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- ### Describe the bug
- Since the auto-update to app package **obsidian-1.13.7.asar** (2026-08-13), opening a vault whose path contains **Chinese characters** (e.g. `D:\古建筑知识库`) on Windows never finishes loading: the window stays on the loading screen forever, the renderer process spins at **100% of one core**, and no error/log is produced. The vault must be force-killed.
- **Key finding:** the vault content, size, plugins and GPU are irrelevant — even an **empty vault with a Chinese-named path** reproduces it, while the same directory opened through an **ASCII junction** works perfectly (CPU 0%).
- Version **1.13.4** worked fine with the same vault (last successful load 2026-08-10, workspace.json written). This is a regression introduced in the 1.13.5–1.13.7 range.
- ### Steps to reproduce
- 1. Windows 11 zh-CN (build 10.0.26200); Obsidian shell `Obsidian.exe` v1.12.7 + app package `obsidian-1.13.7.asar`
- 2. Create an empty directory with a Chinese name and one note inside:
- ```powershell
- New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path “D:\测试库” -Force
- Set-Content “D:\测试库\hello.md” “# hello”
- ```
- 3. Register it in `%APPDATA%\obsidian\obsidian.json` with `open: true`, then start Obsidian:
- ```powershell
- Start-Process “H:\obsidian\Obsidian.exe”
- ```
- 4. Observe: window title shows the vault name, but the UI stays on the loading screen forever; renderer process ~100% CPU (measured 10.1–12.3s of CPU in every 12s window), memory 0.3–1.1 GB; no crash, no log output; process must be force-killed.
- ### Expected behavior
- Vault loads normally, like any ASCII-named vault.
- ### Actual behavior
- Infinite loop during load; UI never renders.
- ### Measurements (renderer CPU per 12s window)
- | Scenario | Result | CPU/12s |
- |—|—|—|
- | Chinese path, empty vault (`D:\测试库`) | stuck loading | ~10.1s |
- | Chinese path, full vault (`D:\古建筑知识库`, 130k files / 49 GB) | stuck loading | ~10.2–12.3s |
- | ASCII path, empty vault (`D:\TestVault`) | loads fine | 0s |
- | ASCII path, normal vault (`C:\…\Obsidian Vault`) | loads fine | 0s |
- | **ASCII junction → Chinese dir** (`mklink /J D:\GujianKB D:\古建筑知识库`) | **loads fine** (full content; first index ~3.5 min, then CPU 0%) | 0s |
- → The trigger is the **non-ASCII characters in the vault path**, independent of content/config/plugins.
- ### Related secondary issue
- The per-vault index cache under `%APPDATA%\obsidian\Partitions\vault-` (IndexedDB) can also enter an infinite re-sync loop (100% CPU) when the cache is out of sync with the directory tree (e.g. after the vault content is moved while Obsidian is closed). Deleting the partition directory fixes it.
- ### Environment
- - OS: Windows 11 Home 中文版, build 10.0.26200, locale zh-CN
- - Obsidian: shell exe 1.12.7 (2026-03-23), app package obsidian-1.13.7.asar (2026-08-13)
- - 中文摘要：1.13.7 起，路径含中文的库会永久卡在加载页（渲染进程单核 100%），1.13.4 正常；空库即可复现；用 ASCII 目录联接（junction）可绕过。建议修复 Windows 路径规范化的非 ASCII 处理，并为加载流程增加超时兜底。Developer issues with the API should go here
- Themes and Custom CSS issues should go here
- Translations issues/improvements should be posted here
- Obsidian Clipper Bugs should be posted here
- Obsidian Importer Bugs should be posted here
- We only accept bug reports that are reproducible with the installation methods we provide on our website.
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