| name | obsidian-vault-tooling |
| description | Generic Obsidian vault operations through this repo's MCP tooling; use when you need to access, read, update, and navigate vault content safely. |
| metadata | {"short-description":"Generic vault access and safe Obsidian MCP workflows"} |
| title | Obsidian Vault Tooling |
| updated | "2026-02-15T00:00:00.000Z" |
| project | vault |
| note_type | skill |
| status | active |
| tags | ["vault","skills","obsidian","mcp"] |
Obsidian Vault Tooling
Use this skill for general-purpose vault work when a task does not require a specialized workflow.
Examples:
- inspect vault structure and find notes
- read/update notes safely through MCP tools
- move/rename notes while preserving links
- edit frontmatter, tags, and metadata
- run vault UI/workspace actions when explicitly requested
Quick start
- Run
obsidian_list_vaults and pick a target vault.
- Confirm access with
obsidian_vault_info.
- Gather context with
obsidian_list_notes, obsidian_search_notes, and obsidian_read_note.
- Apply requested changes with the narrowest mutation tool.
- Re-read modified paths and report exactly what changed.
Workflow
1) Discover and scope
- Always vault-scope calls (every tool except
obsidian_list_vaults needs vault).
- Use
obsidian_list_folders / obsidian_list_notes to understand allowed paths.
- If
PATH_FORBIDDEN appears, switch to an allowed prefix and continue there.
2) Read first
- Read note content:
obsidian_read_note
- Inspect metadata/frontmatter/links:
obsidian_get_note_metadata
- Search by topic/path:
obsidian_search_notes
- Use graph context when needed:
obsidian_get_backlinks, obsidian_get_tag_index, obsidian_get_unresolved_links
- Prefer updating existing notes and indexes rather than creating duplicate notes.
3) Mutate safely (only if requested)
- Create/update notes:
obsidian_create_note, obsidian_update_note
- Frontmatter-only edits:
obsidian_upsert_frontmatter
- Move/rename:
obsidian_move_note (preferred) or obsidian_move_path
- Delete:
obsidian_delete_note / obsidian_delete_path
- Use
expectedMtime when available to avoid clobbering concurrent edits.
4) Verify and report
- Re-read every changed note.
- Re-check metadata if frontmatter/links/tags changed.
- Report path-level diffs in plain language.
5) UI and workspace tools (optional)
Use workspace/command tools only when explicitly requested:
obsidian_open_note, obsidian_open_search
obsidian_list_commands, obsidian_run_command
- respect command/workspace policy gates; do not bypass blocked actions.
Error handling
WRITE_DISABLED: switch to read-only output and explain limitation.
PATH_FORBIDDEN: request allowed path or use an allowed folder.
CONFLICT_MTIME: re-read and retry once with fresh mtime.
NOT_FOUND: search/list to re-resolve the path before retrying.