obsidian-local-dev-loop

Obsidian Local Dev Loop

Overview

Set up a fast, reproducible local development workflow for Obsidian plugins with hot-reload and testing.

Prerequisites

• Completed obsidian-install-auth setup
• Node.js 18+ with npm/pnpm
• Code editor with TypeScript support
• Obsidian desktop app

Instructions

Step 1: Configure Development Vault

For full implementation details and code examples, load: references/implementation-guide.md

Output

• Dedicated development vault with test data
• Symlinked plugin for instant updates
• Hot-reload via BRAT or file watching
• Watch mode build with source maps
• Fast iteration cycle

Error Handling

Error	Cause	Solution
Plugin not reloading	BRAT not configured	Install and enable BRAT plugin
Symlink not working	Permission denied	Run as admin (Windows)
Build not triggering	Watch mode not started	Run npm run dev
Source maps not working	Disabled in config	Set sourcemap: "inline"
TypeScript errors	Missing types	Run npm install

Resources

• BRAT Plugin
• esbuild Documentation
• Obsidian Plugin Development Docs

Next Steps

See obsidian-sdk-patterns for production-ready code patterns.

Examples

Basic usage: Apply obsidian local dev loop to a standard project setup with default configuration options.

Advanced scenario: Customize obsidian local dev loop for production environments with multiple constraints and team-specific requirements.