Collect Obsidian plugin debug evidence for support and troubleshooting.
Use when encountering persistent issues, preparing bug reports,
or collecting diagnostic information for plugin problems.
Trigger with phrases like "obsidian debug", "obsidian diagnostic",
"collect obsidian logs", "obsidian support bundle".
Collect comprehensive diagnostics from an Obsidian vault: app version, installed plugins, active theme, vault stats, console errors, and CSS conflicts. Package everything into a markdown debug report.
Prerequisites
Access to the Obsidian vault's filesystem (the vault directory)
Terminal access to run collection commands
Developer Console access in Obsidian (Ctrl+Shift+I / Cmd+Option+I)
Instructions
Step 1: Identify the Vault Path
Obsidian stores vault data in the vault root under .obsidian/. Locate it:
# macOS
VAULT_PATH=~/Documents/MyVault
# Linux
VAULT_PATH=~/Obsidian/MyVault
# Windows (Git Bash)
VAULT_PATH="/c/Users/$USER/Documents/MyVault"
# Verify it's a valid vault
ls "$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/app.json" && echo "Valid vault" || echo "Not a vault"
Step 2: Collect Obsidian Version and App Settings
# Obsidian version is in the installer log or app settings
cat "$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/app.json" 2>/dev/null | python3 -m json.tool
# Check installer version (macOS)
mdls -name kMDItemVersion /Applications/Obsidian.app 2>/dev/null
# Check installer version (Linux, snap)
snap info obsidian 2>/dev/null | grep installed
Step 3: List Installed Plugins and Their Versions
# Active community plugins
echo "=== Active Plugins ==="
cat "$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/community-plugins.json" 2>/dev/null | python3 -m json.tool
# Plugin details (name, version, minAppVersion)
echo "=== Plugin Manifests ==="
for dir in "$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/plugins"/*/; do
if [ -f "$dir/manifest.json" ]; then
echo "--- $(basename "$dir") ---"
python3 -c "
import json
m = json.load(open('$dir/manifest.json'))
print(f\" version: {m.get('version', 'unknown')}\")
print(f\" minAppVersion: {m.get('minAppVersion', 'unknown')}\")
print(f\" author: {m.get('author', 'unknown')}\")
"
fi
done
Open Obsidian's Developer Console (Ctrl+Shift+I / Cmd+Option+I), then run this in the Console tab to export errors:
// Paste in Obsidian's Developer Console
(() => {
const errors = [];
const originalError = console.error;
console.error = (...args) => {
errors.push({ time: new Date().toISOString(), message: args.map(String).join(' ') });
originalError.apply(console, args);
};
// After reproducing the issue, run:
// copy(JSON.stringify(errors, null, 2))
// This copies the error log to clipboard
console.log(`Error capture active. Reproduce your issue, then run:
copy(JSON.stringify(errors, null, 2))`);
})();
Alternatively, check for existing errors:
// Quick dump of plugin load errors
app.plugins.manifests; // All registered plugins
app.plugins.enabledPlugins; // Currently enabled set
// Check if a specific plugin failed to load:
app.plugins.plugins['your-plugin']; // undefined = failed to load
Step 7: Detect CSS Conflicts
# Check for snippet overrides that might conflict
for snippet in "$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/snippets"/*.css; do
[ -f "$snippet" ] || continue
echo "=== $(basename "$snippet") ==="
# Look for broad selectors that commonly cause conflicts
grep -n 'body\b\|\.app-container\|\.workspace\|\.markdown-preview\|!important' "$snippet" | head -20
done
# Check theme CSS size (large themes are conflict-prone)
THEME_DIR="$VAULT_PATH/.obsidian/themes/$THEME"
if [ -d "$THEME_DIR" ]; then
echo "Theme CSS size: $(wc -c < "$THEME_DIR/theme.css" 2>/dev/null) bytes"
fi
Step 8: Generate the Debug Report
Combine all diagnostics into a single markdown note:
debug-report-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md in the vault root containing:
Platform and Obsidian version
Complete plugin list with versions
Active theme and CSS snippet inventory
Vault statistics (file count, size)
Appearance configuration
Empty section for pasting console errors after reproducing the issue
Error Handling
Item
Privacy Risk
Action
app.json
Contains vault path
Redact path before sharing
Plugin data.json
May contain API keys
Never include automatically
Console logs
May contain file names
Review before sharing
Vault path
Personal directory info
Replace with <vault> before sharing
CSS snippets
Generally safe
OK to share
community-plugins.json
Plugin list only
Safe to share
Examples
Quick bug report: Run Steps 2-5 from terminal, paste output into a GitHub issue. Add console errors from Step 6 if the issue involves runtime failures.
Plugin developer diagnostics: A user reports your plugin crashes. Ask them to run the Step 8 script and share the resulting debug-report-*.md file. Check their Obsidian version against your manifest.jsonminAppVersion, and look for plugin conflicts in the active plugins list.
CSS debugging: User reports broken styling. Run Step 7 to find !important overrides in snippets. Disable snippets one by one in Settings > Appearance > CSS snippets to isolate the conflict.
