Quick PARA Plugin for Obsidian

Comprehensive PARA (Projects, Areas, Resources, Archive) method support for Obsidian. This plugin combines folder provisioning, automatic tagging, weekly agenda generation, and template management into a single, cohesive experience.

Features

Quick Setup Wizard

• One-click PARA folder structure provisioning
• Guided setup for first-time users
• Respects existing vault structure (never overwrites)

Automatic Tagging

• Property-based PARA location tracking (para: projects)
• Persistent subfolder tags (historical breadcrumbs)
• Auto-updates on file create/move
• Bulk update command for existing files

Weekly Agenda Generation

• Parse Project Dashboard kanban board
• Auto-populate weekly 1-on-1 meetings
• Extract project tasks by folder
• Preserve manual notes and feedback

Template Management

• Embedded PARA templates
• One-click deployment
• Automatic backup before overwrite
• Templater integration

Task Management

• Cancel open tasks in Archive folder
• Preview mode to see affected tasks
• Works on current file or entire Archive
• Converts [ ] to [-] (cancelled status)

Dependency Checking

• Verify required plugins (Templater, Tasks)
• User-friendly warnings
• Installation guidance

Installation

From Obsidian Community Plugins (Coming Soon)

1. Open Settings → Community Plugins
2. Search for "Quick PARA"
3. Click Install, then Enable

Manual Installation

1. Download the latest release from Releases
2. Extract to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/quick-para/ folder
3. Reload Obsidian
4. Enable the plugin in Settings → Community Plugins

From Source

git clone https://github.com/MarkOnFire/obsidian-quick-para.git
cd obsidian-quick-para
npm install
npm run build
# Copy main.js, manifest.json, styles.css to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/quick-para/

Usage

First-Time Setup

1. Click the grid icon in the left ribbon, or run "Quick PARA: Run Setup Wizard"
2. Follow the wizard steps:
   • Review PARA folder configuration
   • Create missing folders
   • Deploy templates (optional)
3. Install Templater and Tasks plugins if prompted

Configure Settings

Go to Settings → Quick PARA to configure:

• PARA Folder Mappings: Customize folder names for your vault
• Agenda Generation: Configure Project Dashboard and Weekly 1-on-1 paths
• Tagging Behavior: Property name, subfolder persistence
• Template Management: Auto-deploy, backup options

Commands

Command	Description
Run PARA Setup Wizard	Initial setup and folder provisioning
Update PARA tags for current file	Manually update tags for active note
Update PARA tags for all files	Bulk update all notes in vault
Update weekly 1-on-1 agenda	Generate agenda from Project Dashboard
Deploy PARA templates	Install templates to TEMPLATES folder
Check plugin dependencies	Verify Templater and Tasks are installed
Cancel all open tasks in Archive	Bulk cancel tasks in archived notes
Cancel all open tasks in current file	Cancel tasks in active note
Preview archive task cancellation	Dry-run to see affected tasks

How It Works

Automatic Tagging

When you create or move a note:

1. Plugin detects the PARA folder (0 - INBOX, 1 - Projects, etc.)
2. Sets para property to location (inbox, projects, areas, resources, archive)
3. Adds subfolder tags (e.g., work from 1 - Projects/Work/)
4. Tags persist across moves (historical context)
5. Always includes all tag for universal filtering

Example frontmatter:

---
tags:
  - all
  - work
para: projects
created: 2025-11-05
---

Weekly Agenda Generation

The plugin can automatically update your weekly 1-on-1 note:

1. Parses Project Dashboard kanban board sections
2. Extracts project wikilinks from configured folders
3. Populates upcoming meeting section with:
   • Active projects
   • Blocked items
   • Recently completed tasks
4. Preserves manual notes and feedback sections

Auto-Managed Sections:

#### Projects
<!-- AUTO-MANAGED -->
*Auto-updated from Project Dashboard*
  * [[Project A]]
  * [[Project B]]
<!-- END AUTO-MANAGED -->

Content between <!-- AUTO-MANAGED --> tags is updated automatically. Content outside these tags is never touched.

Task Cancellation

When notes are archived, they often contain open tasks that are no longer relevant. The task cancellation feature helps clean these up:

• Finds all open tasks (- [ ], * [ ], or + [ ])
• Converts them to cancelled format: - [-]
• Works on entire Archive folder or current file
• Preview mode available to see what would change

Dependencies

Required

• Templater: Template variable substitution
• Tasks: Task management and queries

Optional

• Kanban: For Project Dashboard board (recommended)

Default PARA Folder Structure

0 - INBOX/          # Unsorted incoming information
1 - Projects/       # Active work with deadlines
2 - AREAS/          # Ongoing responsibilities
3 - RESOURCES/      # Reference materials
4 - ARCHIVE/        # Completed or inactive items

All folder names are customizable in settings.

Development

Building from Source

git clone https://github.com/MarkOnFire/obsidian-quick-para.git
cd obsidian-quick-para
npm install
npm run build    # Production build
npm run dev      # Watch mode for development

Project Structure

obsidian-quick-para/
├── src/
│   ├── index.js         # Main plugin entry point
│   ├── tagging.js       # PARA tagging logic
│   ├── settings.js      # Settings UI
│   ├── agenda.js        # Weekly agenda generation
│   ├── provisioning.js  # Folder setup wizard
│   ├── templates.js     # Template management
│   └── dependencies.js  # Plugin dependency checking
├── main.js              # Compiled bundle (generated)
├── manifest.json        # Plugin metadata
├── styles.css           # Plugin styles
├── package.json
└── esbuild.config.mjs   # Build configuration

Testing in Obsidian

1. Build: npm run build
2. Copy main.js, manifest.json, styles.css to your test vault's .obsidian/plugins/quick-para/
3. Reload Obsidian or toggle the plugin off/on

Troubleshooting

Tags not updating

• Ensure file is in a PARA folder
• Check folder mappings in settings
• Run "Update PARA tags for current file" manually

Agenda generation fails

• Verify Project Dashboard path in settings
• Check kanban board format (## sections)
• Ensure Weekly 1-on-1 file exists

Templates not deploying

• Verify TEMPLATES folder exists
• Check for file permission issues
• Review Obsidian console for errors (Cmd+Option+I / Ctrl+Shift+I)

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Run npm run build to ensure it compiles
5. Submit a pull request

License

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2026 Mark Riechers

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

---

Version: 0.1.0 Author: Mark Riechers Status: Beta - Testing before community plugin submission