BeautiTab: Create a Beautiful New Tab Page in Obsidian
Based on Prakash Joshi Pax's video on YouTube. If you like this content, support the original creators by watching, liking and subscribing to their content.
Beauty tab replaces Obsidian’s new tab with a customizable dashboard that includes time, greeting, recent notes, bookmarks, and quotes.
Briefing
Obsidian users who want a more attractive, functional replacement for the default new tab now have “Beauty tab,” a plugin that turns the new tab page into a customizable dashboard with a large clock, greeting, recent notes, bookmarks, and rotating quotes over polished backgrounds. The pitch is simple: instead of landing on a blank new tab, Obsidian can immediately surface the information people actually use—what time it is, what they were working on, and where their important notes live—wrapped in a “momentum dashboard”-style layout.
The motivation behind the switch is practical. The creator previously relied on “Home tab,” but Obsidian’s bookmarks update broke that plugin, leaving only recent files visible while bookmarks disappeared. Beauty tab restores that missing piece: it includes dedicated bookmark controls so users can surface up to five bookmarks directly on the new tab, or choose a bookmark group when the vault has many saved items.
Installation is straightforward. Users go to Obsidian Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for “Beauty tab” by “Andrew mgber,” install it, and enable the plugin. From there, the Options panel becomes the real control center, offering toggles and configuration for nearly every element on the page.
Background customization is a major feature. Beauty tab supports a background theme that can rotate through “season and holid days” by default, plus other built-in options such as “legs.” Users can also paste a URL to a custom image hosted online (the transcript references using Freepik images via direct links). There’s also active development momentum: a GitHub issue requests a way to disable backgrounds so users can keep the look of their own Obsidian theme.
Beyond visuals, the plugin offers layout controls. Users can hide the top-left search button, remove the inline search bar, and choose a “Source provider” for search—configured in the transcript to work with Obsidian Quick Switcher. Time display can be toggled between 12-hour and 24-hour formats. A greeting section can be enabled or disabled. Recent files can be shown or hidden.
Quotes are handled through a “show codes” setting (wording in the transcript), with selectable quote sources such as “quotable” or “my codes.” When “my codes” is selected, users can add their own quote entries via an edit flow; the new tab updates immediately to reflect the chosen source.
Beauty tab also draws inspiration from the Chrome extension “Momentum Dash,” including a list-style layout. The transcript notes a wishlist item: adding daily tasks to the new tab, potentially integrating with Obsidian Tasks Timeline. A GitHub issue is mentioned as a way to push that feature request forward.
In short, Beauty tab is positioned as an elegant, customizable new tab dashboard for Obsidian—especially valuable for users who want bookmarks back on the new tab after the Home tab plugin broke with Obsidian’s bookmarks update.
Cornell Notes
Beauty tab is an Obsidian plugin that replaces the default new tab with a momentum-dashboard-style page showing a clock, greeting, recent files, bookmarks, and rotating quotes. It’s designed to be highly configurable: users can toggle UI elements like search bars, time format (12/24 hour), recent files, and greeting. Backgrounds can rotate through built-in themes or use custom images via URL, with ongoing requests to allow disabling backgrounds entirely. Bookmark support is a key differentiator, letting users display up to five bookmarks or select a bookmark group. Quote sources can come from “quotable” or from user-created “my codes,” which update the new tab immediately.
What problem does Beauty tab solve compared with the earlier Home tab plugin?
How do users customize the background on the new tab page?
Which interface elements can be turned on or off in the plugin settings?
How does Beauty tab handle search, and what “Source provider” is used in the transcript?
How do bookmark display options work when a vault has many bookmarks?
How are quotes/codes sourced and customized?
Review Questions
- What specific settings in Beauty tab control whether search, time, greeting, recent files, bookmarks, and quotes appear on the new tab?
- How does Beauty tab support both rotating backgrounds and user-supplied background images, and what development request is mentioned regarding background disabling?
- Why is bookmark grouping useful in Beauty tab, and how does it change what appears on the new tab page?
Key Points
- 1
Beauty tab replaces Obsidian’s new tab with a customizable dashboard that includes time, greeting, recent notes, bookmarks, and quotes.
- 2
Bookmark support is a standout feature, offering either up to five visible bookmarks or a selected bookmark group for larger vaults.
- 3
Backgrounds can rotate through built-in themes or use custom images via direct URL, with ongoing requests to allow disabling backgrounds.
- 4
Search elements are configurable, including the ability to hide the top-left search button and the inline search bar.
- 5
Search integration depends on the selected “Source provider,” with Obsidian Quick Switcher used in the transcript.
- 6
Quotes can come from “quotable” or from user-created “my codes,” and changes reflect immediately on the new tab.
- 7
A feature request exists to show daily tasks on the new tab, potentially integrating with Obsidian Tasks Timeline.