# Code Patterns Comprehensive code patterns for common Obsidian plugin development tasks. **Always verify API details in `.ref/obsidian-api/obsidian.d.ts`** - it's the authoritative source and may have features not yet documented in plugin docs. **When to use this vs [common-tasks.md](common-tasks.md)**: - **code-patterns.md**: Complete, production-ready examples with full context, error handling, and best practices - **common-tasks.md**: Quick snippets and basic patterns for simple operations ## Settings tabs Settings tabs are covered by the dedicated **`settings` skill** — use it for authoring or migrating any `PluginSettingTab`. It is the authoritative reference for the declarative `getSettingDefinitions()` API (Obsidian 1.13+), the control/render/validate/visible patterns, mutable lists, sub-pages, and the optional `display()` fallback for older app versions. `SettingGroup` is always available at these projects' `minAppVersion` (1.11+) — use it directly, with no `requireApiVersion()` guards or pre-1.11 fallbacks. Sentence case for all UI text (names, descriptions, headings). ## Multi-window: target the app window, not `activeDocument` **Source**: Obsidian 1.13 changelog ("Settings now open in a new window") + `Workspace.containerEl` in `.ref/obsidian-api/obsidian.d.ts` Obsidian renders across multiple OS windows: pop-out leaves, and — since **1.13** — the Settings window. The globals `activeDocument` / `activeWindow` track **whichever window currently has focus**. During a settings `onChange` (or any handler that runs while a pop-out is focused) they point at the *other* window. So any code that applies persistent UI to the **main app window** — toggling `` classes, setting CSS variables, injecting a `