[5] in acts as [x] in list

[SpiritA]

Steps to reproduce

Create a list as

• Item
• checkbox item
• Checked checkbox item
• [5] Some text that should just includes [5] at the very front of it

Expected result

Only the middle boxes should be checkboxes, of which only the bottom one should be ticked.
The last one should just read [5] asdf

Actual result

The last two elements of the list are ticked

Environment

• Operating system: Mac OS Monterey 12.01

• Debug info:

SYSTEM INFO:
Obsidian version: v0.13.33
Installer version: v0.10.7
Operating system: Darwin Kernel Version 21.1.0: Wed Oct 13 17:33:23 PDT 2021; root:xnu-8019.41.5~1/RELEASE_X86_64 21.1.0
Login status: not logged in
Insider build toggle: off
Live preview: on
Legacy editor: off
Base theme: dark
Community theme: Obsidian Nord
Snippets enabled: 0
Safe mode: off
Plugins installed: 10
Plugins enabled: 8
1: Advanced Tables
2: Editor Syntax Highlight
3: Obsidian Git
4: Sliding Panes (Andy’s Mode)
5: Export To TeX
6: Text expand
7: Cycle through Panes
8: Jump to link

---

Additional information

As a hack/workaround: Put any character in front of the [5] box to stop this behaviour.

[SpiritA]

Since I can’t edit anymore, I want to add the following new insights:

Any single character inside brackets acts as [x] in a list.
Try using e.g. [h] → This also results in a marked checkbox.

This behaviour can (in addition to the workaround above) be avoided by adding any other character in the checkbox, e.g. [ 5].

[joethei]

This is not a bug.

https://help.obsidian.md/How+to/Format+your+notes#Task+list states that any character inside [ ] can be used to mark an item as completed, but by default [x] is the only where the text is also crossed out.(this has been added with v0.14.0)

There are many users that take advantage of this behaviour to create custom checkboxes, here is a example:
https://github.com/SlRvb/Obsidian--ITS-Theme/blob/main/Guide/Alternate-Checkboxes.md

If you want to see [5] you will have to use \[5\] in your note

From your debug information I can also see that you are using an old installer, so you cannot upgrade to v0.14 without an installer update.
To receive the latest version you will have to download & install from the website again, no need to uninstall the old version.
https://help.obsidian.md/How+to/Update+Obsidian#Current+version+vs+installer+version

[SpiritA]

I was not aware of this actually being a feature, I am sorry for that.
Thanks for clarifying!