TBX Term Import turns supported term records into a glossary

Name: TBX Term Import
Author: theluckystrike

Preview a local term file and create a glossary with two language columns.

Install in Obsidian

Directory page Source on GitHub

MIT · no telemetry · core features free

The import preview shows concept IDs, English and French terms, definitions and a missing target. — Open larger

version: 1.1.0
released: 2026-10-21
downloads: 20
review: Passed
health: Excellent
license: MIT
listed for: Desktop, Mobile
obsidian: 1.13.4 or later

Physical mobile devices and term bases from commercial terminology tools were not tested.

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

About TBX Term Import

You keep bilingual terminology and want to inspect a small term base before adding it to your vault.

Choose a local UTF-8 term file, select two language labels, and review the rows before creating a glossary. The single-file workflow is free and needs no account.

This release reads supported TBX v2 structures. It refuses TBX v3 concept records, DTD declarations and ENTITY declarations.

Local glossary preview, language selection and merge review

Free features

Load a local UTF-8 file

Select a file from your device, including outside the vault. The importer reads it in memory and leaves the source unchanged. Each file must contain valid UTF-8 XML within 4 MiB and 10,000 termEntry records.

A local term file appears in the importer before glossary creation. — Open larger

Read supported term records

Read termEntry and langSet records with tig or ntig and termGrp terms. Alternate terms keep their source order, and namespace prefixes are accepted. Missing or duplicate concept IDs appear in the skipped list.

A supported concept contains alternate terms from different term groups. — Open larger

Select exact language labels

Choose two different xml:lang labels from your file. Labels such as en, en-US and en-GB stay distinct. The column headings show your selection.

English and German labels select two columns from a multilingual file. — Open larger

Preview terms and definitions

Inspect concept IDs, alternate terms, definitions and missing-language status before creation. The preview shows the first 100 rows. Output includes supported selected rows beyond that preview limit.

Create a glossary and report

Create a new note in the vault root with a glossary table and import report. Imported formatting becomes text, and occupied names receive a numbered suffix. The report lists skipped records and missing language labels.

The new glossary note includes a table and an import report. — Open larger

Single-file import is free; batch import and reviewed concept ID merges 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.

Import several term files Pro

Select up to 20 local files and inspect a separate preview or refusal for each. Your selected labels apply to the batch. Supported files create separate notes and reports.

Two selected files have separate import previews in the batch modal. — Open larger

Review a concept ID merge Pro

Compare a later import with a prior glossary by concept ID. Review added, changed, unchanged and retained records before creating a new note. Matching language labels are required, and the review stops at 100 result rows.

A merge review compares previous and incoming terms by concept ID. — Open larger

See how Pro works

Set up TBX Term Import

needs

Obsidian 1.13.4 or later

steps

Run Import a local term file from the command palette.
Select a local .tbx or .xml file and read the displayed limits.
Choose two different source and target language labels, then inspect the rows and report lists.
Enter a plain note name and select Create glossary.
Open the created note in Reading view to inspect the table and report.

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 import a TBX glossary into Obsidian

Known limits of TBX Term Import

Only the listed TBX v2 record structures are supported; TBX v3 conceptEntry records, DTD declarations and ENTITY declarations are refused.
Each file is limited to 4 MiB and 10,000 termEntry records; the preview shows the first 100 rows.
Pro batches accept up to 20 files, and reviewed merges stop at 100 result rows.
Merges use the fenced local merge data, so manual glossary table edits do not enter a later merge.
The reader does not collect definitions directly inside ntig termGrp elements.
The importer does not validate a TBX schema or export back to TBX.
Physical mobile devices and term bases from commercial terminology tools were not tested.

Questions about TBX Term Import

Can I import a TBX v3 file?

No. The reader refuses conceptEntry records. It also refuses DTD and ENTITY declarations and doesn't validate a TBX schema.

Will a later merge include my table edits?

The merge reads the fenced local merge data in a glossary created by this plugin. Manual table edits don't update that data. Keep the block if you need later merges.

What happens when one translation is missing?

A concept with one selected language missing remains visible with a warning. A concept with neither selected language is skipped. Inspect the report before using the glossary.

What does Pro require?

Batch import and reviewed merges need a sponsoring GitHub account. GitHub Sponsors costs $5 a month or $15 once; sign-in and sponsorship checks still apply after $15 total payment.

Network use

Before you select Sign in with GitHub, the plugin makes no network requests. Sign-in sends a client ID, read:user scope and device-flow codes to github.com; authenticated requests to api.github.com check sponsorship. Checks reuse success for seven days, retry failures after six hours, or run on Refresh; they send no vault data.

Read the full network disclosure

Questions or ideas?

Tell me what is broken in TBX Term Import, or what it should do next.

Send feedback

TBX Term Import 1.1.0, MIT license