Running in safe mode

Safe mode starts the editor with plugins disabled. It is a recovery tool: if a plugin misbehaves — especially if it crashes the editor during startup — safe mode gets you back to a working editor so you can isolate the problem.

How it kicks in

The editor watches for crashes during startup. If it detects a repeated crash (a crash streak), the next launch offers safe mode through a consent dialog — you choose whether to start with plugins disabled. The editor keeps a last-known-good record of the plugin set that started cleanly, so it knows what to fall back to.

Because plugin code is only ever loaded at launch (never while running), starting without it is enough to rule plugins in or out as the cause.

When to use it

• The editor won't start cleanly and you suspect a plugin.
• You want to confirm whether an issue comes from the core editor or from a plugin.

Managing plugins afterwards

Once you're running, enable or disable individual plugins in Preferences ▸ Plugins. Changes take effect on the next launch — the editor never loads or unloads plugin code while running. Re-enable plugins one at a time to find the culprit.

Related: crash reports

A crash that triggers safe mode can also be reported — see the Crash Report plugin, which offers (with your consent) to send a redacted report of what went wrong.