How the Obsidian Forum Is Organized into Categories

Updated

The Obsidian Forum is organized into a small set of top-level categories, each with a defined purpose: Help, Bug reports, Feature requests, Knowledge management, Share & showcase, two developer sections (Plugins & API, Theme Design & Custom CSS), Meta, plus archived areas (Bug graveyard, Feature archive, Plugins ideas, Basement). To pick the right one, match your intent to the category description: questions about using Obsidian go to Help, reproducible defects go to Bug reports, and so on. The category list below reflects the forum's own category descriptions and topic counts at the time this was written.

Main categories and what belongs in each

Category Purpose Notes from the forum description
Help Get help from fellow Obsidian users Points to the User Guide; API and CSS questions have separate sections; Discord is offered as a chat alternative
Bug reports Report bugs so they can be fixed Search for duplicates and read the Troubleshooting Guide before posting
Feature requests Suggest features for core Obsidian Likes (hearts) count as votes; third-party plugin ideas belong under "Plugins ideas"; search for duplicates first
Knowledge management Talk about PKM methodologies Discussion of personal knowledge management approaches rather than product support
Share & showcase Showcase plugins, themes, CSS snippets, workflows, templates, and hacks Also where completed plugins and themes are posted
Devs: Plugins & API Plugin interface and technical work Read the Dev Docs first; there is a #plugin-dev channel on Discord; community-directory inclusion questions go to a Discord forum
Devs: Theme Design & Custom CSS Designing themes and snippets with CSS There is a #theme-dev channel on Discord; completed themes go in Share & Showcase
Meta Topics about Obsidian or the forum itself For discussion about the forum and the project, not support requests

Archived categories

These exist for reference and historical threads rather than new posts:

  • Bug graveyard — resolved or retired bug reports.
  • Feature archive — features that have been implemented.
  • Plugins ideas — ideas for third-party plugins; the description notes archival is in progress, and implemented plugins should open a thread in Share & showcase instead.
  • Basement — other archived threads that are too old or no longer relevant.

How to choose a category

  1. You can't get something to work. Start in Help. If it looks like a defect rather than a usage question, move to Bug reports — but search for duplicates and check the Troubleshooting Guide first.
  2. You want Obsidian to do something it doesn't do. Post in Feature requests for core functionality. If it's a third-party plugin idea, use Plugins ideas; if you've built the plugin, use Share & showcase.
  3. You want to discuss method, not tooling. Knowledge management is the place for PKM methodology.
  4. You made something. Share & showcase covers plugins, themes, CSS snippets, workflows, templates, and hacks.
  5. You're writing code. Plugin and API work goes to Devs: Plugins & API (after reading the Dev Docs); theme and CSS work goes to Devs: Theme Design & Custom CSS.
  6. Your topic is about the forum or the project itself. Use Meta.

A practical check before posting anywhere: search the forum for an existing thread on the same issue, since the category descriptions explicitly ask for this in Bug reports and Feature requests. If you'd rather chat than post, the descriptions point to Discord channels for general chat, plugin development (#plugin-dev), and theme development (#theme-dev).