vault-files

# Obsidian Vault File Operations ## When to Use This Skill | Use this skill when... | Use the alternative instead when... | |---|---| | Reading, creating, appending, moving, renaming, or deleting notes through the running CLI | Doing offline bulk edits across many `.md` files — use `vault-frontmatter` or `vault-templates` | | Opening or creating today's daily note | Curating MOC hub notes that organise existing content — use `vault-mocs` | | Managing folder layout while Obsidian is running | Renaming a note and rewriting all links to it — use `vault-wikilinks` | | Recovering a previous version after a bad edit | — use `file-history` | | Querying notes structured by a Base view | — use `bases` | Comprehensive guidance for managing files, folders, and daily notes in Obsidian vaults using the official Obsidian CLI. ## Prerequisites - Obsidian desktop 1.12.7+ installer - CLI enabled in **Settings → General → Command line interface** - Obsidian must be running (CLI communicates with the running instance) ## Path & Flag Conventions - All paths are **vault-relative** — use `folder/note.md`, not absolute filesystem paths - `file=<name>` resolves like a wikilink (no extension needed); `path=<full/path.md>` is exact - Most commands default to the **active file** when neither `file=` nor `path=` is supplied - `create` omits `.md` from `name=` (added automatically); `move` requires `.md` in `to=` - Quote values containing spaces: `file="My Note Title"` - Newlines: `\n`, tabs: `\t` - **Flags are bare words** — `overwrite`, `open`, `newtab`, `permanent`, `inline`, `total`. The single exception is `--copy` (a universal output flag). - **Multi-vault**: prefix `vault=<name>` before the command — see `vault-management` ## Core File Operations ### List Files & Folders ```bash # All files in vault obsidian files # Files in specific folder obsidian files folder=Projects/Active # Filter by extension obsidian files ext=canvas # Total note count obsidian files total # All folders, or just those under a parent obsidian folders obsidian folders folder=Projects # Folder count obsidian folders total ``` ### File Info ```bash # Info on the active file (path/name/extension/size/created/modified) obsidian file # Info on a specific file obsidian file file=Recipe obsidian file path="Notes/Recipe.md" # Folder info obsidian folder path="Projects" obsidian folder path="Projects" info=files obsidian folder path="Projects" info=size # Word and character counts obsidian wordcount file=Recipe obsidian wordcount file=Recipe words obsidian wordcount file=Recipe characters ``` ### Read a Note ```bash # Read by name (wikilink resolution) obsidian read file="Note Name" # Read by exact path obsidian read path="Projects/spec.md" # Read the active file (no args) obsidian read # Copy result to clipboard obsidian read file="Note Name" --copy ``` ### Create a Note ```bash # Basic create (no .md needed) obsidian create name="New Note" # Create in folder with content obsidian create name="Projects/Feature Spec" content="# Feature Spec\n\nDescription here." # Create from a template (see also: templates skill) obsidian create name="Meeting Notes" template="Meeting" # Overwrite existing, then open it obsidian create name="Draft" content="Fresh start" overwrite open ``` ### Append / Prepend ```bash # Add to end of note obsidian append file="Daily Log" content="\n## New Section\nContent here." # Append without an extra newline obsidian append file="Daily Log" content="more text" inline # Add after frontmatter (prepend skips YAML) obsidian prepend file="Inbox" content="- [ ] New task\n" ``` ### Open a Note ```bash obsidian open file="Recipe" obsidian open path="Notes/Recipe.md" newtab ``` ### Move / Rename ```bash # Move to a folder (requires .md extension on target) obsidian move file="Draft" to=Archive/Draft.md # Move + rename in one shot obsidian move file="Old Name" to="Archive/New Name.md" # Rename in place — preserves extension automatically obsidian rename file="Old Name" name="New Name" ``` `move` and `rename` automatically update internal links if **Settings → Files & Links → Automatically update internal links** is enabled. ### Delete ```bash # Move to system / Obsidian trash obsidian delete file="Old Note" # Permanent deletion (skips trash, irreversible) obsidian delete file="Old Note" permanent ``` For undoing accidental deletes, see `file-history` (`history:restore`, `sync:restore`, `sync:deleted`). ## Daily Notes ```bash # Open today's daily note (creates if needed) obsidian daily # Get the expected daily note path (without creating) obsidian daily:path # Read today's content obsidian daily:read # Append / prepend obsidian daily:append content="- Met with team about roadmap" obsidian daily:prepend content="## Morning Goals\n- Review PRs" # Open in a split or new window obsidian daily paneType=split obsidian daily paneType=window ``` The CLI does not expose a `date=` parameter on `daily` itself; for past dates use `obsidian open path="Daily/2026-02-15.md"` (with the actual folder/format from your Daily Notes settings). ## Random & Unique Notes ```bash # Open a random note obsidian random # Limit randomness to a folder obsidian random folder=Inbox newtab # Read a random note (returns content + path) obsidian random:read folder=Inbox # Unique note creator (Zettelkasten-style) obsidian unique name="Idea" content="# Spark\n\n" open # Open the new unique note in a split or window obsidian unique name="Idea" paneType=split open ``` ## Web Viewer ```bash # Open a URL in Obsidian's built-in web viewer obsidian web url="https://obsidian.md/help/cli" # In a new tab obsidian web url="https://obsidian.md/help/cli" newtab ``` Useful for keeping reference docs side-by-side with notes without leaving Obsidian. ## App Maintenance ```bash # Obsidian app version obsidian version # Reload the active window (cheap; preserves vault) obsidian reload # Full app restart (heavier; for plugin reloads, prefer plugin:reload) obsidian restart ``` ## Common Flags | Flag / Parameter | Description | |------------------|-------------| | `format=json` | JSON output for machine parsing | | `format=csv`, `format=tsv` | Spreadsheet-friendly outputs | | `--copy` | **Universal**: copy command output to clipboard | | `overwrite` | Replace existing file on `create` | | `permanent` | Irreversible delete (skip trash) | | `inline` | Append/prepend without an added newline | | `open` | Open file after creating | | `newtab` | Open in a new tab instead of replacing the active leaf | | `total` | Return only the count for list commands | | `paneType=tab\|split\|window` | Choose where to open | ## Agentic Optimizations | Context | Command | |---------|---------| | List files (structured) | `obsidian files format=json` | | Filter by extension | `obsidian files ext=md` | | File count | `obsidian files total` | | Folders under a parent | `obsidian folders folder=X` | | Read note content | `obsidian read file="Name"` | | Read & copy to clipboard | `obsidian read file="Name" --copy` | | Quick capture to daily | `obsidian daily:append content="text"` | | Append without newline | `obsidian append file=X content=Y inline` | | Rename in place | `obsidian rename file=X name=Y` | | Word count only | `obsidian wordcount file=X words` | | Random note (read) | `obsidian random:read folder=X` | ## Related Skills - **search-discovery** — Find notes by content, tags, links, or grep-style context - **properties** — Manage YAML frontmatter on notes - **tasks** — Task management across the vault - **bases** — Query notes via Base views - **templates** — List, preview, and insert templates - **file-history** — Restore previous versions or recover deletes - **vault-management** — Multi-vault `vault=` prefix and vault info