testing-context-os-obsidian

name	testing-context-os-obsidian
description	Test Context OS knowledge graphs in Obsidian. Verifies wiki-link resolution, graph view connectivity, frontmatter validity, and cross-layer navigation. Use when validating Context OS PRs or knowledge graph changes.

Testing Context OS in Obsidian

When to Use

• After creating or modifying knowledge nodes in a Context OS repo
• After adding/removing wiki-links between nodes
• When validating graph health (orphans, dangling links, connectivity)

Prerequisites

Obsidian Installation

Obsidian is not pre-installed. Install via AppImage extraction (FUSE is unavailable on the VM):

cd /tmp
wget -q "https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/releases/download/v1.8.9/Obsidian-1.8.9.AppImage" -O Obsidian.AppImage
chmod +x Obsidian.AppImage
./Obsidian.AppImage --appimage-extract
# Launch with:
DISPLAY=:0 /tmp/squashfs-root/obsidian --no-sandbox &

Note: The version URL might change. Check https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-releases/releases for the latest version if the download fails.

Python YAML Parser

pip3 install pyyaml

Devin Secrets Needed

None — this is a local testing workflow with no external services.

Test Approach

1. Programmatic Validation (Shell — No Recording Needed)

Run a Python script to validate:

• All knowledge nodes have valid YAML frontmatter
• Required fields present: name, description, domain, node_type, status, last_updated, tags, topics, related_concepts, source
• domain matches taxonomy.yaml allowed values
• node_type matches taxonomy.yaml allowed values
• status is one of: emergent, validated, canonical
• All [[wiki-links]] in body text resolve to existing .md files
• No orphan nodes (every node has at least 1 outbound + 1 inbound link)
• Link density meets ontology.yaml minimums (default: 2 outbound per node)

2. Obsidian Visual Verification (Record This)

1. Open vault in Obsidian via "Open folder as vault"
2. Press Ctrl+G to open graph view
3. Verify all nodes appear interconnected (no isolated dots except template placeholders)
4. Click through wiki-links to test navigation between nodes
5. Test cross-layer navigation: 00_foundation doc → knowledge_base node
6. Verify CLAUDE.md navigation table links resolve

Key Things That Can Go Wrong

• Wiki-links that don't resolve appear as dimmed/unhighlighted text in Obsidian
• Orphan nodes appear as isolated dots in graph view with no connections
• Malformed frontmatter causes Obsidian to not display Properties panel
• Cross-directory wiki-links might not resolve if filenames don't match (Obsidian uses filename-based resolution, not path-based)

Template Placeholder Nodes

templates/node_template.md contains placeholder wiki-links like [[related-concept-1]] that will appear as disconnected dots in the graph. This is expected — they are not real knowledge nodes.

Window Management

Maximize Obsidian before recording:

sudo apt-get install -y wmctrl
wmctrl -l  # Find Obsidian window ID
wmctrl -i -r <window_id> -b add,maximized_vert,maximized_horz