csvzall for Obsidian

Open, edit, create, and chart CSV files directly inside Obsidian.

This plugin relies on the csvzall command line application, which can be downloaded through the plugin via GitHub Releases.

On phones and tablets, install csvzall Mobile.

If csvzall saves you time, please star this repository. It helps other Obsidian users find the plugin and helps me gauge demand for continued development.

What It Does

• Opens .csv files in an editable table view inside Obsidian.
• Adds a New CSV action to folder context menus.
• Adds an Open with csvzall action to CSV file menus.
• Can generate bar, line, and heatmap charts.
• Can regenerate configured charts when CSV files change.
• Can run SQLite queries over CSV files.
• Supports generated Markdown table notes from chart config entries.

Requirements

• Obsidian desktop.
• A local filesystem vault.
• The csvzall helper binary. The plugin can download this for you from its settings tab, or from the missing-binary screen when opening a CSV.

For mobile creating, viewing, and editing, install the generated csvzall Mobile plugin instead. The mobile plugin uses the bundled WASM viewer and does not install or run the desktop helper binary.

Downloaded binaries are verified with SHA-256 before they are installed under the plugin-managed directory.

Privacy and Network Use

The plugin does not collect telemetry. It contacts GitHub Releases only when you choose to install or update the managed csvzall helper. CSV viewing and charting run through the local helper process on your machine.

Limitations

• This package is desktop-only. Use csvzall Mobile for mobile CSV creating, viewing, and editing.
• Desktop CSV viewing and editing require a local filesystem vault so the plugin can launch the local csvzall helper process against real file paths.
• In the mobile companion plugin, chart generation, SQLite queries, and helper binary management are not available.
• Multi-value graphs configured through Obsidian are limited to two value columns.

Chart Automation

Create .csvzall/charts.json in your vault, or inside a folder, to define chart jobs. Entries with runOnSave: true are regenerated after their input CSV is saved.

Besides chart image outputs, type: "markdown-table" can write generated Markdown notes that you embed with Obsidian's ![[path/to/output]] syntax.

Development

npm install
npm run dev
npm test

To refresh the packaged WASM viewer from a local csvzall checkout:

npm run sync:wasm-viewer
npm run check:wasm-viewer

The sync script copies ..\csvzall\src\viewer_wasm\web\dist into wasm-viewer/ and writes provenance metadata. Treat wasm-viewer/ like a generated release asset: commit it, but do not edit it by hand.

The desktop release workflow publishes Obsidian's standard plugin assets: manifest.json, main.js, and styles.css.

Maintainer notes for the generated mobile distribution live in docs/mobile-distribution.md.

For local testing, copy or link this folder to:

<Vault>/.obsidian/plugins/csvzall/

Then reload Obsidian and enable the plugin.