Obsidian problems and complaints, from 23 public threads
Obsidian · obsidian.md · Workspace and files
Local-first Markdown note-taking app with linked notes and plugins.
23 recent reports · 9 older · 23 source threads · updated 2026-05
23 recent reports from 23 public source threads; most in Reliability & bugs (7) and UI & usability (7). The 3 that come up most:
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- Paid Sync is difficult to avoid on iOS 2 reports · 2 source threads
“Only downside is that I do pay for their sync functionality since iOS makes it very annoying otherwise”
- Obsidian Sync fails to sync reliably 2 reports · 2 source threads
“I don't want finicky two-way sync that randomly deletes directories”
- Git plugin has erased history and notes 1 source thread
“Obsidian's git plugin has on several occasions blown away my history and notes”
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Every report above quotes a real commenter and links to the comment it came from. Add what you have seen on Obsidian: Pricing quirks, contract terms and setup effort inside paid accounts.
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Pain points 2 recurring themes · 17 reports
| Report | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Paid Sync is difficult to avoid on iOS
Using Obsidian on iOS without a paid Sync plan requires a custom workaround or is difficult. | ||||
| iOS makes using Obsidian without paid Sync difficult The user pays for Obsidian Sync because using Obsidian on iOS without it is very inconvenient. |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2025-08 |
| ||||
| Obsidian sync requires payment or a custom workaround | Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2023-12 |
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Obsidian Sync fails to sync reliably
Sync may fail to run reliably in the background or randomly delete directories on mobile. | ||||
| Obsidian mobile sync can randomly delete directories The user finds Obsidian mobile's two-way sync unreliable, describing it as capable of randomly deleting directories. They also dislike navigating a full file tree on mobile. |
Reliability & bugs | Annoyance | 1 source | 2025-02 |
| ||||
| Obsidian Sync does not reliably sync in the background | Reliability & bugs | Annoyance | 1 source | 2023-12 |
| Git plugin has erased history and notes The author reports that Obsidian's git plugin has repeatedly erased their history and notes. They also describe its change-set consolidation and diff behavior as opaque. Affects: Advanced Git user |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2025-08 |
| ||||
| Linux file links inside vaults disappear File links pointing to files inside the vault disappear on Linux, making some of the author's workflows impossible. |
Reliability & bugs | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-01 |
| ||||
| Plugin syntax makes notes harder to move out Obsidian and its plugins can use unique syntax that other tools do not support. Moving away may require fixing the files and adapting them for the new system. |
Data export & migration | Annoyance | 1 source | 2026-05 |
| ||||
Feature requests no recurring themes yet · 2 reports
| Report | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add official support for multiple open vaults in one window The user wants one Obsidian instance to address multiple vaults without opening separate windows. They describe a meta-vault workaround as brittle and unofficial. |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2026-03 |
| ||||
| Improve the git plugin for user-managed versioning The author requests a better git plugin so they can manage their own versioning and use automations, rather than relying on Obsidian Sync. |
Integrations | Annoyance | 1 source | 2025-08 |
| ||||
| Offer a one-time purchase for peer-to-peer sync The author finds the free single-device option limiting and Obsidian Sync expensive for low-volume file syncing. They would like a one-time payment option for a peer-to-peer sync engine without ongoing hosting costs. |
Pricing & plans | Annoyance | 1 source | 2022-10 |
| ||||
| Add inline math support The author asks Obsidian to support inline math, which is missing from the app. |
Other | Annoyance | 1 source | 2020-05 |
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| Add WYSIWYG editing The author requests WYSIWYG editing, including for tables, to support documents with substantial math and rich formatting. |
UI & usability | Annoyance | 1 source | 2020-05 |
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Workarounds no recurring themes yet · 2 reports
| Report | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custom plugin works around Git sync limitations Because managing a vault as a Git repository is annoying and Git is unavailable on some platforms, the user is building a plugin to sync with GitHub repos through its REST API. |
Integrations | Annoyance | 1 source | 2025-02 |
| ||||
| Vault configurations must be linked manually Each vault has its own plugins and settings, so the author has to link the .obsidian folder for every new vault because Obsidian does not handle this automatically. |
Setup & onboarding | Annoyance | 1 source | 2024-01 |
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Switching reasons no recurring themes yet · 2 reports
| Report | Area | Severity | Support | Last seen |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leaving Notion for Obsidian Bases The author says Obsidian Bases lets them stop using Notion, which they disliked. They may also stop using Google Suite if Bases can handle larger tables. |
Other | Blocks work | 1 source | 2025-08 |
| ||||
| Stopped using Obsidian over its editing and customization friction The user stopped trying Obsidian after running into unwanted tab indentation, relying on many plugins for needed features, and unfamiliar shortcuts for basic actions. |
UI & usability | Blocks work | 1 source | 2024-01 |
| ||||
| Evaluating Obsidian for a better mobile experience The author is dissatisfied with BeOrg's mobile experience and is evaluating Obsidian as an alternative with a better mobile story. |
Mobile | Annoyance | 1 source | 2021-09 |
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23 public Hacker News threads, 2020 to 2026, each linked. How the data is built · Download the 15 open Obsidian reports as CSV