Try or ByeTry or Bye

Obsidian Stuck on Loading Cache or Slow to Start

Workaround available Windows, macOS, Linux Updated October 21, 2026

Quick answer

A stalled 'Loading cache' or slow launch is most often caused by a plugin that indexes the vault at startup, huge numbers of non-Markdown files, or a corrupted cache. Use the plugin startup timer to find the slow plugin, then clear Obsidian's cache folder if it still hangs.

Most likely fix: Find the slow plugin.

Symptoms

Obsidian sits on 'Loading vault' or 'Loading cache' for minutes, or takes far longer to open than it used to.

Why it happens

  • Community plugins indexing the whole vault on startup
  • Very large vaults, especially tens of thousands of attachments
  • Corrupted cache / IndexedDB data
  • Vault on a virtual or network drive forcing a full rescan

How to fix it

Try these in order — the most common fix is first.

  1. 1. Find the slow plugin

    1. Settings > Community plugins > use the startup time (debug) timer
    2. Disable plugins with long load times or indexing features (one user cut startup from ~2 minutes to ~2 seconds by turning off Frontmatter Links 'Add to Graph')

  2. 2. Test in Restricted mode

    1. Settings > Community plugins > turn on Restricted mode
    2. Restart Obsidian; if it opens fast, re-enable plugins one at a time, restarting each time

  3. 3. Clear the app cache

    1. Quit Obsidian
    2. Linux: rename ~/.config/obsidian; Windows: %APPDATA%\obsidian; macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian (back it up first)
    3. Reopen Obsidian and re-add the vault if needed

  4. 4. Trim the vault

    1. Move large non-note files (archives, exports, code repos) out of the vault
    2. Keep the vault on a local disk rather than a virtual or network drive

This guide also covers

  • obsidian stuck on loading cache
  • obsidian slow startup
  • obsidian loading vault forever
  • why is obsidian so slow

Still not working?

If Obsidian keeps failing, you're not alone. See every Obsidian problem users report or the alternatives people switch to.

Other Obsidian errors