# Obsidian Replace Commands

> [!SUMMARY]
>
> |               |                                   |
> | ------------- | --------------------------------- |
> | **Languages** | TypeScript, JavaScript, HTML, CSS |
> | **Tools**     | Obsidian API                      |
> | **Skillset**  | Web Development, UI/UX Design     |
>
> - 📦 [Available as a Community Plugin for Obsidian](https://community.obsidian.md/plugins/replace-commands)
> - 🗎 [Source code on GitHub](https://github.com/ELowry/obsidian-replace-commands)
>
> **License:** 0-BSD

## Automating Search & Replace

![The Obsidian logo with the text Replace Commands and three boxes that read plug-in, plugin, and amazing plugin](/assets/images/osd/obsidian-replace-commands/cover__240-160-webp_240-160_400-267-webp_400-267_600-400-webp_600-400_820-547-webp_820-547_1200-800-webp_1200-800.jpg)

While editing and publishing over 300 articles for [CinQ on Medium](https://medium.com/odile-ai) in a shared Obsidian vault, I found myself relying heavily on regex to automate formatting, fix recurring writing quirks, and clean up Markdown files. While there are plenty of search-and-replace tools available, I couldn't find one that allowed me to sequence and chain multiple commands together with ease.

After wasting too much time constantly opening files in Notepad++ to run these replacements, I decided it was time to build an Obsidian plugin to clean up the workflow. What started as a hacked-together tool for personal use quickly seemed like it might be worth sharing, so I took the time to clean up the UI/UX and published it as a proper Obsidian Community Plugin.

## The Idea

Instead of running multiple, isolated search-and-replace queries one by one, Obsidian Replace Commands allows users to build and save a sequential chain of rules as single-click actions. It is built to be simple, flexible, and easy to configure.

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| Gallery |  |  |
| -- | -- | -- |
| ![A screenshot of the Obsidian Replace Commands settings menu with a replace command being edited](/assets/images/osd/obsidian-replace-commands/options__240-160-webp_240-160_400-267-webp_400-267_600-400-webp_600-400_820-547-webp_820-547_1400-933-webp_1400-933_1920-1280-webp_1920-1280.jpg) | ![A screenshot of the Obsidian Replace Commands settings menu with live previews and regex patterns](/assets/images/osd/obsidian-replace-commands/options2__240-160-webp_240-160_400-267-webp_400-267_600-400-webp_600-400_820-547-webp_820-547_1400-933-webp_1400-933_1920-1280-webp_1920-1280.jpg) | ![A screenshot of Replace Commands accessible through the righ-click context menu](/assets/images/osd/obsidian-replace-commands/shortcut__240-160-webp_240-160_400-267-webp_400-267_600-400-webp_600-400_820-547-webp_820-547_1400-933-webp_1400-933_1920-1280-webp_1920-1280.jpg) |

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### Sequential Processing

Users can build custom, named actions (e.g., "Remove references" or "UK to US spelling") containing multiple rules that execute in sequential order from top to bottom.

### Contextual Replace

The plugin intelligently adapts to the user's current context. For example, if text is highlighted, the action applies only to the selection; if nothing is selected, it automatically processes the entire document.

### Robust Text Matching

Obsidian Replace Commands offers full support for Regular Expressions (including capture groups and custom flags), while also handling plaintext for simplicity.

## Engineering for User Experience

Because my goal was to make this available to the public, I put a significant amount of thought into the user experience. Regular expressions are already complex enough without having to fight a clunky interface, so the settings and command management needed to be intuitive and frictionless.

### Previewing Results

To that end, I made sure to include a text box where users can input example text that then passes through the command's replace actions step-by-step, displaying the result of each step for easy debugging. Anyone who has played around with regex will know how important this sort of thing can be.

### Safety First

I also wanted to make sure everything was safe when modifying large documents, so all changes are applied in one go, allowing users to revert massive, multistep document transformations instantly with a single `Ctrl+Z` undo.