Vault NewTab User Guide

Vault NewTab transforms your Google Chrome browser new tab into a local-first Markdown workspace. No accounts, no sign-ups, and no setup required.

Editor Modes Explained

Vault NewTab offers three distinct editing modes:

• Live Preview: Renders Markdown headings, tables, callouts, and inline styles in real time while allowing direct inline editing.
• Split Mode: Displays raw Markdown on the left and the rendered output on the right with synchronized real-time scrolling.
• Source Mode: A pure text editor for raw Markdown editing with no distractions.

You can toggle between modes anytime with the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + E.

Paste a reply from ChatGPT or another assistant

1. Use the reply's Copy button when available. It usually preserves more structure than selecting part of the page.
2. Open a note in Vault NewTab, place the cursor where you want the reply, and paste with Ctrl + V or ⌘ + V.
3. Use Split view to check headings, lists, tables, links, and code blocks against their Markdown source.

If the app copied plain text without formatting, Vault cannot recover structure that is missing from the clipboard. Ask the assistant for Markdown, copy the whole reply, and paste again. In Source mode, paste Markdown text directly.

For a reply that should be a standalone note, start a new note first. Keep fenced code blocks together when copying so their language and line breaks are preserved.

Bidirectional RTL and LTR Writing

Vault NewTab features automatic paragraph-level direction detection. When writing in Arabic (العربية), Hebrew (עברית), Persian (فارسی), or Urdu (اردو), text aligns to the right automatically.

Connecting Your Local Obsidian Vault

You can link Vault NewTab directly to your local file system using the modern File System Access API:

1. Click the Settings button (top right or sidebar).
2. Navigate to the Obsidian Vault Sync section.
3. Click Choose Local Folder and select your Obsidian vault folder.
4. Click Allow View and Edit Permissions when Chrome prompts.

Vault NewTab reads and writes .md files in your selected folder while permission is granted. Keep a backup before connecting an existing vault. If access expires after restarting Chrome, reconnect the same folder in Settings.

When something does not work

• Notes are missing: Check that you are in the same Chrome profile. Check Trash for deleted notes and reconnect your local folder if you use one. Export a backup before reinstalling or clearing browser data.
• The status says “Save failed”: Keep the tab open and export the current note as Markdown. Free browser storage or reconnect your folder, then edit again to retry saving.
• The workspace cannot start: Use Download recovery data on the loading screen to keep a copy of the stored data before trying recovery. This diagnostic file contains raw storage and is separate from a normal note backup.
• A folder is no longer saving: Open Settings, reconnect the original folder, and accept Chrome's read and write permission prompt. Keep your current note open until saving succeeds.
• Another extension opens on a new tab: Open Chrome's extension settings and check which new-tab extension is enabled.
• Weather, news, or market data is unavailable: These features need an internet connection and their providers may be temporarily unavailable. Local notes remain available.
• Voice transcription is unavailable: Allow microphone access and finish downloading a voice model before going offline. Keep the recording if you need to retry transcription.

Still stuck? Report the issue with your Chrome version and the steps that caused it. Remove private note content before sharing screenshots or backups.

Using the Chrome Web Clipper

Capture web research without interrupting your reading flow:

• Clip Text: Highlight any passage on a webpage, right-click, and choose "Add to Note".
• Bookmark Page: Right-click anywhere on a webpage and choose "Save page as Note".
• Clip Image: Right-click an image and select "Save image to Note".

Obsidian Callout Syntax

Vault NewTab natively supports all standard Obsidian callout blocks:

> [!NOTE]
> This is a standard note callout.

> [!TIP]
> This is a helpful tip callout.

> [!IMPORTANT]
> This is an important alert.

> [!WARNING]
> This is a warning callout.

> [!DANGER]
> This is a danger callout.

Custom RSS Feeds & Image Thumbnails

On the Daily Dashboard, news items automatically extract rich lead image thumbnails and display relative timestamps (e.g. 15m ago, 2h ago). You can add any public RSS or Atom feed URL by clicking + RSS on the News widget. Feeds are parsed locally in the browser with zero server-side tracking.

Spacious 170px Focus Timer & Chimes

The Focus Pomodoro widget features a calibrated 170px circular SVG progress ring with generous inner breathing room around the countdown clock.

