ENOENT: no such file or directory when attempting to create a new note

Help
1

Hi everyone,

I’m hoping someone in the community can help me with a persistent and frustrating issue I’ve been facing for a while now. I’m completely stuck and have run out of ideas.

What I’m trying to do

I am trying to create a new note in my vault. This happens with any method of note creation, including using the Ctrl+N hotkey, clicking the ‘New note’ button in the file explorer, or using the command palette.

What’s happening

Every time I attempt to create a new note, I immediately get a pop-up error that says: Unable to Open "".

When I check the developer console, I see the following ENOENT error repeating:

app.js:1 Error: ENOENT: no such file or directory, read
    at async readFileHandle (node:internal/original-fs/promises:555:24)
(anonymous) @ app.js:1

What I’ve tried

I have tried several troubleshooting steps to isolate and fix the problem, with no lasting success:

  • Restricted Mode: The problem persists even with Restricted Mode enabled, so it doesn’t seem to be caused by a community plugin.
  • Templates: I use the Templates core plugin, but the error still occurs when I have a template configured and when I have it set to none.
  • Deleting workspace.json: I have tried deleting the workspace.json file from my vault’s .obsidian folder.
  • Clearing the Cache: I have completely cleared the cache by deleting the Cache, Code Cache, and GPU Cache folders from my Obsidian app data folder (%APPDATA%/Obsidian).

Interestingly, clearing the cache folders and removing workspace.json a few times fixed the problem for a few minutes in a new session, but it inevitably returns at some point.

My Environment

  • OS: Windows 11
  • Obsidian Version: Currently on v1.9.12, but this issue has been present across several previous versions.
  • Vault Location: My vault is stored in a Google Drive folder to sync with the Obsidian mobile app. This setup has worked perfectly for years, and this issue only started recently. While I suspect the syncing service might be involved, I’m not sure why it would suddenly become a problem.

This issue seems similar to the one described in this older forum post, but the solutions there haven’t worked for me.

I’m at a loss for what to try next. Has anyone encountered this specific ENOENT error when creating a new file? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help!

2

I have the same problem with 3 devices, 2 Android and a Chromebook. The app can show me the daily notes and Templates folder in the left panel under the vault, but it can’t create a new Daily Note or access Templates because the “folder doesn’t exist.”

I’m thinking seriously about deleting everything and going back to Keep. It’s primitive but it works.

3

I think I found a temporary solution. I clearing BOTH Obsidian cache and Google Drive cache (meaning removing all the offline files and re-download them again), fixed the issue, and I also removed workspace.json and workspace-mobile.json to make sure that there is no trace left.

For some reason the issue comes back I make some changes to my note templates (core plugin, not Templater, but I have the same problem with Templater). Doing again the same procedure should fix it again, but I still don’t understand what is the exact problem.

4

You could try to shut off all plugins then try to open a new note. If that works, then you know its a plugin issue. If it still doesn’t work then it’s a Obsidian issue.

If you find that it’s a plugin issue, turn one plugin on at a time and try to make a new note. Keep doing it until you find the right one. Then we will try to figure it out from there.