The Problem Teams using Obsidian often have to copy‑paste hand‑crafted diagrams or switch to external editors (Excalidraw, Mermaid) to visualise notes. The manual steps add friction, especially when the same textual description must be rendered in multiple diagram formats.

What This Does The repository supplies three “Claude Code Skills” that turn free‑form text into ready‑to‑view diagrams inside Obsidian:

  • obsidian-canvas-creator/SKILL.md – prompts Claude to emit a Canvas JSON file (.canvas) using two bundled templates (template-freeform-grouped.canvas, template-mindmap-simple.canvas).
  • excalidraw-diagram/SKILL.md – prompts Claude to output an Excalidraw document (.excalidraw or .md for Obsidian) with hand‑drawn styling. The companion schema file excalidraw-diagram/references/excalidraw-schema.md documents the JSON structure.
  • mermaid-visualizer/SKILL.md – prompts Claude to generate Mermaid source (.mmd) for flowcharts, mind‑maps, etc.; syntax rules are captured in mermaid-visualizer/references/syntax-rules.md.

The .claude-plugin/marketplace.json registers the three skills with Claude Code, exposing trigger words (e.g., “Excalidraw”, “Mermaid”) that the model watches for in a user’s prompt.

How It Is Wired

User prompt  → Claude Code
                └─ reads .claude-plugin/marketplace.json
                   ├─ maps trigger → obsidian-canvas-creator/SKILL.md
                   ├─ maps trigger → excalidraw-diagram/SKILL.md
                   └─ maps trigger → mermaid-visualizer/SKILL.md

Each SKILL.md is a self‑contained Markdown file that contains:

  1. Trigger keywords – defined in the “Trigger words” tables.
  2. Prompt template – a structured instruction set that Claude expands into the target diagram format.
  3. Output handling notes – e.g., file extension (.canvas, .excalidraw, .mmd) and any post‑processing hints.

No runtime code resides in the repo; the only executable artifact is the JSON manifest (marketplace.json) that Claude Code consumes. The repository therefore acts as a static data bundle rather than a traditional software package.

How To Use It

# 1. Clone the repo (use the exact URL as required)
git clone https://github.com/moses-y/axton-obsidian-visual-skills
cd axton-obsidian-visual-skills

# 2. Copy the skill definitions into Claude Code’s skill directory
#    (location depends on your Claude Code installation; typically ~/.claude/skills/)
cp -r ./* ~/.claude/skills/

# 3. Ensure the manifest is registered – Claude Code reads .claude-plugin/marketplace.json automatically.
# 4. In Obsidian, write a prompt containing one of the trigger words, e.g.:
#    "Excalidraw: create a mind‑map of project phases"
#    Claude will return the appropriate diagram file, which you can save into your vault.

No additional build steps, package managers, or environment variables are required. The repo contains only documentation (README.md, README_CN.md), image assets, and reference markdown files.

Real‑World Use A product team keeps its roadmap in an Obsidian vault. A writer adds a paragraph describing quarterly milestones and prefixes it with Mermaid:. Claude Code, using the mermaid-visualizer skill, returns a roadmap.mmd file that renders a timeline directly in the note, eliminating the need to open a separate Mermaid editor.

Code Health & Issues

  • Low – No CI/CD – No .github/ workflows, Makefile, or other automation; changes are not automatically linted or tested.
  • Low – Minimal test coverage – Only one test file is present, but its relevance to the skill definitions is unclear.
  • Low – No executable code – The repo is a collection of markdown prompts; static analysis tools cannot assess runtime complexity.
  • Low – Documentation limited to markdown – No API spec or versioning scheme; future skill updates rely on manual edits.

The Bottom Line The repository delivers ready‑to‑use Claude Code prompt packs that let Obsidian users generate Canvas, Excalidraw, and Mermaid diagrams from plain text, with zero installation overhead. Its value is in the prompt design, not in software engineering; lack of CI, tests, or executable code means the bundle is low‑maintenance but also low‑risk for integration issues. Ideal for teams already using Claude Code and looking to automate diagram creation inside Obsidian without building a custom pipeline.