Free & open source · MIT

Your whole vault, one folder at a time.

Nested Vaults treats any folder as a temporary vault of its own. File explorer, search, graph, tags, and backlinks all respect the boundary — and nothing about your files ever changes.

vault / file explorer
Folders
Archive
Daily Notes
ResearchSub-Vault
Field notes
Sources
Work
Attachmentsallowed
Field notes / Session 04
…recurring interview themes around note-taking rituals and…
Sources / Literature map
…clusters the interview themes against prior studies…
Sub-Vault: Projects/Research · explorer, search, graph, tags & backlinks scoped

Capabilities

A boundary, not a barricade.

The scope is a view-level convenience — leave the Sub-Vault or disable the plugin and your vault is exactly as it always was.

File explorer scoping

Everything outside the active Sub-Vault disappears from the tree, while parents of allowed items stay visible so nothing becomes unreachable.

Search & graph filter

A path: token is added to core Search and Graph queries — and removed again when you leave. Your own query text is never touched.

Tags & backlinks

The tag pane shows only tags used inside the scope — nested tags matched by full path — and out-of-scope backlinks are hidden everywhere.

Open blocking

Following a link that leads outside the Sub-Vault shows a notice and quietly turns the tab into an empty tab instead of opening the file.

Global allowed folders

Whitelist Attachments, Templates, or any folder to keep it visible in every Sub-Vault, so embeds and templates never break.

Scoped quick switcher

A quick switcher that searches only the active Sub-Vault, with paths shown relative to it — plus an opt-in auto-move that files new notes into scope.

Workflow

Enter, focus, leave.

1

Set a folder as the Active Sub-Vault

Right-click any folder and choose “Set as Active Sub-Vault,” or run the command from the palette.

2

Work inside the boundary

Explorer, search, graph, tags, and backlinks clamp down to the folder. The status bar shows where you are.

3

Leave whenever you like

Click the Sub-Vault name in the status bar or the ribbon icon, and the whole vault comes straight back.

Get started

Install in under a minute.

Recommended

Community plugins

  1. Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse.
  2. Search for Nested Vaults.
  3. Click Install, then Enable.

BRAT

  1. Install the BRAT plugin.
  2. Choose Add beta plugin.
  3. Enter Real-Fruit-Snacks/obsidian-nested-vaults.
  4. Enable Nested Vaults.

Manual

  1. Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from the latest release.
  2. Place them in .obsidian/plugins/nested-vaults/.
  3. Enable Nested Vaults in Community plugins.