Obsidian core Templates plugin
The bundled Obsidian Templates plugin inserts a pre-written Markdown file into the active note. It supports three static variables (title, date, time) with Moment.js formatting overrides and is configured via .obsidian/templates.json.
article technology en The bundled Obsidian Templates plugin inserts a pre-written Markdown file into the active note. It supports three static variables (title, date, time) with Moment.js formatting overrides and is configured via .obsidian/templates.json.Obsidian core Templates plugin
The core Templates plugin is bundled with Obsidian and inserts the full contents of a pre-written Markdown file into the currently active note. It requires no installation — only enablement — and supports three static variables with optional Moment.js format overrides.
Enabling the Plugin
Navigate to Settings → Core plugins → Templates and toggle the plugin on. The vault config file .obsidian/core-plugins.json stores this as "templates": true.
Configuration
All settings are stored in .obsidian/templates.json. The folder key is required; dateFormat and timeFormat are optional and accept Moment.js tokens.
{
"folder": "templates/inbox",
"dateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD",
"timeFormat": "HH:mm"
}The folder path is vault-relative. Default date format is YYYY-MM-DD; default time format is HH:mm.
Built-In Variables
| Variable | Inserts |
|---|---|
{{title}} | Name of the active note (no extension) |
{{date}} | Current date using the configured dateFormat |
{{time}} | Current time using the configured timeFormat |
{{date:FORMAT}} | Date with an inline Moment.js format override |
{{time:FORMAT}} | Time with an inline Moment.js format override |
The inline-override syntax ({{date:YYYY/MM/DD}}) lets a single template emit different date shapes without changing global settings.
Command Palette Usage
Run “Templates: Insert template” from the command palette (Cmd/Ctrl+P) to open a fuzzy-search picker over the configured templates folder. There is no default hotkey; one can be assigned in Settings → Hotkeys.
Contrast with the Templater Community Plugin
Templater extends the built-in approach with JavaScript execution (<% %> syntax), dynamic commands, user-defined functions, and file-creation or startup triggers. The core plugin handles static variable substitution only; choose Templater when logic, conditionals, or API calls inside templates are required.
Sources
- Obsidian Help — Templates
- ADR-p6-obsidian-driven-authoring D14 — Magi’s committed inbox-template wiring
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