# Community plugin downloader can fail entirely or leave an update incomplete

**URL:** <https://forum.obsidian.md/t/community-plugin-downloader-can-fail-entirely-or-leave-an-update-incomplete/121733>\
**Category:** Bug reports\
**Tags:** plugin-release\
**Created:** [November 8, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/community-plugin-downloader-can-fail-entirely-or-leave-an-update-incomplete/121733 "2026-11-08T20:40:51Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![ossahmad](https://forum.obsidian.md/user_avatar/forum.obsidian.md/ossahmad/32/98242_2.png) [@ossahmad](https://forum.obsidian.md/u/ossahmad)\
**Post date:** [November 8, 2026, 8:40pm UTC](https://forum.obsidian.md/t/community-plugin-downloader-can-fail-entirely-or-leave-an-update-incomplete/121733/1 "2026-11-08T20:40:51Z")

</div>

# Community plugin downloader can fail entirely or leave an update incomplete

**Environment:** Windows, Obsidian 1.15.0, installer 1.14.4

I’ve run into two kinds of failure in Obsidian’s Community plugins downloader. In one case, it checked a download link that returned HTTP 404 and didn’t install the plugin at all. In another, it applied a plugin update without downloading the stylesheet, leaving the plugin enabled but visually broken.

### Case 1 — Plugin installation fails entirely

1. Open **Settings → Community plugins → Browse**.

2. Try to install **PDF++** or **Study PDF**.

3. Obsidian shows **Failed to install plugin**. The developer console showed HTTP **404** on the initial attempts.

The downloader appeared to be checking the wrong download link on at least one attempt. The official release files existed, and both plugins installed and loaded when I downloaded those files through GitHub’s release asset API. Later retries returned HTTP **504** on the standard release download URLs. I didn’t capture the exact URL from the original 404, so I can’t tell whether Obsidian constructed the wrong URL, followed a bad redirect, or received a transient error from the download route.

### Case 2 — Plugin update is applied with a missing file

1. Start with **Persian Calendar 4.9.8** enabled and its sidebar open.

2. Update to **4.10.0** through Community plugins.

3. The updated plugin loads, but its sidebar renders as one long column instead of a calendar grid. The plugin folder contains `main.js` and `manifest.json`, while `styles.css` is missing.

During diagnosis, requesting the official stylesheet through Obsidian’s network client returned **504 Gateway Time-out**. GitHub’s release asset API served the file successfully. Applying the official stylesheet to the running 4.10.0 plugin immediately restored the grid. I’ve attached a screenshot of the broken layout.

### Expected behavior

- When a plugin download fails, show **which file and URL failed** , along with the HTTP status, so users can distinguish a bad link from a temporary network error.

- When updating an installed plugin, preserve the working version until the new release files are ready. If a stylesheet request times out, retry or report the update failure. Plugins whose releases intentionally omit a stylesheet should still install normally.