laurigates Obsidian Plugins, Themes & Snippets
When to Use This Skill
| Use this skill when... | Use the alternative instead when... |
|---|---|
| Installing, enabling, disabling, or reloading community plugins | Running JavaScript in the app or capturing screenshots — use dev-tools |
| Switching the active theme or installing a new one | Triggering a plugin-registered command — use command-palette |
| Toggling CSS snippets on/off | Editing snippet CSS source on disk — use vault-files |
| Toggling Obsidian's restricted mode | Inspecting CSS rules with source location — use dev-tools |
Lifecycle management for community plugins, themes, and CSS snippets. The
developer commands (eval, devtools, dev:*, screenshots) live in
the dedicated dev-tools skill.
Prerequisites
- Obsidian desktop v1.12.4+ with CLI enabled
- Obsidian must be running
- Restricted mode off (community plugins disabled while restricted mode is on)
Plugins
List
# All installed plugins
obsidian plugins
# Just community or just core
obsidian plugins filter=community
obsidian plugins filter=core
# Include version numbers
obsidian plugins versions
# Structured output
obsidian plugins format=json
# Currently enabled
obsidian plugins:enabled
obsidian plugins:enabled filter=community versions
Plugin Info
obsidian plugin id=dataview
Install / Uninstall (community only)
# Install from the community catalogue
obsidian plugin:install id=dataview
# Install and enable in one shot
obsidian plugin:install id=dataview enable
# Remove
obsidian plugin:uninstall id=dataview
Enable / Disable
# Enable a plugin by ID
obsidian plugin:enable id=dataview
# Disable a plugin
obsidian plugin:disable id=dataview
# Specify type if the same id exists in both core and community
obsidian plugin:enable id=daily-notes filter=core
Reload (developer hot-reload)
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
Restricted Mode
Restricted mode disables all community plugins (formerly "Safe Mode"):
# Check / toggle
obsidian plugins:restrict
obsidian plugins:restrict on
obsidian plugins:restrict off
Themes
# All installed themes
obsidian themes
# Include version numbers
obsidian themes versions
# Active theme info, or details for a specific theme
obsidian theme
obsidian theme name="Minimal"
# Switch active theme (empty string = built-in default)
obsidian theme:set name="Minimal"
obsidian theme:set name=""
# Install / uninstall community themes
obsidian theme:install name="Things"
obsidian theme:install name="Things" enable
obsidian theme:uninstall name="Things"
CSS Snippets
# All snippets in the vault
obsidian snippets
# Currently enabled
obsidian snippets:enabled
# Toggle individual snippets by filename (without .css)
obsidian snippet:enable name=callout-tweaks
obsidian snippet:disable name=callout-tweaks
Common Patterns
"Install Dataview, enable it, and verify it loaded"
obsidian plugin:install id=dataview enable
obsidian plugins:enabled filter=community | grep -q '^dataview$' && echo OK || echo FAIL
"Snapshot the current plugin/theme state"
obsidian plugins format=json > plugins-$(date +%F).json
obsidian themes versions > themes-$(date +%F).txt
obsidian snippets:enabled > snippets-enabled-$(date +%F).txt
"Disable every community plugin temporarily"
obsidian plugins:restrict on
# … work in restricted mode …
obsidian plugins:restrict off
Agentic Optimizations
| Context | Command |
|---|---|
| List plugins (structured) | obsidian plugins format=json |
| Enabled plugins only | obsidian plugins:enabled |
| Enable plugin | obsidian plugin:enable id=X |
| Disable plugin | obsidian plugin:disable id=X |
| Install + enable | obsidian plugin:install id=X enable |
| Reload during dev | obsidian plugin:reload id=X |
| Toggle restricted mode | obsidian plugins:restrict on|off |
| Switch theme | obsidian theme:set name="X" |
| Install theme + activate | obsidian theme:install name="X" enable |
| Toggle CSS snippet | obsidian snippet:enable|disable name=X |
Related Skills
- dev-tools —
eval,devtools,dev:*, screenshots (developer surface) - command-palette — Trigger plugin-registered commands once enabled
- vault-files — Read or edit snippet
.csssource under.obsidian/snippets/