Using Obsidian Canvas to Map Your Ideas

Obsidian Canvas is a free-form visual workspace built into Obsidian. Unlike notes, which are linear, a canvas lets you arrange cards, images, and notes spatially — perfect for brainstorming, project planning, or mapping out how ideas connect.

What is a Canvas?

A .canvas file is a JSON document that stores cards (notes, text snippets, web links, files) and the connections between them on a 2D infinite grid. You can pan and zoom freely, group related cards, and draw arrows to show relationships.

Think of it as a whiteboard that lives inside your vault.

How to create one

Open the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P) and search for New Canvas. Obsidian creates a .canvas file in your vault root. You can also right-click any folder in the file explorer and choose New Canvas.

Once open:

• Double-click anywhere to add a text card
• Drag a .md note from the file explorer onto the canvas to embed it
• Hover the edge of any card to draw a connection arrow
• Hold Space and drag to pan; scroll to zoom

Publishing canvas files with Sidian

Sidian renders canvas files as read-only visual snapshots. Visitors see the same layout you designed in Obsidian — cards, connections, and all — without needing Obsidian installed.

Canvas files sync alongside your markdown notes. To publish one, just include it in your vault sync.

Tip: If you want a canvas to be accessible via a wikilink but not show up in your vault's navigation or file index, mark it as Unlisted in the Sidian dashboard.

Example: Sidian Overview Canvas

Here is the overview canvas for this blog — it maps how the main Sidian concepts relate to each other:

Open it to explore the full diagram.

When to use canvas vs. notes

Use case	Canvas	Note
Brainstorming	✓
Linear writing		✓
Mapping relationships	✓
Search & full-text		✓
Reference material		✓
Project overview	✓

Canvas works best as a visual complement to your notes — not a replacement. Use it when spatial layout adds meaning that prose cannot.