PDF Reply Export brings PDF comments and replies into a Markdown note

Name: PDF Reply Export
Author: theluckystrike

Save PDF comments and replies in notes.

MIT · no telemetry · core features free

A preview groups comments from Alice, Bob and Cara as nested replies. — Open larger

version: 1.1.0
released: 2026-10-21
downloads: 21
review: Passed
health: Excellent
license: MIT
listed for: Desktop, Mobile
obsidian: 1.13.4 or later

The README reports macOS checks with local fixture PDFs and simulated sponsorship responses. Mobile, Linux, Windows, live sign-in and payments were not tested.

Directory facts fetched 2026-10-23 07:28 UTC from community.obsidian.md/users/theluckystrike.

About PDF Reply Export

You review local PDFs and want the discussion beside your project notes.

Open a saved PDF in your vault and preview its native comments. PDF Reply Export writes a new Markdown note beside the PDF, with nested replies and page links.

It reads annotations stored inside the PDF. Comments in an external review service or separate Markdown file aren't part of the export.

Preview a PDF discussion and write a new review note

Free features

Native comments and replies

Preview supported native comments with author, saved date, text and page. Select a page link to open the source. A blank highlight appears only when a reply needs it as a parent.

Parent groups and missing parents

Annotation IDs and reply IDs determine the nesting. Replies with usable dates appear in date order, followed by unknown dates. Missing parents and cycles get separate groups with retained comment text.

The preview separates missing parent and cycle groups while retaining comment text. — Open larger

A new Markdown review note

Write review note creates a file beside your PDF without replacing an existing note. A name conflict adds a number, such as Review (2).md. The output escapes Markdown markers and HTML characters.

Author and saved date filters and selected folder export need Pro.

Pro features

Pro costs $5 a month or $15 one time through GitHub Sponsors. One sponsorship turns on Pro in every plugin that has it.

Author and saved date filters Pro

Select an exact author name or an inclusive UTC date range. Unknown dates remain eligible for date filtering. A retained reply moves to Missing parents if the filter removes its parent.

An author filter selects Bob and shows his retained reply. — Open larger

Selected PDF folder export Pro

Preview PDFs from a selected folder and its subfolders before writing one note per PDF with selected comments. Notes go beside their source PDFs. Errors can leave completed notes; the batch has no rollback.

A folder preview shows discussions from two sample PDF files. — Open larger

See how Pro works

Set up PDF Reply Export

needs

Obsidian 1.13.4 or later

steps

Save the PDF inside your vault, including changes from your PDF editor.
Open the PDF and run Preview comments from the active PDF.
Check missing parents, cycle warnings and unknown dates in the preview.
Enter a note name and, with Pro, set an author or date range if needed.
Select Write review note to create the output and open the first completed note.

If the app can't find a new plugin yet, try again later. Obsidian says a plugin that passes the review shows in the app within 24 hours.

How to export PDF comments and replies to Markdown in Obsidian

Known limits of PDF Reply Export

Only native annotations saved inside the local PDF are read; external service discussions and separate Markdown comments are outside scope.
The export omits quoted highlight text and blank markup without a discussion.
Link annotations, form widgets, popup records and RT Group members are excluded.
A preview is a snapshot; reopen it after another application changes the saved PDF.
Repeated exports create separate notes and do not merge changed comments into an earlier review.
Folder export has no rollback and can leave completed notes after read or write errors.
Unknown dates remain eligible for date filters.
Reply indentation stops at depth 20, with the actual depth written as text.
The plugin keeps the first record when annotation IDs repeat.
Note names and filter inputs are not saved between previews.
Mobile, Linux, Windows, password protected PDFs, OCR and large production PDF archives were not tested; this version has no password entry interface.
Live GitHub sign-in and payments were not tested; Pro checks use a simulated sponsorship response.

Questions about PDF Reply Export

Why is a highlight missing from my review?

A blank highlight without a discussion is omitted. The export doesn't include quoted highlight text.

Can an export replace my earlier review note?

The plugin creates a new note and chooses a numbered name when needed. Repeated exports don't merge changed comments into your earlier note.

What happens to missing authors and dates?

Missing authors show Unknown author. Missing or invalid dates show Unknown date, while the comment text and page remain.

Will folder export undo completed notes after an error?

Folder export has no batch rollback. Check the completion notice for the number of notes written and any errors.

Network use

Before you select Sign in with GitHub, the plugin makes no network requests. Sign-in sends its public client ID, device codes and read:user scope to github.com; later checks send an authenticated sponsorship query to api.github.com. Checks request your tier and total payment, reuse success for seven days, and send no note content, file names or vault data.

Read the full network disclosure