diff --git a/graphify/export.py b/graphify/export.py
index e1f2caa99..9aa110030 100644
--- a/graphify/export.py
+++ b/graphify/export.py
@@ -429,6 +429,34 @@ def _cap_filename(s: str, limit: int = 200) -> str:
     return f"{truncated}_{digest}"
 
 
+def _obsidian_safe_stem(label: str) -> str:
+    """Filename stem for an Obsidian note / canvas card from a node label.
+
+    Strips filesystem-unsafe characters, a trailing ``.md``-family extension
+    (so ``CLAUDE.md`` does not become ``CLAUDE.md.md``), and a leading ``.`` —
+    Obsidian hides every note whose name starts with a dot, so ``.env.md``
+    would be written but invisible in the UI (#2205). The ``dot-`` prefix keeps
+    the name recognizable; H1 / frontmatter still carry the true label.
+    """
+    cleaned = re.sub(
+        r'[\\/*?:"<>|#^[\]]',
+        "",
+        label.replace("\r\n", " ").replace("\r", " ").replace("\n", " "),
+    ).strip()
+    cleaned = re.sub(r"\.(md|mdx|qmd|markdown)$", "", cleaned, flags=re.IGNORECASE)
+    # Obsidian treats a leading-dot filename as a hidden file (#2205).
+    if cleaned.startswith("."):
+        cleaned = "dot-" + cleaned.lstrip(".")
+    # A stem of only punctuation (e.g. "@", "*", "#") survives the unsafe-char
+    # strip above but is empty once a downstream tool re-slugs on word chars
+    # (e.g. qmd's handelize() reduces "@" -> "" and raises, aborting the whole
+    # `qmd update`). Require at least one word char; else fall back so we never
+    # emit a "@.md"-style filename. (#1409)
+    if not re.search(r"\w", cleaned, flags=re.UNICODE):
+        return "unnamed"
+    return _cap_filename(cleaned)
+
+
 def _dedup_node_filenames(G: nx.Graph, safe_name) -> dict[str, str]:
     """Map each node_id to a unique note filename, appending a numeric suffix on
     collision. The collision set is keyed on the lowercased name so two labels
@@ -497,20 +525,7 @@ def _owned_write(rel_name: str, content: str) -> bool:
 
     # Map node_id → safe filename so wikilinks stay consistent.
     # Deduplicate: if two nodes produce the same filename, append a numeric suffix.
-    def safe_name(label: str) -> str:
-        cleaned = re.sub(r'[\\/*?:"<>|#^[\]]', "", label.replace("\r\n", " ").replace("\r", " ").replace("\n", " ")).strip()
-        # Strip trailing .md/.mdx/.markdown so "CLAUDE.md" doesn't become "CLAUDE.md.md"
-        cleaned = re.sub(r"\.(md|mdx|qmd|markdown)$", "", cleaned, flags=re.IGNORECASE)
-        # A stem of only punctuation (e.g. "@", "*", "#") survives the unsafe-char
-        # strip above but is empty once a downstream tool re-slugs on word chars
-        # (e.g. qmd's handelize() reduces "@" -> "" and raises, aborting the whole
-        # `qmd update`). Require at least one word char; else fall back so we never
-        # emit a "@.md"-style filename. (#1409)
-        if not re.search(r"\w", cleaned, flags=re.UNICODE):
-            return "unnamed"
-        return _cap_filename(cleaned)
-
-    node_filename = _dedup_node_filenames(G, safe_name)
+    node_filename = _dedup_node_filenames(G, _obsidian_safe_stem)
 
     # Helper: compute dominant confidence for a node across all its edges
     def _dominant_confidence(node_id: str) -> str:
@@ -625,7 +640,7 @@ def _community_name(cid) -> str:
     community_filename: dict = {}
     used_community: set[str] = set()
     for cid in communities:
-        base = f"_COMMUNITY_{safe_name(_community_name(cid))}"
+        base = f"_COMMUNITY_{_obsidian_safe_stem(_community_name(cid))}"
         candidate = base
         n = 1
         while candidate.lower() in used_community:
@@ -700,7 +715,7 @@ def _community_name(cid) -> str:
         if cross:
             lines.append("## Connections to other communities")
             for other_cid, edge_count in sorted(cross.items(), key=lambda x: -x[1]):
-                other_fname = community_filename.get(other_cid) or f"_COMMUNITY_{safe_name(_community_name(other_cid))}"
+                other_fname = community_filename.get(other_cid) or f"_COMMUNITY_{_obsidian_safe_stem(_community_name(other_cid))}"
                 lines.append(f"- {edge_count} edge{'s' if edge_count != 1 else ''} to [[{other_fname}]]")
             lines.append("")
 
