Markdown editor plugins on Mac: what Coffee plugins can do

Q: How do I write a Coffee plugin?

Make a folder with a manifest.json and a main.js, or start from the examples in Settings > Plugins. The plugin guide documents the API. Coffee is Mac only, with macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days without a card, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates.

Checked November 2026 against obsidian.md, which lists thousands of community plugins. Coffee isn't affiliated with Obsidian.

Most of what Coffee does is built in: search, links, sums, version history, the graph. But everybody has one small thing they wish their editor did, such as a word count in the top bar, today's date on a shortcut, or a chart drawn from a few lines of numbers. That's what plugins are for.

A Coffee plugin is a small piece of JavaScript that runs on your Mac. Each one is off until you turn it on in Settings > Plugins.

What a plugin can do

Add a button to the top bar. The Word count plugin shows how many words the open note has, and a click gives the count for what's selected.
Add commands. A plugin's commands go in a Plugins menu and in the command palette, and each can have its own keyboard shortcut.
Add a section to the sidebar. Outline in the sidebar lists the open note's headings there, and marks a heading that skips a level.
Mark words in the text. A highlight, an underline, or a wavy line with a note that shows when you rest the pointer on it. Marks are drawn over the note and never written into the file.
Draw a code block as a picture. The Bar charts plugin turns a bars block into a bar chart under it, the way Coffee draws Mermaid diagrams:

Monday: 3
Tuesday: 5
Wednesday: 2

The note keeps the plain lines, so any other app still sees readable text.

Have a settings page of its own. Choices such as a date format show under the plugin in Settings > Plugins.

The directory

Settings > Plugins > Browse Plugins lists plugins reviewed by Coffee. Install is one click. Today the directory has five:

Plugin	What it does
Word count	The number of words in the open note, in the top bar
Insert date	Insert Today's Date in the Plugins menu and the command palette, with a shortcut and a choice of format
Sort lines	Sort Selected Lines, in one step you can undo
Outline in the sidebar	The open note's headings in the sidebar
Bar charts	A `bars` block drawn as a bar chart

Plugins in the directory are free. You can see the list on the web at coffeetext.app/plugins.

Every version in the directory is pinned by a SHA-256 hash of its package. When Coffee downloads a plugin, it checks the hash, so what installs is exactly what was reviewed, and anything else is refused. Updates install by themselves, unless a new version asks for more permissions than the one you have. That update waits for you.

Permissions, in plain words

By default a plugin works on the note you have open. Anything beyond that is a permission, and Settings shows it in plain words before you turn the plugin on:

Read other notes. List and read the rest of your library. Private notes are never readable by a plugin.
Change other notes. Create notes and edit others. A change lands like any outside edit, so an open note shows it for you to review, and version history keeps the text it replaced.
Connect to a named host. One website, named in the plugin, reached over HTTPS. A plugin that needs two hosts names both.

The five plugins in the directory today ask for none of these.

Writing your own

A plugin is a folder with two files: manifest.json, which names it and lists its permissions, and main.js, which talks to Coffee. Settings > Plugins > Open Plugins Folder takes you to where they live, and Add Examples writes three small plugins you can read and change. After an edit, press Reload.

Plugins are kept in Coffee's own folder on your Mac, never in your notes folder, so code that arrives with synced notes can't run by itself.

The full API is in the plugin guide. When yours works, send it for review. Put the code somewhere public, such as a GitHub repository, fill in the form, and Coffee replies by email.

Plugins and an app with fewer decisions

Coffee isn't trying to be Obsidian, which lists thousands of community plugins. The directory is small, and every plugin in it was read before it was listed. If you never open Settings > Plugins, nothing changes: Coffee works the same with every plugin off. There's more on the difference in Coffee vs Obsidian.

Questions

Are Coffee plugins free?

Plugins in the directory are free. Coffee itself is a paid app after its 14-day trial.

Can a plugin read all my notes?

Only if it asks for permission to read other notes and you turn it on. Without that, it works on the note you have open. Private notes are never readable by a plugin.

Can a plugin send my notes anywhere?

To connect anywhere, a plugin needs the permission to connect to a named host, and Settings shows that host in plain words before you turn it on. None of the plugins in the directory today ask for it.

What happens when a plugin updates?

Updates install by themselves, checked against the hash of the version that was reviewed. If a new version asks for more permissions, it waits under the plugin in Settings until you choose to update.

How do I write a Coffee plugin?

Make a folder with a manifest.json and a main.js, or start from the examples in Settings > Plugins. The plugin guide documents the API.

Coffee is Mac only, with macOS 15 or later. It's free for 14 days without a card, then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates.