Obsidian local dev loop

Obsidian Local Dev Loop

Overview

Establish a fast edit-build-test cycle for Obsidian plugins. Clone the official sample plugin, run esbuild in watch mode, symlink into a dev vault, hot-reload with Ctrl+R, debug with Chrome DevTools, and run tests with vitest. Aimed at sub-second feedback from save to reload.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ with npm
• Git
• Obsidian desktop app installed
• A vault dedicated to development (keep it separate from your real notes)

Instructions

Step 1: Clone the official sample plugin

Start from the maintained template rather than from scratch:

set -euo pipefail

git clone https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-sample-plugin.git my-plugin
cd my-plugin
rm -rf .git
git init

npm install

The sample includes esbuild.config.mjs, tsconfig.json, manifest.json, and a working src/main.ts.

Step 2: Create a dedicated dev vault

Keep a vault just for testing. Pre-populate it with sample notes.

set -euo pipefail

DEV_VAULT="$HOME/ObsidianDev"
mkdir -p "$DEV_VAULT/.obsidian/plugins"
mkdir -p "$DEV_VAULT/Test Notes"

cat > "$DEV_VAULT/Test Notes/Sample.md" << 'EOF'
---
tags: [test, sample]
---
# Sample Note

This note exists for plugin development testing.

## Section A

Some content with a [[link]] and a #tag.

## Section B

- Item 1
- Item 2
- Item 3
EOF

echo "Dev vault ready at $DEV_VAULT"

Open this vault in Obsidian: File > Open vault > select ~/ObsidianDev.

Step 3: Symlink the plugin into the dev vault

Instead of copying files after every build, symlink the entire project directory. The build outputs main.js at the project root, right where Obsidian expects it.

set -euo pipefail

DEV_VAULT="$HOME/ObsidianDev"
PLUGIN_DIR="$(pwd)"
PLUGIN_ID=$(node -e "console.log(require('./manifest.json').id)")

# Symlink project root into vault plugins folder
ln -sfn "$PLUGIN_DIR" "$DEV_VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/$PLUGIN_ID"

# Verify
ls -la "$DEV_VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/$PLUGIN_ID/manifest.json"
echo "Symlinked $PLUGIN_ID into dev vault."

On Windows, use an admin terminal:

mklink /D "%USERPROFILE%\ObsidianDev\.obsidian\plugins\my-plugin" "%cd%"

Step 4: Run esbuild in watch mode

Watch mode rebuilds main.js on every source file change (typically <50ms).

npm run dev
# esbuild watches src/ and rebuilds main.js on save
# Output: "build finished" messages in the terminal

The esbuild.config.mjs from the sample plugin already supports this. Inline source maps are enabled in dev mode for accurate stack traces.

Step 5: Hot-reload in Obsidian

After esbuild rebuilds, reload the plugin in Obsidian:

Method A -- Keyboard (fastest): Press Ctrl+R (or Cmd+R on macOS) to reload the app. This unloads all plugins and reloads them, picking up the new main.js.

Method B -- Hot Reload plugin (automatic): Install the Hot Reload community plugin. It watches for main.js changes in plugin directories and auto-reloads only the changed plugin. No manual refresh needed.

1. In Obsidian, install "Hot Reload" from Community plugins
2. Enable it
3. Create a .hotreload file in your plugin directory: touch .hotreload
4. Now every esbuild rebuild triggers an automatic plugin reload

Method C -- Command palette: Press Ctrl+P, type "Reload app without saving", Enter.

Step 6: Debug with Chrome DevTools

Obsidian is an Electron app, so full Chrome DevTools are available.

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on macOS) to open DevTools
2. Console tab -- see console.log output from your plugin
3. Sources tab -- set breakpoints in your code (source maps required)
4. Network tab -- inspect any HTTP requests your plugin makes
5. Elements tab -- inspect Obsidian's DOM for CSS/layout work

Tips:

• With inline source maps enabled, your TypeScript source appears in Sources > src/main.ts
• Use debugger; statements in code for precise breakpoints
• console.log('[MyPlugin]', ...) prefix makes filtering easy

// Add to onload() for development:
if (process.env.NODE_ENV !== "production") {
  console.log("[MyPlugin] Dev mode active. Use Ctrl+Shift+I for DevTools.");
}

Step 7: Testing with vitest

Obsidian plugins can be unit-tested by mocking the obsidian module.

