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Run in Background

by Gabriel Bacha
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Score: 50/100
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Description

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17
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Latest Version

1.3.1
16 days ago

Changelog

See all version on GitHub

README file from

Github

Run in Background

Run in Background for Obsidian

Keep desktop Obsidian vaults—and Obsidian Sync—available in the background without blocking logout, restart, or operating-system shutdown.

Closing a vault window can hide it instead of terminating it. Restore it from the Dock or taskbar, by launching Obsidian again, or from a vault-specific tray icon. Normal Quit behavior remains independently configurable.

This is especially useful when you want Obsidian Sync to keep processing changes while the vault window is hidden. Run in Background does not replace Obsidian Sync and cannot sync while the computer is asleep or offline.

Highlights

  • Keep one or several vaults running in the macOS menu bar or system tray.
  • Let Obsidian Sync continue working while vault windows are hidden.
  • Restore hidden vaults by activating Obsidian or selecting Show Vault.
  • Optionally make Cmd+Q or the normal Quit command hide instead of terminate.
  • Always allow explicit Close Vault, Relaunch, logout, restart, and shutdown.
  • Distinguish vaults with custom icons and optional colored text, number, symbol, or emoji badges of up to three characters.
  • Open the plugin settings directly from the tray menu.
  • Import compatible settings from the original Tray plugin on first launch.

Run in Background requires Obsidian 1.7.2 or newer, is desktop-only, and makes no network requests.

Window and quit behavior

Action Default behavior
Close a vault window Hide the vault and keep it running
Cmd+Q / normal Quit Hide the vault and keep it running
Tray Close Vault Close that vault
Relaunch Obsidian Exit and relaunch cleanly
Disable the plugin Remove listeners and tray objects cleanly
Logout, restart, or shutdown Exit without blocking the operating system

The two background behaviors have separate toggles, so window closing and the Quit command can be configured independently.

Settings

Setting Description New-install default
Enable Run in Background Master switch for all plugin runtime behavior On
Launch on startup Launch Obsidian when you sign in Off
Hide on launch Always, only when opened at device login, or never start hidden Only when opened at login
Run in background Hide an ordinary window close On
Keep running after Quit command Turn Cmd+Q / Quit into hide On
Hide Dock/taskbar icon Remove Obsidian from the Dock or taskbar Off
Create tray icon Create the vault menu-bar or tray icon On
Tray icon image Select a preset or upload a square PNG/SVG Obsidian
Vault badge Add up to three characters, optionally separated by spaces Vault initials
Badge color Set a vault-specific badge background with automatic contrast Dark

For safety, hiding the Dock/taskbar icon keeps the tray icon enabled. Disabling the tray icon restores the Dock/taskbar icon.

The top Enable Run in Background switch deactivates the entire runtime without disabling the community plugin. While it is off, no close or Quit behavior, tray icon, Dock/taskbar changes, or launch-at-login behavior remains active; the settings page stays available so you can turn it back on.

Installation

Community Plugins

After publication, open Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for Run in Background, select it, and choose Install, then Enable.

BRAT

Before community publication, install BRAT, choose Add beta plugin, and enter:

gabrielbacha/run-in-background

Manual installation

Download main.js, manifest.json, and styles.css from a matching GitHub release, then place them in:

<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/run-in-background/

Reload Obsidian and enable Run in Background under Community plugins.

Using the tray menu

Each vault menu contains:

  • Show Vault and Hide Vault
  • Open Plugin Settings
  • Relaunch Obsidian
  • Close Vault

The menu header and tooltip identify the active vault as Vault: <name>.

Troubleshooting

The vault is running but no window is visible

Click Obsidian in the Dock/taskbar, launch Obsidian again, or choose Show Vault from its tray menu.

Cmd+Q does not terminate Obsidian

Disable Keep running after Quit command, or use Close Vault from the tray menu. Logout, restart, and shutdown always bypass this setting.

I cannot find either the Dock icon or tray icon

Run in Background prevents this combination in its own settings. Launch Obsidian again to restore the vault if another application or macOS preference temporarily hides the icons.

Development and releases

See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup, verification, pull-request, and release instructions. Report vulnerabilities privately through the repository's GitHub Security Advisories.

Attribution and license

Run in Background is a maintained fork of dragonwocky/obsidian-tray, originally created by dragonwocky. The original project and this fork are distributed under the MIT License.

The Obsidian name and logo are trademarks of Obsidian. The bundled logo is used to identify Obsidian and follows the Obsidian brand guidelines.

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