Disclaimer
Is this project open source? Yes
Is this project completely free? Yes
Is this project vibe-coded beyond the author’s ability to comprehend how it works? No
Community Directory Link: Read Only View
Hi everyone 
I use Obsidian mostly as a collection of Markdown notes and personal summaries. A lot of the time I’m not actively editing them — I’m just rereading them from my phone or tablet.
One thing that kept happening to me: I would accidentally tap the screen while reading, Obsidian would switch into edit mode, and the keyboard would open. It’s a small thing, but after it happens often enough, it becomes annoying — especially on mobile.
So I made a small plugin: Read Only View.
It keeps selected Markdown notes in Reading view based on include and exclude path rules. The goal is not to provide real file-level security or OS-level locking. It is more like a simple “anti-accidental-edit” layer for notes that you mostly read.
What it can be useful for
- folders with summaries or reference notes
- archive folders
- documentation notes
- notes you often read from mobile/tablet
- shared or semi-stable vault content
- any notes where accidental editing is more annoying than useful
How it works
You define include/exclude rules based on vault paths.
For example, you can keep everything inside a folder in Reading view:
Notes/Summaries/
Or include a folder but exclude drafts:
Include:
Notes/Summaries/
Exclude:
Notes/Summaries/Drafts/
By default, matching is simple path/prefix-based. Glob patterns can also be enabled if you need more flexible rules.
The plugin also includes:
- include/exclude rules
- optional glob patterns
- case-sensitive matching
- diagnostics for ignored or invalid rules
- path tester
- command palette actions
- desktop and mobile support
Links
- Community plugin: Read Only View
- GitHub: mrKazzila/Read-Only-View
I’d be happy to get feedback, especially from people who also use Obsidian as a reading/reference vault on mobile or tablet.
