dev-tools

created	"2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z"
modified	"2026-05-09T00:00:00.000Z"
reviewed	"2026-04-30T00:00:00.000Z"
name	dev-tools
description	Obsidian plugin/theme dev: DevTools, CDP, JS eval, console/error buffers, CSS/DOM inspection, mobile emulation, screenshots. Use when debugging the app.
user-invocable	false
allowed-tools	Bash(obsidian *), Read, Grep, Glob

Obsidian Developer Tools

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use the alternative instead when...
Developing or debugging a community plugin / theme	Enabling or disabling plugins as a user — use plugins-themes
Running JavaScript against the live app API	Triggering an Obsidian command — use command-palette
Inspecting CSS or DOM in the running app	Switching themes or snippets in normal use — use plugins-themes
Capturing console errors during agent-run plugin tests	Reading note content — use vault-files

These commands are for development and diagnostics. They expose the same surface as the in-app DevTools window plus a captured buffer of console output and JavaScript errors that survives between calls — the leverage point for agentic plugin testing.

Prerequisites

• Obsidian desktop v1.12.4+ with CLI enabled
• Obsidian must be running
• For dev:debug and dev:cdp: Chrome DevTools Protocol available (Electron-based Obsidian — true on desktop)

DevTools Window

# Toggle the in-app DevTools panel
obsidian devtools

Eval JavaScript

# Read state from the live app
obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"
obsidian eval code="app.workspace.getActiveFile()?.path"

# Drive the app — anything you could type in the DevTools console
obsidian eval code="app.commands.executeCommandById('editor:toggle-bold')"

# Multi-statement: wrap in an IIFE
obsidian eval code="(()=>{const f=app.vault.getFiles();return f.filter(x=>x.extension==='md').length})()"

eval returns the expression's value (or last statement's value in an IIFE) serialised to text. Use JSON.stringify(...) inside the expression for structured output you can parse downstream.

Captured Console & Errors

The CLI maintains rolling buffers of console.* calls and JavaScript errors from the running app — invaluable for agent-driven plugin testing where the agent doesn't have the DevTools window open.

# Recent console messages (default limit 50)
obsidian dev:console
obsidian dev:console limit=200
obsidian dev:console level=error
obsidian dev:console level=warn

# Clear the console buffer (e.g. before a test run)
obsidian dev:console clear

# Captured JS errors
obsidian dev:errors
obsidian dev:errors clear

Typical agent loop:

obsidian dev:errors clear
obsidian dev:console clear
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
obsidian command id=my-plugin:run-test
obsidian dev:errors        # any uncaught exceptions?
obsidian dev:console level=error

CSS Inspection

# All CSS rules matching a selector, with source location
obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace-leaf"

# Filter to one property
obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace-leaf" prop=background-color

Useful for tracking down which snippet or theme is winning a cascade.

DOM Query

# First match — full outerHTML
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-folder-title"

# Inner HTML only
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-folder-title" inner

# Just the text content
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-folder-title" text

# All matches (not just the first)
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-folder-title" all

# Element count
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-folder-title" total

# Read an attribute or computed CSS prop
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf.mod-active" attr=data-type
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf.mod-active" css=display

Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP)

# Attach the CDP debugger
obsidian dev:debug on
obsidian dev:debug off

# Run an arbitrary CDP method
obsidian dev:cdp method=Page.captureScreenshot
obsidian dev:cdp method=Runtime.evaluate params='{"expression":"location.href"}'

CDP is the right tool when eval is too coarse — anything you'd reach for in chrome://inspect.

Screenshots & Mobile Emulation

# Capture the running window
obsidian dev:screenshot path=/tmp/state.png

# Toggle mobile emulation (responsive testing without leaving desktop)
obsidian dev:mobile on
obsidian dev:mobile off

Common Patterns

Plugin reload-test loop

obsidian dev:console clear
obsidian dev:errors clear
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
obsidian command id=my-plugin:run-tests
errors=$(obsidian dev:errors)
[ -z "$errors" ] && echo "PASS" || { echo "FAIL"; echo "$errors"; }

Theme regression screenshots

for theme in Default Minimal Things; do
  obsidian theme:set name="$theme"
  obsidian dev:screenshot path="/tmp/theme-$theme.png"
done

Probe the active workspace

obsidian eval code="JSON.stringify({file: app.workspace.getActiveFile()?.path, view: app.workspace.activeLeaf?.view?.getViewType()})"

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Run JS, parseable output	obsidian eval code="JSON.stringify(...)"
Errors since last check	obsidian dev:errors
Reset error buffer	obsidian dev:errors clear
Console (errors only)	obsidian dev:console level=error
DOM element count	obsidian dev:dom selector=X total
Screenshot for diff	obsidian dev:screenshot path=/tmp/X.png
CSS source for property	obsidian dev:css selector=X prop=Y

Related Skills

• plugins-themes — Plugin/theme lifecycle (install/enable/reload/disable)
• command-palette — Trigger commands the plugin registers
• workspaces — Set up the editor state before running diagnostics