Hi all,
I use Obsidian on a Android phone. I use Syncthing to sync my vault. Like many I face multiple issues with the Android app, such as
Very Slow launch time, sometimes more than 15 sec.
Re-indexing of vault on each launch.
Slow resuming, when app comes to foreground from background
I understand that App is doing lot of things while launching to function the way it is intended.
What I want ?
An App that I can quickly go through my Obsidian notes.
Proposed Solution
A new Obsidian Lite Mobile App, or a feature within current app (Lite mode), which is just a Markdown reader that can read my vault. It should not load any plugins, not even Core plugins.
I am aware that I can manually disable plugins. Use default theme etc for better performance. But even after that the App feels bloated.
It’s definitely not a Syncthing issue. As it’s not running continuously in background, when I use the app or launch it. I mentioned it to clear the picture that how my vaults are synced.
As far as I know Syncthing doesn’t add any new file in the vault that could make it re-indexing everytime. Somebody correct me they are using it , and I am wrong.
I was a Obsidian sync user previously, but faced similar issues. Don’t know the current scenario.
That’s why from usage perspective and not knowing the reason of bloat, I asked for some solution that strips all these potential causes to it.
I use Synchthing and have no issues either with load time or reindexing constantly. Few things that come to mind as possible difference: I don’t sync the .obsidian folder. I don’t use all the same plugins on the phone, just the few needed to display notes properly. Could this be a source of reindexing often?
I keep Obsidian always open and close apps I don’t use constantly after use, so there’s only 1 or 2 more things open at any time. On a mid-range Samsung from years ago, it takes a 1-2 seconds when coming to the foreground, around 10 when opening. I suspect those 10 are largely due to Dataview and Templater, but that’s it from heavy duty plugins and they are used sparsely.
Also, some native features might use a lot of resources, like multiple workspaces.
Finally, you can test whether it makes a significant difference by turning off all the core and community plugins not needed on mobile
I get where you’re coming from. Obsidian on Android can feel heavy when all you want to do is quickly open and read your notes. A lightweight “read-only” mode or separate Lite app could help a lot, especially for people who don’t need editing or plugins on mobile. It would be great if it just opened the vault instantly and showed plain markdown without loading extras. Until something like that exists, the only workaround I’ve found is using a simple markdown reader app alongside Obsidian for quick access.
I don’t think so. Many heavy apps works fine in my phone.
I am sure as a developer you must have benchmarked Obsidian against different SDK levels and Hardware profiles, with different vault sizes. What does it says ?
