# I'd like to talk to you about organizing my sidebars and side Obsidian. On the right in particula... ## Retrieval Notes - Session id: `019d115c-71d9-75c0-bdbf-10c82b8d2c8d` - Source: `Agent Client fallback` - Last activity: `2026-03-21T17:22:55.389Z` ## My Notes <!-- Add your notes here. This section is preserved across syncs. --> ## Conversation ### User The user has opened the note file:///Users/nickyoung/My Obsidian Vault/Writing/substack/The Substance -LLMs as stuff, not tools.md in Obsidian. This may or may not be related to the current conversation. If it seems relevant, consider using the Read tool to examine its content.@[[The Substance -LLMs as stuff, not tools]] I'd like to talk to you about organizing my sidebars and side Obsidian. On the right in particular, there's loads of icons at the top I don't use. I kind of just want recent Bookmarks and maybe quiet outline and that's it on the right hand. Can everything else be hidden please? ### Assistant Using `obsidian-cli` for this because the request is to inspect and change an Obsidian vault setup. I’m checking which workspace/sidebar settings Obsidian is currently storing so I can remove the unused right-sidebar items without disturbing the rest of your layout. ### Assistant I’ve confirmed the relevant state is likely in `.obsidian/workspace.json`, but I’m staying inside the Obsidian CLI first to inspect the live sidebar layout before touching any config. Next I’m querying the running app for the current right-sidebar leaves so I can remove only the extra icons. ### Assistant The direct `eval` route is crashing the app CLI on this machine, so I’m falling back to Obsidian’s workspace output and the stored workspace file to identify the right-sidebar leaves safely. I’m reading the live workspace structure next and then I’ll patch only the right ribbon/right dock entries. ### Assistant I’ve isolated the current right sidebar state. Right now it contains `quiet-outline`, `bookmarks`, `recent-files`, plus extra leaves for version control, outgoing links, tags, standard outline, and the review queue; I’m going to strip those extras out of the live workspace file and the saved workspace definition so the clutter doesn’t come back when you reload the layout. ### User you got cut off, please continue from where you left off. ### Assistant I’m continuing from the sidebar cleanup. I’ve already identified the exact right-pane entries to keep, and I’m applying a minimal config edit now so only `Recent Files`, `Bookmarks`, and `Quiet Outline` remain on the right.The first patch didn’t apply cleanly because the saved workspace file has drifted from the live workspace structure. I’m re-reading the exact right-pane block in both files and then I’ll apply a narrower patch against the real current text. ### Assistant I’ve got the exact blocks now. I’m applying two narrow edits: one to the live workspace and one to the saved workspace entry, both reduced to the three right-sidebar views you asked for. ### Assistant The config edits are in. I’m doing one quick verification pass to confirm the right sidebar now only references the three views you wanted and that the selected tab still points at a valid item. ### Assistant The live workspace is correct. The saved workspace file has a malformed right-pane block after the edit, so I’m fixing that immediately before stopping; that’s the only outstanding issue. ### Assistant I’ve isolated the malformed section. I’m restoring the right-pane array in the saved workspace to the same three-item state as the live workspace and then I’ll do one final syntax check. ### Assistant I cleaned the right sidebar config so it now keeps only `Quiet Outline`, `Bookmarks`, and `Recent Files`. The changes are in [workspace.json](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/workspace.json) and [workspaces.json](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/workspaces.json). I verified the right-pane blocks in both files now contain only those three views. Obsidian may need a reload to reflect it immediately. If the extra icons are still visible, use `Reload app without saving` or restart Obsidian and the right sidebar should come back trimmed down. I couldn’t do a JSON parse check with a heredoc because the sandbox blocks temp-file creation, but the final file contents were re-read directly after the edit. ### User Didn't work. ### Assistant The screenshot changes the diagnosis. Those icons are the mobile sidebar tab bar, not the desktop right dock I edited, so I’m checking whether your mobile layout is coming from a different workspace/config file and then I’ll target that instead. ### Assistant The current live workspace file still contains the extra right-pane leaves, so the earlier edit never became the active state. I’m re-checking the exact block in `workspace.json` and then I’ll fix only that live file first, because that is what the mobile top-row tabs are coming from. ### Assistant I found the real issue: the live `workspace.json` has regenerated note-specific right-pane tabs for outgoing links, tags, outline, and review queue. I’m removing those from the active workspace file now, then I’ll see if Obsidian exposes a reload command so the change takes effect immediately. ### Assistant I found why it looked unchanged: the live [workspace.json](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/workspace.json) had regenerated extra right-sidebar tabs for the current note. I removed those too. The active right-pane block now contains only `Quiet Outline`, `Bookmarks`, and `Recent Files`, and it is marked collapsed. I couldn’t trigger an in-app reload because the Obsidian CLI is crashing on command-list/reload calls in this environment. The next step is to fully quit and reopen Obsidian on the device showing that screenshot. If that screenshot is from Obsidian Mobile and the extra icons still remain after a full restart, then mobile is likely holding a device-local workspace state and I’ll need to target that separately. ### User i just did a full reset, no change . i am on a mac ### Assistant A full restart ruling it out means the app is restoring those panes from its own live layout state, not just reading the edited file once. I’m checking what `workspace.json` looks like after your restart so I can see whether Obsidian rewrote the extra tabs back in, and then I’ll use a more direct fix. ### Assistant Obsidian is rewriting the extra right-pane tabs back into `workspace.json` on launch, so the layout-file approach is not going to stick by itself. The pragmatic fix is to hide those specific sidebar tabs with CSS instead of trying to fight the workspace state. I’m checking your existing snippets so I can add this in the same style rather than inventing a conflicting override. ### Assistant The durable fix here is CSS, not the workspace file. I’m adding a right-sidebar override to your existing enabled [sidebar-style.css](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/snippets/sidebar-style.css) so only the first three right-side tabs remain visible even when Obsidian regenerates the others. ### User I've changed my mind. If you look on the left hand side of my screen at the sidebar, those are the things I want now. In the left hand side. The right hand side, I don't really want anything there, so can I brainstorm with you other things that could go there instead. Other plugins for example, other things I could use inside here. ### Assistant Yes. Given what’s on your left now, I’d treat the right side as a low-interruption context rail rather than another navigation area. Best candidates: - `Quiet Outline`: probably the strongest default if you’re writing long notes and Substack drafts. - `Backlinks`: useful if you want conceptual context while drafting, especially in research notes. - `Bookmarks`: good if you use it as a deliberate “today / this week” stack rather than a junk drawer. - `Recent Files`: decent, but it overlaps a bit with what you already seem to want on the left. - `Local Graph`: can be nice for thought-branching, but often more novelty than utility. - `Tasks` or `TaskNotes`: good if you want the right side to function as a live action pane. - `Readwise / highlights panel`: useful if the right side becomes a source-reference zone while writing. - `Bases view`: strong if you want a filtered mini-database there, like active projects, current reading, or open writing threads. A few more opinionated setups: 1. Writing setup `Quiet Outline` + `Backlinks` This is probably the best serious-writing arrangement. 2. Research setup `Backlinks` + `Bookmarks` + `Readwise-related pane` Use the right side as source/context memory. 3. Execution setup `TaskNotes` or task query + `Bookmarks` Makes the right side a control panel for what matters today. 4. Minimalist setup Just `Quiet Outline` Honestly this may be the best answer if you want calm. My instinct from your screenshot: the right side should not be another file browser. It should be one of: - structure - context - action If you want, I can give you a ranked list of the best right-sidebar panes specifically for: 1. writing essays 2. academic research 3. daily planning 4. reading workflow ### User I never use backlinks. And I have a different thing for my tasks. Maybe yeah, let's just set it up with just quiet outline, please. Can you remove or Close everything else there and make sure they don't come back on boot? ### Assistant Using `obsidian-cli` again because this is still an Obsidian layout change. I’m going to make the right side single-purpose: trim the stored workspace down to `Quiet Outline` and add a CSS guard so the other right-sidebar tabs stay hidden even if Obsidian regenerates them on boot. ### Assistant The live workspace and saved workspace are out of sync again, and the live one is still recreating note-specific tabs. I’m patching both files now and adding the CSS safeguard so only the first right-side tab can ever show. ### Assistant The edits are in. I’m doing one last readback to confirm the right sidebar is now a single-tab workspace in both config files and that the CSS rule is present to suppress anything Obsidian tries to add later. ### Assistant I set the saved workspace to `Quiet Outline` only in [workspaces.json](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/workspaces.json) and added a CSS guard in [sidebar-style.css](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/snippets/sidebar-style.css) that hides every right-sidebar tab after the first. One important detail: Obsidian is still regenerating extra right-sidebar leaves in the live [workspace.json](/Users/nickyoung/My%20Obsidian%20Vault/.obsidian/workspace.json) while the app is open. That means the durable part is the CSS rule, not the live workspace file. With your enabled snippet, those regenerated tabs should stay invisible and not clutter the right side on boot. To make it take effect immediately, reload CSS snippets or restart Obsidian once more. If you want, next I can also make the right sidebar auto-collapsed so it’s basically just a hidden emergency outline pane.