# Troubleshooting Guide Common issues and their solutions. If you can't find your issue here, check the community forums or documentation. ## Quick Fixes ### Before Anything Else, Try These: 1. **Restart Obsidian** - Completely close and reopen - Many issues resolve with a fresh start 2. **Check File Permissions** ```bash ls -la ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM # Should show your user as owner ``` 3. **Verify Claude Code** ```bash claude --version # Should show version number ``` 4. **Pull Latest Changes** ```bash git pull origin main # Get any updates ``` ## Common Issues ### Obsidian Issues #### "Cannot open vault" Error **Problem**: Obsidian won't open your vault folder **Solutions**: 1. Check folder exists: ```bash cd ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM ls -la ``` 2. Reset Obsidian settings: ```bash # Backup first mv .obsidian .obsidian.backup # Restart Obsidian ``` 3. Check for corrupted files: ```bash # Find files with issues find . -name "*.md" -exec file {} \; | grep -v "ASCII text" ``` #### Templates Not Working **Problem**: Daily template doesn't create properly **Solutions**: 1. Verify template location: ``` Templates/Daily Template.md should exist ``` 2. Check template settings: - Settings → Templates - Template folder location: "Templates" 3. Check date format: ```markdown {{date}} and {{time}} should work ``` #### Links Not Working **Problem**: [[Wiki links]] don't connect **Solutions**: 1. Check link format in settings: - Settings → Files & Links - Use [[Wiki Links]]: ON - New link format: Relative path 2. Verify file exists: - Broken links appear faded - Click to create missing file ### Claude Code Issues #### "Command not found: claude" **Problem**: Claude Code CLI not installed or not in PATH **Solutions**: 1. Install Claude Code: ```bash # Check installation guide # https://code.claude.com/docs ``` 2. Add to PATH: ```bash # Add to ~/.bashrc or ~/.zshrc export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/claude" source ~/.bashrc ``` #### Commands Not Recognized **Problem**: /daily, /weekly etc. not working **Solutions**: 1. Check command files exist: ```bash ls -la .claude/commands/ # Should show daily.md, weekly.md, etc. ``` 2. Copy commands if missing: ```bash cp claude-commands/* .claude/commands/ ``` 3. Check file permissions: ```bash chmod 644 .claude/commands/*.md ``` #### "Context too long" Error **Problem**: Too many files loaded with /onboard **Solutions**: 1. Load specific context: ```bash claude code /onboard Projects/CurrentProject ``` 2. Clean up CLAUDE.md files: - Remove outdated information - Keep only essential context 3. Use selective loading: ```bash # Skip old projects claude code /onboard --exclude Archives ``` ### Git Issues #### "Failed to push" Error **Problem**: Can't push to GitHub **Solutions**: 1. Pull first: ```bash git pull --rebase origin main git push ``` 2. Check remote: ```bash git remote -v # Should show origin URLs ``` 3. Fix authentication: ```bash # Use personal access token git remote set-url origin https://TOKEN@github.com/user/repo.git ``` #### Merge Conflicts **Problem**: Conflicts when pulling/pushing **Solutions**: 1. View conflicts: ```bash git status # Shows conflicted files ``` 2. Resolve manually: - Open conflicted files - Look for <<<<<<< markers - Choose correct version - Remove markers 3. Complete merge: ```bash git add . git commit -m "Resolved conflicts" git push ``` #### Large File Issues **Problem**: Git rejects large files **Solutions**: 1. Use Git LFS: ```bash git lfs track "*.pdf" git lfs track "*.png" git add .gitattributes ``` 2. Add to .gitignore: ``` *.pdf *.mov *.zip ``` 3. Remove from history: ```bash git filter-branch --tree-filter 'rm -f path/to/large/file' HEAD ``` ### Daily Note Issues #### Wrong Date Format **Problem**: Daily note has incorrect date **Solutions**: 1. Check template variables: ```markdown {{date:YYYY-MM-DD}} # Standard format {{date:dddd, MMMM DD, YYYY}} # Long format ``` 2. Verify system date: ```bash date # Should show correct date/time ``` 3. Set timezone: ```bash export TZ='America/New_York' ``` #### Duplicate Daily Notes **Problem**: Multiple notes for same day **Solutions**: 1. Check naming convention: - Should be YYYY-MM-DD.md - No spaces or special characters 2. Merge duplicates: ```bash # Copy content from duplicate # Paste into main note # Delete duplicate ``` 3. Prevent future duplicates: - Always use /daily command - Don't create manually ### GitHub Action Issues #### Workflow Not Triggering **Problem**: GitHub Action doesn't run **Solutions**: 1. Check workflow file: ```yaml # .github/workflows/claude.yml should exist ``` 2. Verify triggers: ```yaml on: issues: types: [opened, edited] ``` 3. Check Actions enabled: - Repository → Settings → Actions - Actions permissions: Allow #### OAuth Token Invalid **Problem**: CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN not working **Solutions**: 1. Regenerate token: - Visit Claude Code documentation - Follow OAuth setup guide 2. Update secret: - Repository → Settings → Secrets - Update CLAUDE_CODE_OAUTH_TOKEN 3. Check token permissions: - Needs repo access - Needs workflow access ### Performance Issues #### Obsidian Running Slowly **Problem**: Vault takes long to load or respond **Solutions**: 1. Reduce vault size: ```bash # Archive old notes mv "Daily Notes/2023*" Archives/2023/ ``` 2. Disable unused plugins: - Settings → Community plugins - Disable what you don't use 3. Clear cache: ```bash rm -rf .obsidian/cache ``` 4. Optimize images: ```bash # Compress images find . -name "*.png" -exec pngquant --ext .png --force {} \; ``` #### Search Not Working **Problem**: Can't find notes with search **Solutions**: 1. Rebuild search index: - Settings → About → Reindex vault 2. Check search syntax: ``` "exact phrase" tag:#daily file:2024-01-15 ``` 3. Remove special characters from filenames ## Platform-Specific Issues ### macOS #### "Operation not permitted" ```bash # Grant Obsidian full disk access System Preferences → Security & Privacy → Full Disk Access ``` #### iCloud Sync Issues - Don't put vault in iCloud Drive - Use Git for synchronization instead - Or use Obsidian Sync service ### Windows #### Path Too Long ```powershell # Enable long paths New-ItemProperty -Path "HKLM:\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\FileSystem" -Name "LongPathsEnabled" -Value 1 -PropertyType DWORD -Force ``` #### Line Ending Issues ```bash # Configure Git git config --global core.autocrlf true ``` ### Linux #### Permission Denied ```bash # Fix permissions chmod -R 755 ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM chown -R $USER:$USER ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM ``` #### Missing Dependencies ```bash # Install required packages sudo apt-get update sudo apt-get install git curl ``` ## Recovery Procedures ### Restore from Backup #### Using Git ```bash # View history git log --oneline # Restore to previous commit git reset --hard COMMIT_HASH # Or restore single file git checkout COMMIT_HASH -- path/to/file.md ``` #### Using File System ```bash # If you have Time Machine (macOS) # Or File History (Windows) # Or Backups (Linux) ``` ### Rebuild Vault If vault is corrupted: ```bash # 1. Backup current vault cp -r ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM.backup # 2. Create fresh vault cp -r vault-template ~/NewVault # 3. Copy your notes cp -r ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM.backup/Daily\ Notes/* ~/NewVault/Daily\ Notes/ cp -r ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM.backup/Projects/* ~/NewVault/Projects/ # 4. Reinitialize Git cd ~/NewVault git init git add . git commit -m "Rebuilt vault" ``` ### Emergency Access When locked out: 1. Access via GitHub.com 2. Edit files in browser 3. Download as ZIP if needed 4. Use mobile app as backup ## Preventive Measures ### Regular Maintenance #### Weekly ```bash # Clean up claude code "Archive completed tasks and old notes" # Backup git push origin main ``` #### Monthly ```bash # Optimize claude code "Identify and remove duplicate content" # Update git pull origin main ``` #### Quarterly ```bash # Review system claude code "Analyze vault structure and suggest improvements" # Clean dependencies rm -rf node_modules .obsidian/cache ``` ### Backup Strategy 1. **Version Control**: Git commits daily 2. **Cloud Backup**: GitHub private repo 3. **Local Backup**: Time Machine/File History 4. **Export Backup**: Monthly markdown export ## Getting Help ### Resources - [Obsidian Forum](https://forum.obsidian.md/) - [Claude Code Docs](https://code.claude.com/docs) - [GitHub Issues](https://github.com/ballred/obsidian-claude-pkm/issues) ### Debug Information When asking for help, provide: ```bash # System info uname -a # Obsidian version # (Check in Settings → About) # Claude version claude --version # Git status git status git remote -v # Vault structure ls -la ~/Documents/ObsidianPKM ``` ### Community Support - Discord channels - Reddit: r/ObsidianMD - Twitter: #ObsidianMD --- **Remember**: Most issues have simple solutions. Stay calm, check the basics, and work through systematically.