Android: Inconsistent paste behavior

Once you’ve done the above, delete everything above this line.

Steps to reproduce

  1. In the Obsidian app for Android, modify the following settings, then quit the app[1] to clear state for next launch.
    • Under Editor (Advanced), enable Convert pasted HTML to Markdown.
    • Under Toolbar (More toolbar options), add the Paste command if it is not already on the toolbar.
  2. In Chrome or any other app with a WebView, copy some rich HTML content that’s compatible with Markdown. Wikipedia text with links is a good source.
  3. Open a new or existing note in Obsidian. Long press in the content area, and tap Paste from the context menu. (Outcome A)
  4. Select any part of the pasted section, and tap Copy from the context menu.
  5. Without fully quitting Obsidian, repeat steps 2 and 3. (Outcome B)
  6. Select the Paste action from the Obsidian toolbar or Command Palette. (Outcome C)

Did you follow the troubleshooting guide? [Y/N]

Yes.

Expected result

All three outcomes should be the same, with the HTML content properly converted to Markdown.

Actual result

  • Outcome A: Behaves correctly. The copied HTML content is pasted and converted.
  • Outcome B: The pasted text is stale. Despite copying from the external app more recently, the text copied from Obsidian is pasted instead.
  • Outcome C: The content is not stale, but is pasted as plain text.

Environment

SYSTEM INFO:
	Obsidian version: 1.12.7 (303)
	API version: 1.12.7
	Operating system: Android 16 (Google Pixel 9 Pro)
	Webview version: 147.0.7727.111
	Login status: logged in
	Language: en
	Catalyst license: none
	Live preview: on
	Base theme: adapt to system
	Community theme: none
	Snippets enabled: 0
	Restricted mode: on

RECOMMENDATIONS:
	none

Additional information

  • In step 4, if the Copy command is chosen from the toolbar or Command Palette instead of the system context menu, Outcome B becomes the same as Outcome A.
  • If steps 4 and 5 are skipped, Outcome C remains plain text.

  1. Any method is fine: swiping up in the app switcher, selecting Clear from the app switcher menu, or selecting Force stop from App Info screen. This step ensures a fresh state for next launch. ↩︎