Editor Spec: Obsidian Authority Scope

Goal

Evaluate whether Obsidian should be treated as a winner for all markdown surfaces, or whether Plate should keep Obsidian scoped to narrower markdown mode, linked-note navigation, search, and product-chrome lanes.

Scope

• current winner map in docs/editor-behavior/markdown-standards.md
• current readable law and audit notes about Typora vs Obsidian ownership
• compiled Obsidian and Typora research relevant to markdown surfaces
• minimal honest spec-doc updates only

Phases

Phase	Status	Notes
Load standards/spec/audit + research	complete	winner map and source summaries
Compare Obsidian evidence against all-markdown ownership claim	complete	syntax, typing, source-entry, navigation
Decide winner-scope outcome	complete	anti-smearing clarification, not winner expansion
Patch docs	complete	smallest honest set
Verify consistency	complete	standards/spec alignment

Findings

• Evidence does not support promoting Obsidian to the winner for all markdown surfaces.
• Obsidian remains strong for:
  • live preview vs source mode
  • linked-note navigation
  • backlinks / block references
  • markdown-workspace search / outline chrome
• Typora remains stronger for:
  • plain markdown-native editing feel
  • source-entry behavior on rendered links, markdown images, and HTML blocks
  • low-level destructive-key and markdown-first interaction law
• The right fix was not a winner expansion. It was a stronger anti-smear rule in standards/spec so Obsidian does not get generalized into lanes it does not actually own.

Progress Log

• 2026-04-09: Started authority-scope pass for whether Obsidian should own all markdown surfaces.
• 2026-04-09: Confirmed from compiled research that Obsidian is a scoped winner, not a universal markdown-surface winner.
• 2026-04-09: Tightened standards and the readable spec to make that scope boundary explicit.