• Quick Increments: Click +5m or -5m pills to quickly adjust session time on the fly.
• Audio Chime: A subtle, pleasant completion bell plays automatically when a session ends.
• Session Streaks: Track how many 25-minute or custom focus blocks you complete each day.

Themes & Manual Background Customizer

Vault NewTab includes 10 Obsidian community themes and a comprehensive customization engine:

• Connected Dynamic Accents: Choosing an accent color (Amber Gold, Emerald, Indigo, Rose, Sky Cyan, Slate) cascades automatically through borders, active buttons, links, and glow effects.
• Manual Background Customizer: Choose from Pure AMOLED Black (#000000), Deep Obsidian, Paper Light (#ffffff), Midnight Navy, or type any custom HEX color.
• Automatic Contrast Adaptation: When selecting a light background like Paper Light, typography, icons, and borders automatically switch to dark slate for crisp contrast.
• Reset Button: Click Reset to Theme Default in Settings → Themes & Accent to restore original theme colors.

880px Standard Measure & 25-Tool Toolbar

Notes are styled with a standardized 880px line length and fluid margins (clamp(24px, 4vw, 48px)), matching Obsidian desktop reading comfort and eliminating awkward sprawling text on widescreen displays.

The full-width Obsidian editing toolbar includes 25 dedicated tools:

• Structure & Headers: H1, H2, H3, Blockquotes, and Callout selectors.
• Text Transformations: Convert text case (Title Case, UPPERCASE, lower), strip/trim blank lines, deduplicate repeated lines, and add sequential line numbering.
• Tables & Lists: Convert bullet lists into Markdown tables and tables into bullet lists with one click.
• Floating Bubble: Highlight any text to invoke the floating quick-action toolbar.

4K Dynamic Wallpapers & Scenery

Vault NewTab includes 64 hand-selected 4K UHD photography wallpapers distributed across 4 curated collections: Scenic Nature, Cyberpunk City, Space & Cosmos, and Minimal & Aesthetic.

• Browse Galleries: Click the wallpaper icon on the dashboard header, then click Browse ↗ on any card to view all 16 wallpapers with photographer credits.
• Smart Anti-Repetition: When shuffling or auto-refreshing, Vault NewTab uses an internal 16-item ring buffer to ensure you never see repeats in close succession.
• Auto-Refresh Timer: Set rotation intervals (1m, 5m, 15m, 30m, 60m) or choose Off to keep your favorite wallpaper permanently.

Fluid Squircle App Launcher & Folders

Organize your bookmarks and web apps directly on your new tab dashboard:

• Drag & Drop Reordering: Click and drag any icon to rearrange positions with smooth FLIP physics.
• Launchpad Folders: Drag an app directly onto another icon to group them into a folder. Click the folder to expand it with frosted acrylic backing.
• In-Grid Add Tile: Click the + Add App tile inside the grid or folders to quickly bookmark custom URLs.
• Acrylic Context Menu: Right-click any app or folder to edit title/URL, customize the icon, or remove it safely.

Web Search & Direct Navigation

The dashboard search bar provides clean, rapid navigation and web search:

• Direct Navigation: Type any domain or web address (e.g. github.com or developer.chrome.com) to navigate immediately.
• Web Search: Press Enter on any query to search with Google in a new or current tab.
• Voice Search: Click the microphone icon to dictate queries hands-free using Chrome's native Web Speech API.
• Keyboard Shortcut: Press / anywhere on the dashboard to immediately focus the search bar.

Private On-Device Voice Notes

Capture ideas hands-free with on-device speech-to-text without cloud intermediaries:

• Instant Recording: Press Alt + T or click the microphone icon in the editor toolbar.
• Waveform HUD: A visual audio meter monitors microphone input with live elapsed time and quick pause/resume controls.
• Built-In Audio Player: Embedded player in Markdown with 1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x playback speed cycling and LTR progress scrubbing.
• 100% On-Device Sandbox: All voice capture and transcription runs locally via Chrome's offscreen document API—no voice data leaves your computer.

Backup and Restore

In Settings → Data & Backup, export your notes and Trash as a JSON file. Importing a backup adds its notes to browser storage. If an existing note has changed, both versions are kept; importing the same copy again does not duplicate it. If a local vault is connected, disconnect it to view the imported browser notes.

Voice recordings have a separate backup in Voice History. Keep regular backups in a folder you control, especially before removing the extension or clearing browser data.