Cove is an Obsidian plugin that treats each bookmark as a .md file with YAML frontmatter — nothing more. There is no .json cache, no proprietary database, no migration ever needed.
If you uninstall Cove tomorrow, every bookmark is still a plain markdown note in your vault — openable, searchable, and exportable like everything else Obsidian touches. The export is the storage.
.md per bookmark, no DB, no cache.og:title, og:image, favicon, author, reading time.Prerequisites: Obsidian 1.5+. No npm install, no build step — Obsidian loads the plugin files directly.
# Manual install cd <your-vault>/.obsidian/plugins git clone https://github.com/Real-Fruit-Snacks/Cove.git cove # Enable in Obsidian Settings → Community plugins → Cove → Enable # Open the view Ribbon icon (bookmark) # or Ctrl+P → "Open Cove" Settings → Cove → Bookmarks folder # set the root folder + Add (modal pre-fills clipboard) # metadata fetch runs in background
og:descriptioninbox · reading · done · archive · brokenog:image, used as card heroog:image hero · status badge · tag chips · auto-fill gridA bookmark manager that owns your data is a bookmark manager you have to migrate out of. Pinboard, Pocket, Raindrop, every browser's built-in — they all promise portability and deliver it grudgingly through a one-way export.
Cove takes the inverse stance: each bookmark is already a plain markdown file in your vault. There is no "Cove format" to migrate from, because there is no Cove format. Filtering rebuilds from metadataCache on every render. Frontmatter writes go through processFrontMatter so YAML stays valid; file moves use renameFile so internal links stay intact.
Coves shelter small things together — quietly, without ownership.