logancyang_obsidian-copilot/docs/context-and-mentions.md

Context and Mentions

Copilot uses context to give the AI information about your notes, selected text, web content, and more. You can control exactly what context the AI sees using automatic context, @-mentions, and manual commands.

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Automatic Context

Active Note

By default, the content of your currently open note is automatically included in every message you send. This means you can ask things like:

• "Summarize this note"
• "What are the action items here?"
• "Add a conclusion section"

To disable automatic note context: Settings → Copilot → Basic → Auto-add active note to context (toggle off).

Active Web Tab (Desktop Only)

If you have the Copilot Web Viewer open alongside your notes, the content of the currently active web tab is automatically included as context (labeled {activeWebTab}). This lets you ask the AI to help you work with web content.

Selected Text

If you highlight text in a note and then type in the chat, the selected text is automatically included as context. This is useful for asking about or transforming a specific part of a note.

You can enable/disable automatic selection adding in Settings → Copilot → Basic → Auto-add selection to context.

Images in Markdown

If your note contains images (e.g., ![[screenshot.png]]), and you're using a model with Vision capability, those images are automatically included in the context. Copilot will pass the image data to the AI so it can see and describe the image.

To control this behavior: Settings → Copilot → Basic → Pass markdown images to AI.

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@-Mentions

Type @ in the chat input to mention and include specific items as context.

@note — Include a Specific Note

Type @ followed by the note title to add a note to context:

@My Meeting Notes tell me what was decided in this meeting

The note's full content is included in the request.

@folder — Include a Folder of Notes

Type @ followed by a folder name to include all notes in that folder:

@Projects/ what tasks are still open?

@tags — Include Notes by Tag

Use # after @ to include all notes with a specific tag:

@#work/project summarize the status of the work project

@URL — Include a Web Page

Paste a URL or type @https://... to fetch and include a web page's content:

@https://example.com/article summarize this article

URL processing requires Copilot Plus. YouTube URLs are handled specially — Copilot will fetch the video transcript automatically.

Tool Mentions

These special @-mentions explicitly trigger tools in Copilot Plus mode:

Mention	What it does
@vault	Search your vault notes for relevant information
@websearch or @web	Search the internet
@composer	Create or edit a note
@memory	Access or update your memory

Example:

@vault what did I write about machine learning last month?
@websearch what are the latest changes to the Python packaging ecosystem?

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Adding Context Manually

Add Selection to Chat Context

Use the command palette: Add selection to chat context

Highlights the selected text and adds it to the chat as context without sending a message. Useful when you want to build up context before sending.

Add Web Selection to Chat Context

Use the command palette: Add web selection to chat context

Works similarly but captures selected text from the Web Viewer. Available on desktop only.

Adding a PDF as Context (Copilot Plus)

Click the + Add context button above the chat input to attach a PDF file. The PDF is converted to text and included as context for your message.

Adding an Image as Context

Drag an image directly into the chat input box, or click the image button in the bottom-right corner of the chat input. The image is sent to the AI if your selected model supports Vision capability.

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Context Indicators

When context items are added to your message, Copilot shows small pills or badges in the chat input area showing what's included (e.g., the note name, a URL, a tag). This helps you confirm exactly what the AI will see.

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Context Behavior by Mode

Context Type	Chat	Vault QA	Copilot Plus
Active note	Yes (auto)	Yes (auto)	Yes (auto)
Selected text	Yes (auto)	Yes (auto)	Yes (auto)
@note / @folder	Yes	Yes	Yes
@URL processing	Copilot Plus only	Copilot Plus only	Yes
@vault search	Yes (explicit)	Auto	Auto
@websearch	No	No	Yes
Images (vision)	Yes	Yes	Yes
Active web tab	Desktop only	Desktop only	Desktop only

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Related

• Chat Interface — How the chat panel works
• Agent Mode and Tools — More on @vault and @websearch
• Vault Search and Indexing — How vault search works