Obsidian editing modes and markdown surface

Strongest explicit signals

• Obsidian separates views from modes:
  • reading view
  • editing view
  • live preview
  • source mode
• live preview hides most markdown syntax except near the cursor
• source mode shows full markdown syntax
• the newer editor engine explicitly made live preview a productized editing mode
• Obsidian Flavored Markdown is intentionally a combination of CommonMark, GFM, LaTeX, and Obsidian-specific extensions
• Obsidian explicitly does not render markdown syntax inside HTML elements

Plate-relevant takeaways

• Obsidian is a strong product reference for dual editing-mode design
• live preview vs source mode is a clearer product split than many editors give
• Obsidian’s markdown surface includes product-specific syntax that should not be confused with strict markdown-native law

Best use

Use this source cluster for:

• mode architecture
• source-vs-preview editing splits
• productized markdown extension behavior