krish
Cover for How to Add GIFs in Obsidian: The Zero-Setup Plugin
[Back to Home]

How to Add GIFs in Obsidian: The Zero-Setup Plugin

Updated At

obsidiangifcmsmarkdownpluginklipy

The Lore

Obsidian is an absolute powerhouse. What starts as a sprout of simple markdown editor quickly evolves into a rain forest, a headless CMS for your web publishing, or an obsessively organized TTRPG campaign bible. We use it to link thoughts, document voice, and manage our lives.

But among countless knots of letter and alphabets, sometimes you just need to drop a perfectly timed reaction GIF in there.

If you are reading this, you are probably exhausted by the current landscape of media plugins. If you are googling “how to add GIFs to Obsidian”, you know exactly what I am talking about. We want visuals, but we refuse to sacrifice our vault’s performance to get them. And as you may relate, maintaining your own GIFs folder is just messy and might quickly fall apart.

The Problem

Historically, if you wanted to figure out how to embed animated GIFs in Obsidian, your options were terrible.

The native method completely breaks your flow, leave the editor, search the web, download a heavy 10MB GIF file, drag it into your attachments folder, and link it. For CMS builders and those trying to prevent image bloat in their Obsidian vaults, storing hundreds of massive GIF files locally is a nightmare.

Then there are the plugins. The old Obsidian Giphy plugin requires you to register for developer accounts and generate your own API keys just to make it work. Other Obsidian add GIF from URL workarounds, like awkward Excalidraw embeddings, are just too clunky for quick note taking.

We never said but deep down all of us needed a plugin to search and insert GIFs directly from the editor without the friction, the developer tokens, or the bloated file sizes.

Let’s not spend any more time in story telling and dive directly into the solution:

Dive in GIF

The Solution: GIFs.md Plugin

Voila! There exists a far better plugin called GIFs.md, The zero setup plugin every CMS user & note nerd needs, an incredibly slick, wildly convenient community plugin that permanently solves the markdown image link GIF problem.

Powered by the Klipy API, GIFs.md is a zero setup, plug-and-play solution. You do not need to register for API tokens or mess with backend settings. It comes packed with all the required configurations out of the box, meaning you just install it and start typing.

Jumping on the features we get with the plugin:

  • Zero Setup Required: Ships with required configurations means literal plug-and-play functionality.
  • Zero Vault Bloat: It inserts the GIF directly into your note as a standard markdown image link hosted externally. Your vault stays perfectly lightweight.
  • Instant Markdown Embedding: The GIF drops instantly at your exact cursor position.
  • Search & Curated Discovery: Search for specific GIFs by keyword, or browse curated, trending categories.
  • Omnipresent Access: Trigger the GIF picker via the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + P -> GIFs.md: Insert GIF), the right-click editor menu, a custom hotkey, or the ribbon icon.
  • Free & Open Sourced: It’s an absolute free to use plugin which is actually open sourced at the time of writing the article.

Upon some digging, the plugin in not available on the official list of Obsidian community directory because of their policies of not allowing a pre-plugged API keys integrated into extension which defeats one of the USPs of this plugin. It is completely unlisted, so here is the complete guide on how to get it running in under a minute.

How to Install GIFs.md

You have three easy ways to grab the plugin. Pick your preferred poison.

  1. Open Settings and go to Community Plugins.
  2. Search for GIFs.md and click Install.
  3. Restart obsidian and enable the plugin.

Or go to GIFs.md and click Install.

Method 2: The BRAT Installation

If you frequently test beta plugins, you likely already have Obsidian42-BRAT installed. This is by far the fastest route.

  1. Go to BRAT settings in Obsidian and search for Add Beta Plugins or through the Command Palette.
  2. Paste the official GitHub repository URL.: https://github.com/ikrishagarwal/GIFs.md/.
  3. Click Add Plugin with Enable after installing checked and reload Obsidian.

Method 3: The Terminal Script (For Terminal Titans)

Want a fast, automated installation without relying on BRAT? Run a simple script directly from the root directory of your Obsidian vault.

Mac & Linux (Bash):

Bash

bash <(curl -sL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ikrishagarwal/GIFs.md/main/install.sh)

Windows (PowerShell):

PowerShell

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ikrishagarwal/GIFs.md/main/install.ps1 | iex

After the script runs:

  1. Restart Obsidian.
  2. Navigate to Settings -> Community Plugins.
  3. Search for GIFs.md and toggle it on.

Method 4: The Manual Download

Hon’ble mention to the respected ZIP installation method, it would take barely a minute to setup that way as well.

  1. Download the gifs-md-plugin.zip file directly from the latest GitHub Release.
  2. Unzip this file directly into your vault’s specific plugin directory (.obsidian/plugins/gifs-md/).
  3. Reload Obsidian, go to Community Plugins, and turn it on.

Let’s Customize It for a Smoother Experience

While the default setup is fantastic, true Obsidian nerds know that the real magic is in the hotkeys and quick access toolbars. The whole point of this plugin is to keep you in your writing flow. I will add on with my personal recommendations on how to make small tweaks to make the plugin feel like a native feature.

For Desktop Users: Set Up a Hotkey

If you want to summon the GIF picker instantly, mapping it to a dedicated hotkey like Ctrl + Shift + G (or Cmd + Shift + G on a Mac) is a cherry on top.

  1. Open your Obsidian Settings (click the gear icon in the bottom left or hit Cmd/Ctrl + ,).
  2. Navigate to Hotkeys in the left sidebar.
  3. In the search bar, type GIFs.md to filter out the list.
  4. Click the plus (+) icon next to the GIFs.md: Insert GIF command.
  5. Press Ctrl + Shift + G on your keyboard to lock in the shortcut.

Now, whenever a moment calls for a perfectly timed reaction GIF, just hit your shortcut, type your search query, and click on one that fits. An experience smoother than butter.

For Mobile Users: Add It to Your Toolbar

If you are running your vault on a phone or tablet, swiping around to find the command palette every time you want a GIF is messy. Adding the GIF picker directly to your mobile editing toolbar or the quick access ribbon makes it instantly available.

  1. Open your Obsidian Settings on your mobile device.
  2. Navigate to the Toolbar section.
  3. On the search field type GIFs.md and select the command to add it.
  4. The command will now appear in your mobile toolbar row! You can drag and drop it to reorder it so it sits right where your thumb naturally rests.

Otherwise, it is already present in the Ribbon Menu, close your keyboard, and click on the hamburger menu on the bottom bar and you might see a Insert GIF option right there.

Wrapping Up

If you have been banging your head against the wall trying to figure out how to add GIFs in Obsidian without compromising your storage space or breaking your writing flow, GIFs.md is exactly what you have been waiting for.

By inserting external markdown GIF links, this lightweight plugin completely eliminates the headache of vault bloat. You get all the fun of visual, engaging notes without having to juggle complicated settings, register for developer accounts, or wait for massive media files to sync across your Obsidian CMS. It is fast, highly private, entirely free, and delightfully simple.

Want to see how it works under the hood or show some appreciation? Drop a star on the GIFs.md GitHub Repository.

GIFs.md

GIFs.md

Obsidian Plugin to add GIFs in your notes and liveliness

Check it out on Product Hunt →

Go drop a perfectly timed GIF into your daily notes or make your blogs more engaging with GIFs.md plugin. Happy writing!