Plain Source Mode

Feature requests
1

Currently, Obsidian offers two modes: Reading Mode and Source Mode. However, even in Source Mode, Obsidian still applies partial rendering (e.g. bold/italic styling, clickable links, inline math highlighting, etc.). While this is helpful for many users, it sometimes interferes when one simply wants to view and edit the raw Markdown text without any visual interpretation.

I’d like to suggest adding an option for a “Plain Source Mode” (or a toggle in the settings) where the editor shows the Markdown source strictly as plain text—no styling, no auto-linking, no emphasis rendering. This would be particularly useful for users who:

  • Prefer an “as-is” view of their Markdown,
  • Want a distraction-free environment for editing raw syntax,
  • Or are using Obsidian as part of a workflow where exact Markdown source must remain visible.

Some other editors (e.g. VS Code) already support this, and having a similar option in Obsidian would make the editing experience more flexible for different needs.

Thanks for considering this feature request!

1 Like
2

This would be nice. It feels weird not to have it available (tho of course we can always view in another app).

As a workaround, there is a CSS snippet that removes formatting from Source Mode: MarkGone: Get rid of that pesky MD styling.

I edited the post title to simplify it (was “Request for a “Plain Source Mode” in Obsidian”).