What to Do Before Posting a Question or Bug Report on the Obsidian Forum

Before posting on the Obsidian Forum, do two things: search the forum for an existing thread on your issue, and read the relevant official guide. The forum's own category descriptions ask for this explicitly — Help points to the User Guide, Bug reports asks you to search for duplicates and read the Troubleshooting Guide, and Feature requests asks you to search before posting. Doing this first is also what keeps your post from being merged, locked, or ignored as a duplicate.

The short version

Step 1: Search the forum for duplicates

The category descriptions repeat this request three times: Bug reports says "please search the forum for duplicates," Feature requests says "try searching the forum for duplicates before posting," and the same expectation applies to Help.

Search before you write, not after. If a thread already exists, add your details to it instead of starting a new one — that keeps the original thread's context and any workarounds in one place.

Step 2: Check the guide that matches your post type

For help questions: the User Guide

The Help category description says: "Get help from fellow Obsidian users. Don't forget to check out our User Guide!" Many "how do I…" questions are already answered there, so check it before asking other users to explain a built-in behavior.

For bugs: the Troubleshooting Guide

Bug reports states: "Before posting, please search the forum for duplicates and read the Troubleshooting Guide." The Troubleshooting Guide is where you confirm the problem isn't a known configuration or environment issue before filing it as a bug.

For feature ideas: search, and check where it belongs

Feature requests covers features for core Obsidian, and the category description notes that "Likes (Hearts) = Votes" — so the reaction count is how demand is measured. If your idea is for a third-party plugin rather than core, the description directs you to post under Plugins ideas instead.

Step 3: Pick the right category

The forum separates topics by type, and the descriptions are specific about routing:

• API questions — the Help description notes "There are separate sections on the forum for API and CSS questions." API and plugin-interface topics belong in Devs: Plugins & API, which also points to the Dev Docs and the #plugin-dev Discord channel.
• CSS and theme questions — go to Devs: Theme Design & Custom CSS, which also has a #theme-dev Discord channel.
• Finished work — completed plugins go in Share & showcase; completed themes go there too. The Plugins ideas description adds that implemented plugins "should open a thread in Share & showcase."
• Plugin directory inclusion — the Devs: Plugins & API description says questions about inclusion in the community directory go to a specific Discord forum rather than the main board.

If you would rather chat than post, the Help description mentions a Discord channel as an alternative.

Step 4: Write the post

Once you've confirmed your issue isn't already covered, include enough for someone to reproduce or answer it: what you did, what you expected, what happened, and your Obsidian version and platform. For bugs, this is what makes the report actionable rather than a back-and-forth.

Common pitfalls

• Posting a bug without reading the Troubleshooting Guide. The category asks for it directly, and skipping it often means the "bug" is a setting or plugin conflict.
• Filing a third-party plugin idea under Feature requests. That category is for core Obsidian; plugin ideas have their own section.
• Putting API or CSS questions in Help. Both have dedicated developer sections.
• Opening a new thread for something already discussed. Search first and continue the existing thread.

What happens to old threads

The forum archives rather than deletes. Bug graveyard holds closed bugs, Feature archive holds implemented features, and Basement holds threads archived for being too old or no longer relevant. If you land on a thread in one of these from a search, treat it as background — start a current thread if the issue is still live for you.