How to Keep All Obsidian Notes in Reading View
To keep every Markdown note in your Obsidian vault in Reading view, enable Read Only View and select All Markdown files. You can also use an Include rule with ** when glob matching is enabled.
Both options help prevent accidental edits in Obsidian. They do not change filesystem permissions or protect attachments and changes made by other applications.
How do I make my entire Obsidian vault read-only?
- Open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for Read Only View, then Install and Enable it.
- Open Settings → Read Only View and keep Enabled on.
- Select All Markdown files. This is the default for new installations.
- Review existing Exclude rules: any enabled matching exclude leaves the note editable.
- Open a Markdown note, or run Re-apply rules now to apply the configuration across open Markdown notes.
No include rules are required. Saved include rules remain available but inactive in this mode. Use glob patterns does not need to be enabled for the all-Markdown preset; it still controls how ordinary exclude rules match.
Can I match all notes with an Include rule and **?
Yes. The ** glob matches paths at every depth, including notes directly in the vault root.
- Select Only matched paths and keep the global Enabled toggle on.
- Under Advanced → Matching, turn on Use glob patterns.
- Under Path rules, add an enabled Include with Value set to
**. - Wait for Saved. and check a note with Path tester.
| Tested path | Result with Include ** and no matching exclude |
|---|---|
Home.md | Read-only |
Reference/Handbook.md | Read-only |
Archive/2025/Meeting.md | Read-only |
Only Markdown notes are protected even though ** can match other path strings. With Use glob patterns off, ** is literal text and does not select all notes. A single * cannot cross folder separators.
Review existing rules when enabling globs
Glob matching is a shared setting for ordinary path rules. Change folder prefixes such as Reference/ to Reference/** when switching to glob mode. Exact imported note rules keep their exact-file behavior.
How do I keep some notes editable in a read-only vault?
Add enabled Exclude rules. Excludes take precedence in both approaches.
| Matching mode | Exclude value | Editable exception |
|---|---|---|
| Glob matching off | Inbox/ | Markdown notes in Inbox and its subfolders |
| Glob matching on | Inbox/** | Markdown notes in Inbox and its subfolders |
| Either mode | Reference/Working notes.md | The named note; ordinary paths remain prefixes when globs are off |
For an exact-file exception regardless of matching mode, paste the existing note's Obsidian URL into an Exclude row. See supported path sources.
How do I make my vault read-only except for daily notes?
Use All Markdown files with an enabled Exclude for the folder where you keep daily notes. For example, protect reference material while keeping your journal and quick captures editable:
- Open Settings → Read Only View, keep Enabled on, and select All Markdown files.
- With Use glob patterns off, add these enabled Exclude rows under Path rules:
| Type | Value |
|---|---|
| Exclude | Daily Notes/ |
| Exclude | Inbox/ |
- Replace the example folder names with the actual vault-relative paths you use. Read Only View matches paths; it does not detect daily notes by date or automatically read another plugin's folder setting.
- Wait for Saved. and check representative notes with Path tester.
| Tested path | Expected result with only the rules above |
|---|---|
Daily Notes/2026-09-18.md | Editable |
Daily Notes/2026/09/18.md | Editable |
Inbox/Quick capture.md | Editable |
Reference/Handbook.md | Read-only |
Home.md | Read-only |
New Markdown notes created under the excluded folders also match those folder rules. A daily note saved elsewhere does not get an exception just because it is a daily note.
If Use glob patterns is already on, use Daily Notes/** and Inbox/** instead. These excludes also work with Only matched paths and Include **. Review existing rules before changing the shared matching mode.
Can I temporarily allow editing without deleting my rules?
Run Disable read-only mode, switch into editing, then run Enable read-only mode when finished. This pauses protection globally and does not resume automatically.
If you use the ** include in Only matched paths, you can instead uncheck that row's Enabled checkbox and recheck it later. Other enabled includes may still protect some notes. Disabling an include does not pause All Markdown files mode. See temporarily disabling path rules.