Quickbrush for Obsidian

Generate AI-powered images from your Obsidian notes using your OpenAI API key (BYOK). Create character portraits, scenes, creatures, and items with a few clicks.

A tool by Wizzlethorpe Labs.

Features

• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): Uses your own OpenAI API key - you only pay for what you use
• Four Generation Types: Character, Scene, Creature, and Item images
• Smart Text Extraction: Automatically extracts content from your active note
• Reference Images: Support for up to 3 reference images automatically extracted from your notes
• Quality Options: Choose from Low, Medium, or High quality
• Multiple Aspect Ratios: Square, Landscape, or Portrait
• Organized Storage: All files organized in a single parent folder:
  • Images saved to Quickbrush/quickbrush-images
  • Gallery notes in Quickbrush/quickbrush-gallery
• Gallery Notes: Each generation creates a timestamped note with:
  • Embedded image
  • Generation metadata (type, quality, aspect ratio, etc.)
  • Original and refined descriptions

Installation

From Source

1. Clone or download this plugin to your vault's .obsidian/plugins/quickbrush/ folder
2. Run npm install in the plugin directory
3. Run npm run build to compile the plugin
4. Enable the plugin in Obsidian's Community Plugins settings

Manual Installation

1. Create a folder named quickbrush in your vault's .obsidian/plugins/ directory
2. Copy main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css into the folder
3. Enable the plugin in Obsidian's Community Plugins settings

Setup

1. Get your OpenAI API key from platform.openai.com
2. Open Settings → QuickBrush
3. Enter your OpenAI API key
4. (Optional) Choose your preferred image model (gpt-image-1-mini is recommended)
5. (Optional) Customize the parent folder name (default: "Quickbrush")
   • Images will be saved to: {folder}/quickbrush-images
   • Gallery notes will be saved to: {folder}/quickbrush-gallery

Usage

Generate from Active Note

1. Open any note in Obsidian

2. Use one of these methods:

   • Click the QuickBrush ribbon icon
   • Open Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and search for "QuickBrush"
   • Use a specific command:
     • "QuickBrush: Generate Character Image"
     • "QuickBrush: Generate Scene Image"
     • "QuickBrush: Generate Creature Image"
     • "QuickBrush: Generate Item Image"

3. The plugin will automatically extract text from your note (excluding frontmatter)

4. The first 3 images embedded in your note will be automatically selected as reference images

5. Adjust the description, type, quality, and aspect ratio as needed

6. Click "Generate"

Reference Images

The plugin supports up to 3 reference images to guide the generation:

• Auto-Selected: The first 3 images from your active note are automatically extracted
• Remove Images: Click the × button on any thumbnail to remove it
• Supported Formats: PNG, JPG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, BMP

Reference images help maintain consistency with existing artwork or provide visual style guidance.

Generation Options

Generation Types:

• Character: For character portraits and NPCs (default: square)
• Scene: For locations, environments, and scenes (default: landscape)
• Creature: For monsters, beasts, and creatures (default: square)
• Item: For equipment, artifacts, and items (default: square)

Quality Levels:

• Low: Faster generation, lower cost
• Medium: Balanced quality and cost (recommended)
• High: Best quality, higher cost

Aspect Ratios:

• Square: 1024x1024 (general purpose)
• Landscape: 1536x1024 (wide scenes)
• Portrait: 1024x1536 (tall compositions)

Gallery Notes

Each generated image creates a gallery note with this structure:

---
generation_type: character
quality: high
aspect_ratio: square
created: 2025-01-15T10:30:00.000Z
---

# Character Name

![[quickbrush-images/Character-Name-12345678.png]]

## Generation Details

**Type:** character
**Quality:** high
**Aspect Ratio:** square

## Original Description

Your original description...

## Refined Description

AI-enhanced description...

## Prompt

Optional context prompt

Gallery notes are automatically named with timestamps for chronological ordering.

Settings

• OpenAI API Key: Your OpenAI API key from platform.openai.com
• Image Model: Choose between gpt-image-1-mini (recommended) or gpt-image-1 (higher quality)
• QuickBrush Folder: Parent folder for all QuickBrush files (default: Quickbrush)
  • Images: {folder}/quickbrush-images
  • Gallery: {folder}/quickbrush-gallery

Pricing

QuickBrush uses your OpenAI API key, so you only pay for what you use:

• gpt-image-1-mini: ~$0.01-0.05 per image (recommended)
• gpt-image-1: ~$0.03-0.15 per image (higher quality)

Actual costs depend on quality settings and whether you use reference images. Check OpenAI's pricing page for current rates.

Example Workflow

1. Create a character note:

---
name: Elara Moonwhisper
race: Elf
class: Wizard
---

# Elara Moonwhisper

A wise elf wizard with silver hair and piercing blue eyes.
She wears flowing robes adorned with celestial symbols and
carries an ancient staff topped with a glowing crystal.

2. Run "QuickBrush: Generate Character Image"
3. The plugin extracts the description automatically
4. Optionally add a context prompt like "smiling, wearing a blue dress"
5. Click Generate
6. Image appears in quickbrush-images/ and a gallery note is created in quickbrush-gallery/

Troubleshooting

"OpenAI API Key Required"

• You need to configure your OpenAI API key in Settings → QuickBrush
• Get a key from platform.openai.com

"Generation failed: [error message]"

• Check that your API key is valid and has credits
• Ensure your OpenAI account is in good standing
• Check the console (Ctrl+Shift+I) for detailed error messages

Images not appearing in notes

• Make sure the image path is correct
• Try using the absolute path or ![[filename.png]] format

Support

• GitHub: wizzlethorpe/quickbrush
• Report issues: GitHub Issues

License

MIT License - See LICENSE file for details