Startup idea: Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer
A user wanted the file explorer to show only active working notes so badly that they wrote and published their own plugin: a clear unmet core need.
Get the PRD prompt, $9.99 Market: $27K in 3 years
r/ObsidianMD · Sep 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026 · 153 upvotes
I wanted the file explorer to show only the notes…
Read the thread · 22 comments
Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer is a startup idea for Obsidian users. A user wanted the file explorer to show only active working notes so badly that they wrote and published their own plugin: a clear unmet core need. A thread in r/ObsidianMD drew 153 upvotes and 22 comments between Sep 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026. People get by with Community plugins, and that still leaves this job open. Hotness is 2.60, Simmering. Mild annoyance. Price-sensitive audience. The thread drew 153 upvotes and 22 comments. Crowded with decent tools. Buildable in days. A first version is weekend-easy, about 1 week, priced under $10 a month and charged as a one-time purchase. The pain, the source, the alternatives, the scope notes, and the questions on this page are free to read and free to build from. The agent starter prompt is the paid part. The first slice is on the page. One credit unlocks the rest, to paste into a coding agent, download as Markdown, or send as a private link.
Who has it
Obsidian users.
- Obsidian users
- B2C
- Global
- r/ObsidianMD
What people use now
1 option, and the gap between them.
Community plugins
Crowded with decent tools.
Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer is built for the part these leave undone.
A way through
A polished, officially supported workspace/focus mode for the explorer as a premium plugin with more features than the homemade open-source fix.
MVP scope
The first version, in 1 week.
- 00 Goal
The one job
A polished, supported 'show only my active notes' explorer, beyond the DIY plugin.
- 01 Day 1
The core
Build a polished workspace and focus mode for the file explorer.
- 02 Days 2–3
The follow-through
Ship it as a premium plugin with more than the homemade open-source fix.
- 03 Days 4–5
How it ships
As a plugin inside the tool people already work in. No AI is needed for the first version.
- — Not in v1
Left out on purpose
Replacing community plugins. Version one does the one job above and stops there.
How it could charge
The business model, at a glance.
- Model
- One-time purchase
- Price
- Under $10 a month
- Buyer
- PeopleAn individual or household pays
- Region
- Global
Hotness
Why it scores 2.60.
Mild annoyance. Price-sensitive audience. The thread drew 153 upvotes and 22 comments. Crowded with decent tools. Buildable in days.
153 upvotes 22 comments r/ObsidianMD Sep 14, 2026 – Oct 14, 2026 verified Oct 14, 2026 Thread ↗
Weights: pain 25%, willingness to pay 20%, demand 20%, gap 15%, ease 10%, recency 10%. Recency is recomputed every build. The source report’s 1–10 score is not shown.
Market size · estimate
How big this could get
A bottom-up estimate for Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer: real customer counts × a realistic price. Not a forecast.
$2.7M
300,000 users · 10% of Obsidian users worldwide (low end of public estimates)
$1.4M
150,000 users · the community plugin directory
$27K
3,000 users · 2% of the reachable segment in three years
What that means
3,000 users at $9 = $27K in sales
Low confidenceHow we estimated this
- Base: 3,000,000 Obsidian users worldwide (low end of public estimates).
- Has the problem: 10% (assume 1 in 10 want a focus mode).
- Revenue per user: $9 one-time ($9 one-time).
- Reachable: 50% (the community plugin directory).
- Three-year capture: 2% of the reachable segment.
TAM = customers with the problem × revenue per customer. SAM = the part an early product can reach. SOM = a conservative three-year share of SAM. Bars use a log scale. Shares marked “assume” are our judgment, not measured.
Source: No official count; public estimates range 3–10M (CEO Steph Ango, 2025)
Take it to a build
Build Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer with an agent, or with us.
Agent starter prompt
$9.99 / 1 credit
A full PRD written for a coding agent: scope, data model, screens, edge cases, and the first week of tasks for this idea.
- Copy it straight into Claude Code, Cursor, or Codex.
- Download it as a .md file you keep.
- Send your bot a private link that refreshes every seven days.
# Agent starter prompt: Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer You are a senior product engineer. Build only the product described in this document. If a detail is missing, choose the smallest option and write it down in the README. Do not invent a second product, a marketplace of marketplaces, or a growth hack. ## Product Name: Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer One line: A polished, supported 'show only my active notes' explorer, beyond the DIY plugin. Shape: Plugin AI stance: No AI needed Region for v1: Global Hotness (context only, not a requirement): 2.60 (simmering). Mild annoyance; price-sensitive audience; thread engagement 153▲/22💬 (demand 2/5); crowded with decent tools; buildable in days. ## Problem A user wanted the file explorer to show only active working notes so badly that they wrote and published their own plugin: a clear unmet core need. Who feels it: Obsidian users.
The first slice is above. The rest unlocks for 1 credit and is never in this page’s HTML.
Credits work on both sites. On Business Ideas to Build the same credit unlocks the business plan and growth playbook for Focus Workspace Mode for the Obsidian File Explorer.
Or we build it
Your first version, shipped by our team.
A working product in your repo, built from this PRD. You own the code.
$1,000 scoping fee, credited toward the build.
Equity instead of cash is an application, not a checkout →Questions
Is this idea already taken?
People already use Community plugins. Those options do not do the job in the solution above. The idea is free to build. Nothing here is an exclusive claim.
How hard is a first version?
Weekend-easy. A tight MVP is about 1 weeks (1 week), assuming the regulated or partner-gated parts are stubbed. The paid prompt turns that into tasks.
Who would pay, and how?
The audience is Obsidian users. Charge a one-time purchase, and test a price under $10 a month. Willingness to pay is one input to Hotness, not a promise that someone will buy.
Can I use the evidence?
Yes. Build the product. The thread title is a short excerpt with a link, not a quote we are putting in someone's mouth. Exact post dates and verbatim lines are added only after a manual check. Ideas are suggestions, not medical, legal, or financial advice.
The sister site keeps a business plan and a growth playbook for the same pain. Draft the business plan