# Hidden Folders Access plugin for Obsidian
An Obsidian plugin that makes hidden root-level folders (names starting with a dot, e.g. `.claude`, `.github`) fully visible to Obsidian — file explorer, search, graph, metadata cache, and [[Bases core plugin for Obsidian|Bases]] — while keeping their names unchanged on disk so external tools (like [[Claude Code]], git, editors, ...) keep working.
![[2026-04-15 - Show hidden folders in Obsidian.png]]
## Why
Obsidian normally ignores any path starting with `.`. That makes sense for `.obsidian/` and friends, but it means useful content stored in dot-folders can't participate in search, the link graph, or Bases. Renaming the folder breaks external tools. Symlinks break Obsidian Sync and cross-platform workflows.
This plugin solves the problem without touching the filesystem: pick which hidden root folders Obsidian should index, and the plugin injects them into the live vault cache.
The main use case I built it for: making `.claude/` (skills, agents, commands, hooks, memory) queryable from inside Obsidian — so [[Claude Code]] configuration becomes a first-class citizen of the vault, searchable and linkable like any other note.
## Features
- Per-folder opt-in from the settings tab
- Full integration: file explorer, Quick Switcher, search, graph, metadata cache, [[Bases core plugin for Obsidian|Bases]], [[Dataview plugin for Obsidian|Dataview]], and any plugin that uses the standard vault API
- Live updates via filesystem watchers (create / modify / rename / delete)
- Clean disable: turning a folder off (or disabling the plugin) removes every injected entry — nothing on disk is touched
- Forgiving configuration: an enabled folder that has been deleted externally is silently skipped — no error notification — and the entry stays in settings so the folder is re-indexed automatically if it reappears
- Desktop-only, cross-platform (Linux / macOS / Windows)
## How it works
The plugin wraps two undocumented methods on Obsidian's desktop `FileSystemAdapter` (`listRecursiveChild` and `reconcileFile`) so whitelisted hidden paths skip the internal hidden-path filter and flow through `reconcileFileInternal` like normal files. A fs-watcher is registered for each enabled folder so changes propagate live. On disable, every injected entry is removed and the original methods are restored.
## Compatibility
- Obsidian 1.4+
- Desktop only; mobile Obsidian does not expose the filesystem primitives this plugin relies on
## Install
Not yet in the community catalog. Install via [[BRAT plugin for Obsidian|BRAT]] using the repo URL, or manually from the latest GitHub release.
## References
- Community: https://community.obsidian.md/plugins/hidden-folders-access
- Documentation: https://dsebastien.github.io/obsidian-hidden-folders-access/
- Source code: https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-hidden-folders-access
- Releases: https://github.com/dsebastien/obsidian-hidden-folders-access/releases
- Announcement: https://x.com/dSebastien/status/2044402925699584249
- Related plugin: https://github.com/polyipseity/obsidian-show-hidden-files
## Related
- [[Obsidian]]
- [[Obsidian Starter Kit]]
- [[Claude Code]]
- [[BRAT plugin for Obsidian]]
- [[Bases core plugin for Obsidian]]
- [[Dataview plugin for Obsidian]]