code execution.
- Keep `minAppVersion` accurate (`0.15.0` currently).
- Bump `version` in `manifest.json` (SemVer), update `versions.json`, create GitHub release (tag = version, no `v` prefix).

## Manifest (`manifest.json`)

```json
{
  "id": "claude-context",
  "name": "Claude Context",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "minAppVersion": "0.15.0",
  "description": "Copy .claude/ context files to clipboard with one hotkey.",
  "author": "Luca",
  "isDesktopOnly": true
}
```