Obsidian Services

Service Architecture

Use the source as the canonical reference. Do not copy service/container/plugin-shell snippets out of this skill; read the current implementation before editing so examples cannot drift from real code.

Canonical Files

• apps/obsidian/src/services/service-base.ts: Service (abstract base class), ServiceContainer, and other utils.
• apps/obsidian/src/services/build.ts: buildServices wiring.
• apps/obsidian/src/zt-main.ts: plugin lifecycle ownership, await using, stack.move(), cleanup, and debug service access.
• apps/obsidian/src/lib/disposables.ts: Disposable helpers for stack.use(...).

Workflow

1. Open apps/obsidian/src/services/service-base.ts first for Service/ServiceContainer/ServiceInitError definitions and JSDoc. Open apps/obsidian/src/services/build.ts to see how buildServices wires services through container.use(...). Treat both as authoritative.
2. Open apps/obsidian/src/zt-main.ts before changing plugin load/unload behavior. Keep it a thin lifecycle shell.
3. For a new service, create apps/obsidian/src/services/<service-name>/service.ts.
4. Co-locate the service deps interface with the service class. Use concrete class types via import type for upstream services.
5. Register the service in buildServices with one keyed .use(...) entry. Let the accumulated service type come from the container chain.
6. Pass plugin, plugin.app, upstream services, and optional deps explicitly through deps objects as needed. Avoid module-global service lookups.
7. Use apps/obsidian/src/lib/disposables.ts helpers when adapting Obsidian or DOM registrations into Disposable values for stack.use(...).
8. Run the Obsidian package typecheck after edits.

Service Rules

• Services extend Service from services/service-base.ts. The base class owns [Symbol.asyncDispose] and the await ready → disposeAsync ordering; subclasses must not override [Symbol.asyncDispose].
• Service is generic in the ready resolve type. Use plain extends Service for startup-only services whose ready resolves to void; use extends Service<State> when #load() returns loaded resources/state.
• Do not introduce an Obsidian Component subclass, a DI library, or any other runtime dependency for service wiring.
• Constructors call super(), store deps, and start startup by assigning ready (typically this.ready = this.#load()). They must not synchronously acquire resources or throw after startup begins.
• Registration factories should normally be direct constructor calls. Do not construct a service and then run fallible setup before returning it.
• Resource acquisition belongs in startup work guarded by a local await using stack = new AsyncDisposableStack(), then handed to the base via this.commit(stack.move()) on the success path. commit() should be the last meaningful side effect before returning the ready state; avoid fallible work after commit. commit() throws on double-commit or commit-after-dispose; in those guard-failure paths it also fires off disposeAsync() on the passed stack so resources don't leak through the throw (disposal errors there are intentionally swallowed).
• ready is startup-only and must always settle. Do not await long-lived/post-load signals such as workspace.onLayoutReady inside ready — disposal awaits ready, so a non-settling ready hangs cleanup.
• Service startup waits only for upstream dependency ready promises. There is no global readiness gate or scheduler.
• Store deps as private fields instead of reaching through another service to its deps.
• Keep services constructable in isolation with plain mocked deps; lifecycle is driven through ready and the base class disposer.
• Sync-only services extend Service and initialize ready = Promise.resolve(). They do not call commit() and do not need a constructor unless they have deps.
• Avoid dependency cycles. If a lazy reference is unavoidable, do not await the lazy target during startup in a way that can create a mutual ready dependency.

Container Notes

• ServiceContainer.use() accepts exactly one service entry and rejects duplicate keys.
• The service key is the object property name in the registration entry.
• The container verifies factory return values with instanceof Service; a non-Service return is a typed error at registration time.
• Startup failures are wrapped in ServiceInitError (original error preserved as cause) and reported per service. The wrapped rejection — not the original — is what cascades to dependent services that await this service's ready.
• buildServices(plugin, stack) wires services only; lifecycle ownership remains with the caller's stack in zt-main.ts.

Plugin Shell Notes

• Keep zt-main.ts focused on lifecycle wiring, action/menu/view registration, and cleanup.
• Use the await using plus stack.move() pattern already implemented there for rollback-safe startup.
• Do not treat the plugin services getter as normal dependency access. It is an escape hatch/debug surface; services should receive deps through buildServices.
• Wire Obsidian views by closure-capturing the needed services in the registerView factory.

External Signals

Pass layout or UI readiness signals as deps when needed, but schedule post-load work instead of making ready wait on those signals. Disposal waits for ready, so a non-settling ready can hang cleanup.

Example: Service Subclass

The shape below shows the required surface of a Service subclass. It is a structural template, not a snippet to copy verbatim — always read existing services in apps/obsidian/src/services/ before authoring a new one, since real services carry their own dep types and resource patterns.

Async service with deps and acquired resources:

import { Service } from "../service-base";
import type { SettingsService } from "../settings/service";

interface DatabaseState {
  conn: Connection;
}

interface DatabaseServiceDeps {
  plugin: ZotLitPlugin;
  settings: SettingsService;
}

export class DatabaseService extends Service<DatabaseState> {
  readonly #plugin;
  readonly #settings;
  ready: Promise<DatabaseState>;

  constructor(deps: DatabaseServiceDeps) {
    super();
    this.#plugin = deps.plugin;
    this.#settings = deps.settings;
    this.ready = this.#load();
  }

  async #load(): Promise<DatabaseState> {
    await this.#settings.ready;

    await using stack = new AsyncDisposableStack();
    const conn = stack.adopt(
      await openDatabase(),
      async (conn) => await conn.close(),
    );
    await this.#runMigrations(conn);

    this.commit(stack.move());
    return { conn };
  }

  async query(sql: string): Promise<Result> {
    const { conn } = await this.ready;
    return conn.query(sql);
  }
}

Sync-only service (no deps, no acquired resources):

export class TimeService extends Service {
  ready = Promise.resolve();

  now(): number {
    return Date.now();
  }
}

Sync-only service with deps:

interface ClockServiceDeps {
  plugin: ZotLitPlugin;
}

export class ClockService extends Service {
  readonly #plugin;
  ready = Promise.resolve();

  constructor(deps: ClockServiceDeps) {
    super();
    this.#plugin = deps.plugin;
  }
}

Notes the shape encodes:

• extends Service, never implements Service (no interface) and never a custom base.
• super() first in any explicit constructor.
• Deps stored in readonly private (#) fields; no public dep fields, no reach-through. Omit the type annotation on the field — let TypeScript infer it from the constructor assignment (readonly #app; not readonly #app: App;).
• ready is a mutable instance field. Declare it as ready: Promise<State> and assign in the constructor when load is async and returns state; use ready: Promise<void> for async startup with no state; initialize as ready = Promise.resolve() when load is sync. Do not mark it readonly — the container reassigns it to attach ServiceInitError wrapping.
• All resource acquisition lives inside #load() under a local await using stack, handed off with this.commit(stack.move()) only on the success path. Treat commit() as the last meaningful side effect before returning the ready state.
• Resources acquired during load are returned from #load() as the ready resolve value; accessors do const { ... } = await this.ready; instead of storing nullable resource fields.
• No [Symbol.asyncDispose] in the subclass — the base owns it.