Usage Guide

This guide explains how to use the Make It Rain plugin to fetch your Raindrop.io bookmarks into Obsidian.

Getting Started

Before using the plugin, ensure you have:

1. Installed the plugin
2. Configured your API token
3. Set your default raindrop location (optional)

Opening the Import Modals

Make It Rain provides two main ways to import your bookmarks, each with its own modal:

1. Fetch Raindrops (for bulk/filtered imports):
   • Access via Command Palette: Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac) and search for “Make It Rain: Fetch Raindrops”.
   • Access via Ribbon Icon: Click the raindrop icon in the left sidebar (if enabled in plugin settings).
2. Quick Import Raindrop by URL/ID (for single item imports):
   • Access via Command Palette: Press Ctrl+P (or Cmd+P on Mac) and search for “Make It Rain: Quick Import Raindrop by URL/ID”.

Fetch Raindrops Modal Options

The “Fetch Raindrops” modal is designed for bulk imports and provides several options for filtering and organizing your raindrops:

Target Location

• Raindrop Path: Choose where in your vault to save the imported raindrops.
  • Default is the path specified in your plugin settings.
  • You can change this for each import session.

Filter Options

• Collections: Select collections from a dynamic, filterable list populated directly from your Raindrop.io account by clicking on them. You can also still enter comma-separated Raindrop.io Collection IDs or Names manually into the text field.
  • Leave empty to fetch from all collections (default behavior if no collections are specified).
  • Example for manual entry: Articles, RESEARCH, 12345678
• Include Subcollections: Toggle to include raindrops from subcollections.
  • When enabled, fetches raindrops from all nested collections, for all selected filters.
  • Maintains proper folder hierarchy in your vault.
• Filter by Tags: Enter tags to filter by (comma-separated, case sensitive).
  • Example: research, important, to-read
• Tag Match Type: Choose between:
  • All: Raindrops must have all specified tags (AND logic).
  • Any: Raindrops can have any of the specified tags (OR logic).
  • A (?) help icon next to this setting in the plugin provides a direct link to documentation on this feature.
• Filter by Type: Select a specific content type.
  • Options: All, Link, Article, Image, Video, Document, Audio.
  • Useful for importing only specific types of content.

  Note: If NO filters are selected, all raindrops will be fetched. For large collections, this can take a while… The plugin will show a progress bar and rate limit warnings, if any are encountered. This is normal behavior and the plugin will continue to fetch raindrops until all are fetched. The length of time it takes to fetch all raindrops depends on the number of raindrops in your collection, the size of each raindrop’s content, and your internet connection speed.

Import Options

• Use Raindrop Title for File Name: Toggle to use raindrop titles as filenames.
  • When enabled: Uses the title (via filename template from settings) for filenames.
  • When disabled: Uses the raindrop ID for filenames (avoids conflicts).
• Append Tags to Note Frontmatter: Add custom tags to all imported notes.
  • Example: #imported/raindrop, #web-content
  • These tags are added in addition to any tags from Raindrop.io.
• Fetch Only New Items: Only import raindrops that don’t exist in the target folder.
  • Useful for incremental imports without duplicates.
• Update Existing Notes: Update notes if the source raindrop has changed.
  • Compares the last_update timestamp from Raindrop.io.
  • Only updates if the raindrop is newer than the existing note.

Template Options

If you have enabled the template system, you’ll see additional options:

• Select Template: Choose which template to use for generating notes.
  • Options include “Auto (based on content type)” and any custom templates you’ve created.
  • This selection overrides the content-type specific templates for this import session.

Fetching Process (Bulk/Filtered Import)

After configuring your options in the “Fetch Raindrops” modal:

1. Click the Fetch Raindrops button.
2. A loading notice will appear showing progress.
3. The plugin will:
   • Fetch collections data from Raindrop.io.
   • Fetch raindrops based on your filters.
   • Create the necessary folder structure in your vault.
   • Generate notes for each raindrop.
4. When complete, a notice will show the number of notes created, updated, or skipped.

Quick Import Raindrop by URL/ID

New in v1.7.1 (and improved!), this command allows you to quickly import a single Raindrop item if you know its URL or unique numeric ID. This is ideal for quickly bringing in a specific item without going through the full filtered fetch process.

Accessing Quick Import

1. Open the Obsidian Command Palette (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P on Mac).
2. Search for and select the command: “Quick Import Raindrop by URL/ID”.

Quick Import Modal Options

A simplified modal will appear with the following options:

• Raindrop URL or ID:
  • Paste the full URL of the Raindrop item or just its unique numeric ID.
  • How to find: In the Raindrop.io app, click “Edit” on the specific item (or look for a similar action that opens the item in a detailed/edit view). The URL in your browser’s address bar should look like .../item/[ID]/edit or similar. You can paste this full URL here, or just the numeric ID (e.g., 123456789). The input field placeholder and description in the modal also provide this guidance.
• Vault Save Location (Optional):
  • Override the default save folder (from plugin settings) for this specific import. Leave blank to use the default.
• Append Tags to Notes (Optional):
  • Enter comma-separated tags to add to the frontmatter of the created note for this item.

Fetching the Single Item

1. Click the “Fetch & Create Note” button in the Quick Import modal.
2. The plugin will fetch the specified Raindrop item and create a note for it based on your template settings.

Understanding the Results

After fetching, you’ll see a summary of the operation:

• Created: New notes that were created.
• Updated: Existing notes that were updated.
• Skipped: Raindrops that were skipped (due to “Fetch Only New” or no changes).
• Errors: Any errors that occurred during the process.

Folder Organization

The plugin organizes your notes based on your Raindrop.io collection hierarchy:

1. Root Folder: The vault path you specified.
2. Collection Folders: Subfolders created for each collection.
3. Nested Collections: Maintains the same hierarchy as in Raindrop.io.

For example, if you have:

• A collection “Research” with a subcollection “AI”
• And you set your vault path to “Raindrops”

The resulting structure will be:

Raindrops/
├── Research/
│   └── AI/
│       ├── Article1.md
│       └── Article2.md
└── Other collections...

Advanced Usage

Rate Limiting

The plugin includes smart rate limiting to avoid hitting Raindrop.io API limits:

• Limits requests to 60 per minute (conservative approach).
• Automatically waits when rate limits are reached.
• Shows notifications during rate limit delays.
• Retries failed requests with exponential backoff.

Working with Large Collections

When working with large collections:

1. Use Specific Filters: Target specific collections or tags.
2. Incremental Imports: Use “Fetch Only New” to add items gradually.

Next Steps

• Learn about note structure and the template system.
• Check the troubleshooting guide if you encounter issues.
• Explore configuration options to customize the plugin.