@@ -798,21 +813,9 @@ def to_canvas(
     # Obsidian canvas color codes (cycle through for communities)
     CANVAS_COLORS = ["1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6"]  # red, orange, yellow, green, cyan, purple
 
-    def safe_name(label: str) -> str:
-        cleaned = re.sub(r'[\\/*?:"<>|#^[\]]', "", label.replace("\r\n", " ").replace("\r", " ").replace("\n", " ")).strip()
-        cleaned = re.sub(r"\.(md|mdx|qmd|markdown)$", "", cleaned, flags=re.IGNORECASE)
-        # A stem of only punctuation (e.g. "@", "*", "#") survives the unsafe-char
-        # strip above but is empty once a downstream tool re-slugs on word chars
-        # (e.g. qmd's handelize() reduces "@" -> "" and raises, aborting the whole
-        # `qmd update`). Require at least one word char; else fall back so we never
-        # emit a "@.md"-style filename. (#1409)
-        if not re.search(r"\w", cleaned, flags=re.UNICODE):
-            return "unnamed"
-        return _cap_filename(cleaned)
-
     # Build node_filenames if not provided (same dedup logic as to_obsidian)
     if node_filenames is None:
-        node_filenames = _dedup_node_filenames(G, safe_name)
+        node_filenames = _dedup_node_filenames(G, _obsidian_safe_stem)
 
     # Fallback: with no community data (e.g. --no-cluster builds or a missing
     # analysis sidecar) the grid below produces nothing and the canvas is written
@@ -926,7 +929,7 @@ def safe_name(label: str) -> str:
             row = m_idx // inner_cols
             nx_x = gx + 20 + col * (180 + 20)
             nx_y = gy + 80 + row * (60 + 20)
-            fname = node_filenames.get(node_id, safe_name(G.nodes[node_id].get("label", node_id)))
+            fname = node_filenames.get(node_id, _obsidian_safe_stem(G.nodes[node_id].get("label", node_id)))
             canvas_nodes.append({
                 "id": f"n_{node_id}",
                 "type": "file",
diff --git a/tests/test_export.py b/tests/test_export.py
index 28a4707a7..57d66797f 100644
--- a/tests/test_export.py
+++ b/tests/test_export.py
@@ -429,6 +429,36 @@ def test_to_canvas_never_emits_punctuation_only_filenames():
         assert not bad, f"punctuation-only canvas filenames: {bad}"
 
 
+def test_to_obsidian_leading_dot_labels_are_not_hidden_filenames():
+    """#2205: Obsidian hides notes whose names start with `.` — `.env` must
+    become `dot-env.md` (and canvas must point at the same stem)."""
+    import networkx as nx
+    G = nx.Graph()
+    G.add_node("n_env", label=".env", source_file=".env", type="document")
+    G.add_node("n_gi", label=".gitignore", source_file=".gitignore", type="document")
+    G.add_node("n_readme", label="README", source_file="README.md", type="document")
+    G.add_edge("n_readme", "n_env", relation="references")
+    communities = {0: ["n_env", "n_gi", "n_readme"]}
+    with tempfile.TemporaryDirectory() as tmp:
+        to_obsidian(G, communities, tmp)
+        stems = {p.stem for p in Path(tmp).rglob("*.md") if not p.name.startswith("_")}
+        assert "dot-env" in stems, stems
+        assert "dot-gitignore" in stems, stems
+        assert not any(s.startswith(".") for s in stems), stems
+
+        canvas = Path(tmp) / "graph.canvas"
+        to_canvas(G, communities, str(canvas))
+        data = json.loads(canvas.read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+        file_stems = {
+            Path(n["file"]).stem
+            for n in data["nodes"]
+            if n.get("type") == "file"
+        }
+        assert "dot-env" in file_stems, file_stems
+        assert "dot-gitignore" in file_stems, file_stems
+        assert not any(s.startswith(".") for s in file_stems), file_stems
+
+
 # ── Existing-vault safety: graphify must not clobber user notes / .obsidian (#1506) ──
 
 def _two_node_graph():