---
title: "Obsidian Canvas for research"
description: "Infinite visual space — mindmaps, knowledge maps, architecture sketches."
source: "Obsidian Academy"
source_url: https://obsidian-academy.pages.dev/bonus/05-obsidian-canvas/
saved: 2026-05-16
tags: [obsidian-academy, saved-from-web, bonus]
---

**TL;DR** — Obsidian's Canvas is a freeform 2D space where notes, images, and live embeds become movable cards you can arrange spatially. Excellent for literature reviews, competitive analysis, architecture sketches, and anything where 2D layout beats linear prose.

## What Canvas is

A `.canvas` file is JSON describing nodes (notes, images, embedded URLs) and edges (arrows/connections). You edit it visually inside Obsidian — no other tool needed. It's a core feature, no plugin required.

## When to use it

| Use case | Why Canvas wins |
|---|---|
| Literature review | See all sources at once; cluster by topic |
| Competitor analysis | Spatial grid: rows = competitors, cols = features |
| System architecture | Draw boxes-and-arrows, embed the notes that detail each box |
| Brainstorming | Loose cards you can move and group as ideas crystallize |
| Reading map | Books → key ideas → your own Zettels, all visible together |

## Create one

`Ctrl+P` (command palette) → "Create new canvas" → opens an empty grid.

- **Drag a note** from the file tree onto the canvas → it becomes a live card
- **Right-click empty space** → add a card, a group, or an image
- **Drag from one card's edge to another** → connect with an arrow

Save like any note. The canvas file shows up in your file tree.

## How Claude Code fits in

The Obsidian MCP can read `.canvas` JSON. So Claude can:

- **Generate a canvas from a query.** "Make a canvas of all notes tagged #q2-launch, grouped by status." Claude writes the JSON; Obsidian renders it.
- **Find spatial relationships.** Currently manual — the Canvas API doesn't easily expose proximity to plugins — but Claude could read positions and report cluster patterns.
- **Update existing canvases.** After your weekly review, Claude could add new notes to your "ongoing themes" canvas in the right cluster.

## A starter canvas pattern: "Topic landscape"

For any topic you're researching (e.g., "agent memory"):

```
+--- canvas: agent-memory.canvas ---+
|                                   |
|   [Sources]    [Key claims]       |
|   - paper-a    - claim 1          |
|   - paper-b    - claim 2          |
|   - clip-c                        |
|                                   |
|   [My Zettels] [Open questions]   |
|   - zettel-1   - q1               |
|   - zettel-2   - q2               |
|                                   |
+-----------------------------------+
```

Four quadrants: Sources, Key Claims, My Notes, Open Questions. As you read, drag new cards into the right quadrant. The picture becomes a snapshot of your understanding.

## Sources

- [Lucas Mercier's research workflow](https://www.lucasmercier.me/blog/research_workflow/)
- Obsidian docs: [Canvas](https://help.obsidian.md/Plugins/Canvas)

## Related workflows

- **[Research Synthesizer](https://obsidian-academy.pages.dev/workflows/07-research-synthesizer/)** — Text-output complement to Canvas's spatial view
- **[MOC Maintainer](https://obsidian-academy.pages.dev/workflows/10-moc-maintainer/)** — Text MOCs as a tier-1 layer; Canvas as tier-2 deep dives