Any way to leave custom sort as default mode?

[macrospecter]

I find that my custom sort order constantly defaults back to sort "off," about once every 24-48 hours. This is a bit of a pain, because I open Obsidian expecting my files to be in a certain order, and then have to issue the command to turn the sort on again. Is there any way to default to leaving the custom sort on?

I'm sorry if this question has already been asked--it wasn't apparent to me from the open issue post titles.

Thank you!

[SebastianMC]

Hi @macrospecter

I need more details to understand and/or reproduce the issue.
The crucial information are:

• when the custom order defaults back to off - what is the value of suspended in plugin settings file? (...../your-vault-folder/.obsidian/plugins/custom-sort/data.json
• does it happen when you leave Obsidian open for 24-48 hours or after opening the app?
• do you use any sync service to sync the vault with remote location(s)?
• what other plugins do you use - some plugins are not good Obsidian citizens and can have impact on other plugins
• mobile or desktop or both?
• anything more which you think can shed more light on the scenarios on your side

In general, the custom sorting order when applied should stay active

[macrospecter]

Thanks for the reply! I'm relieved to hear that the default is supposed to be active sorting. Here are my answers:

• So when this just happened, the value of that "suspended" variable was true.
• I am having a hard time replicating the standard behavior now, but the last time sorting turned off (just now) was when I restarted my computer (and thus the app). I couldn't force it to happen just by quitting and restarting the app. However, I only restart my computer maybe once a week, if that, and only quit Obsidian every few days (instead, I "hide" it on my mac). So I'm sure this is not the only cause.
• I use iCloud to sync among two computers and (rarely active) my iphone.
• I unfortunately use a lot of plugins, probably too many to list. Some common ones that maybe could be relevant: Commander, Enhanced Annotations, Floating TOC, Grappling Hook, Iconic, Hider, Linter, Metadata Extractor, Minimal Theme, Outliner, Prominent Bookmarked Files (maybe defunct), Quick Switcher++, Style Settings, Tag Navigator (though I'm not actively using). I would love to test the sorting issue without the plugins, but it's difficult because some of these are a critical part of my workflow. I can, however, list all plugins and test if really necessary.
• I basically never use mobile, so I'm only aware of this happening on desktop. I tried to check right now, but I would have a hard time replicating.

[SebastianMC]

Hi @macrospecter

unfortunately, knowing all the context after your additional input, there are many factors which can cause the unexpected behavior which you reported. I'd recommend doing a debugging session with all other plugins disabled to make sure that the problem is not a result of the interference between two or more plugins.

If you are able to reproduce the scenario on demand in such a 'clean' environment, I probably could provide some additional guidance in determining the exact problematic scenario.

[macrospecter]

Hi @SebastianMC

I was finally able to figure out the problem, after a lot of trial and error. It is not a plugin that is causing the problem--I've tested every one thoroughly. Instead, it's the fact that I very often quit Obsidian with the left sidebar closed. For some reason, when I keep the left sidebar open, my custom sort kicks in automatically every time I restart. But every time I quit with the left sidebar closed, the custom sort is gone when I reopen the left sidebar; and it doesn't kick in again, no matter what I do with the interface--until I manually turn the sort on using the command palette.

Is there any way to ensure that the sort is applied upon restart, irrespective of the status of the left sidebar?

Thanks again!

[SebastianMC]

Hi @macrospecter

identifying the scenario sheds more light on the potential problem, thanks!

The scenario which you describe was not fully supported in previous versions of the plugin, indeed. Then the issue was fixed, and in current version (3.1.6) if you reproduce the scenario keeping the Obsidian developer console open, you should see the following logs generated by the plugin:

Do you see the same logs on your machine? Especially the message about setting up a watcher? The watcher is responsible for applying the custom sort automatically when you (re)open the left sidebar.

Please do the test and confirm if the log output of custom-sort is exactly the same as on the screenshot. Then we will see what are the potential test / verification steps to further narrow down the issue.

[macrospecter]

Terrific, thank you! I was using the latest version when I began this thread, but I seem to have missed that last update. Now everything works beautifully.

…

On Aug 26, 2025 at 3:58 PM -0700, SebastianMC ***@***.***>, wrote: SebastianMC left a comment (SebastianMC/obsidian-custom-sort#217) Hi @macrospecter identifying the scenario sheds more light on the potential problem, thanks! The scenario which you describe was not fully supported in previous versions of the plugin, indeed. Then the issue was fixed, and in current version (3.1.6) if you reproduce the scenario keeping the Obsidian developer console open, you should see the following logs generated by the plugin: c-s-log.jpg (view on web) Do you see the same logs on your machine? Especially the message about setting up a watcher? The watcher is responsible for applying the custom sort automatically when you (re)open the left sidebar. Please do the test and confirm if the log output of custom-sort is exactly the same as on the screenshot. Then we will see what are the potential test / verification steps to further narrow down the issue. — Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. You are receiving this because you were mentioned.Message ID: ***@***.***>

[SebastianMC]

Thanks for confirmation, closing the issue and moving it to discussions section.