set -euo pipefail
npm install --save-dev vitest

Create vitest.config.ts:

import { defineConfig } from "vitest/config";

export default defineConfig({
  test: {
    globals: true,
    environment: "node",
  },
});

Create a mock for the obsidian module at __mocks__/obsidian.ts:

export class Plugin {
  app = {};
  loadData = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({});
  saveData = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue(undefined);
  addCommand = vi.fn();
  addRibbonIcon = vi.fn();
  addSettingTab = vi.fn();
  addStatusBarItem = vi.fn().mockReturnValue({ setText: vi.fn() });
  registerEvent = vi.fn();
  registerInterval = vi.fn();
}

export class Notice {
  constructor(public message: string) {}
}

export class PluginSettingTab {
  containerEl = { empty: vi.fn(), createEl: vi.fn() };
  constructor(public app: any, public plugin: any) {}
  display() {}
}

export class Setting {
  constructor(el: any) {}
  setName = vi.fn().mockReturnThis();
  setDesc = vi.fn().mockReturnThis();
  addText = vi.fn().mockReturnThis();
  addToggle = vi.fn().mockReturnThis();
}

export class Modal {
  app: any;
  contentEl = { createEl: vi.fn(), empty: vi.fn() };
  constructor(app: any) { this.app = app; }
  open = vi.fn();
  close = vi.fn();
  onOpen() {}
  onClose() {}
}

Write a test:

// src/__tests__/main.test.ts
import { describe, it, expect, vi } from "vitest";

vi.mock("obsidian");

describe("Plugin settings", () => {
  it("merges defaults with saved data", async () => {
    const { Plugin } = await import("obsidian");
    const { default: MyPlugin } = await import("../main");

    const plugin = new MyPlugin() as any;
    plugin.loadData = vi.fn().mockResolvedValue({ greeting: "Custom" });
    plugin.saveData = vi.fn();

    await plugin.loadSettings();

    expect(plugin.settings.greeting).toBe("Custom");
    expect(plugin.settings.showRibbon).toBe(true); // default preserved
  });
});

Run tests:

npx vitest run           # single run
npx vitest --watch       # watch mode alongside npm run dev

Add to package.json:

{
  "scripts": {
    "dev": "node esbuild.config.mjs",
    "build": "node esbuild.config.mjs production",
    "test": "vitest run",
    "test:watch": "vitest --watch"
  }
}

Output

After completing all steps:

• Dev vault at ~/ObsidianDev with test notes
• Plugin symlinked into vault (no manual copying)
• npm run dev for sub-second rebuilds on save
• Hot Reload plugin for automatic Obsidian reload (or Ctrl+R manual)
• Chrome DevTools available via Ctrl+Shift+I with source maps
• vitest configured with obsidian mocks for unit testing
• Two-terminal workflow: terminal 1 runs npm run dev, terminal 2 runs npx vitest --watch

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Fix
Symlink not working	Permission denied (Windows)	Run terminal as Administrator
Plugin not in list	Symlink target wrong	Verify ls -la shows correct target
Hot Reload not triggering	Missing .hotreload file	touch .hotreload in plugin dir
Source maps not showing	sourcemap: false in config	Set sourcemap: "inline" for dev
Build not watching	Used build instead of dev	Run npm run dev (watch mode)
Tests fail with import errors	Missing vitest mock	Create __mocks__/obsidian.ts
DevTools won't open	Keyboard shortcut conflict	Use menu: View > Toggle Developer Tools

Examples

Quick dev startup script (dev.sh):

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Terminal 1: esbuild watch
npm run dev &
ESBUILD_PID=$!

# Terminal 2: vitest watch
npx vitest --watch &
VITEST_PID=$!

echo "Dev servers running. Ctrl+C to stop."
trap "kill $ESBUILD_PID $VITEST_PID" EXIT
wait

VSCode task for integrated dev:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [{
    "label": "Obsidian Dev",
    "type": "npm",
    "script": "dev",
    "isBackground": true,
    "problemMatcher": {
      "pattern": { "regexp": "^x]$" },
      "background": {
        "activeOnStart": true,
        "beginsPattern": ".",
        "endsPattern": "build finished"
      }
    }
  }]
}

Resources

• Obsidian Sample Plugin
• Obsidian Development Workflow
• Hot Reload Plugin
• esbuild Watch Mode
• Vitest Documentation

Next Steps

• Build UI features: see obsidian-core-workflow-b
• Apply production patterns: see obsidian-sdk-patterns