obsidian

name	obsidian
description	Use when working with Obsidian vaults — creating or editing .md notes, wikilinks, callouts, frontmatter, embeds, tags, or Obsidian-specific syntax; or when interacting with a vault via the obsidian CLI to read, create, search, manage notes/tasks/properties, or develop and debug plugins and themes.
compatibility	CLI section requires Obsidian desktop open with the obsidian CLI installed. Run `obsidian help` to verify available commands before use.

Obsidian

Obsidian Flavored Markdown

Create and edit valid Obsidian Flavored Markdown. Covers Obsidian-specific extensions only — standard Markdown is assumed knowledge.

Workflow: Creating a Note

1. Add frontmatter with properties (title, tags, aliases) at the top. See PROPERTIES.md for all property types.
2. Write content with standard Markdown plus Obsidian-specific syntax below.
3. Link related notes using [[wikilinks]] for vault notes; standard [text](url) for external URLs only.
4. Embed content with ![[embed]] syntax. See EMBEDS.md for all embed types.
5. Add callouts with > [!type] syntax. See CALLOUTS.md for all callout types.
6. Verify the note renders correctly in reading view.

Internal Links (Wikilinks)

[[Note Name]]                          Link to note
[[Note Name|Display Text]]             Custom display text
[[Note Name#Heading]]                  Link to heading
[[Note Name#^block-id]]                Link to block
[[#Heading in same note]]              Same-note heading link

Define a block ID by appending ^block-id to any paragraph. For lists/quotes, place it on a separate line after the block.

Embeds

![[Note Name]]                         Embed full note
![[Note Name#Heading]]                 Embed section
![[image.png|300]]                     Embed image with width
![[document.pdf#page=3]]               Embed PDF page

Callouts

> [!note]
> Basic callout.

> [!warning] Custom Title
> Callout with a custom title.

> [!faq]- Collapsed by default
> Foldable callout (- collapsed, + expanded).

Common types: note, tip, warning, info, example, quote, bug, danger, success, failure, question, abstract, todo. See CALLOUTS.md for full list.

Properties (Frontmatter)

---
title: My Note
date: 2024-01-15
tags:
  - project
  - active
aliases:
  - Alternative Name
cssclasses:
  - custom-class
---

See PROPERTIES.md for all property types and tag syntax rules.

Tags

#tag                    Inline tag
#nested/tag             Nested tag with hierarchy

Tags can also be defined in frontmatter under the tags property.

Other Obsidian-Specific Syntax

%%hidden comment%%                     Comment (hidden in reading view)
==Highlighted text==                   Highlight
$e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$                    Inline math (LaTeX)

Mermaid diagrams: use ```mermaid blocks. To link nodes to vault notes, add class NodeName internal-link;.

---

Obsidian CLI

Use the obsidian CLI to interact with a running Obsidian instance. Requires Obsidian to be open.

Run obsidian help for all available commands. Full docs: https://help.obsidian.md/cli

Syntax

Parameters take a value with =. Quote values with spaces:

obsidian create name="My Note" content="Hello world"

Flags are boolean switches with no value:

obsidian create name="My Note" silent overwrite

For multiline content use \n for newlines, \t for tabs.

File & Vault Targeting

• file=<name> — resolves like a wikilink (name only, no path or extension)
• path=<path> — exact path from vault root, e.g. folder/note.md
• Without either, the active file is used.
• Prefix any command with vault=<name> to target a specific vault:

obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="test"

Common Patterns

obsidian read file="My Note"
obsidian create name="New Note" content="# Hello" template="Template" silent
obsidian append file="My Note" content="New line"
obsidian search query="search term" limit=10
obsidian daily:read
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] New task"
obsidian property:set name="status" value="done" file="My Note"
obsidian tasks daily todo
obsidian tags sort=count counts
obsidian backlinks file="My Note"

Use --copy on any command to copy output to clipboard. Use silent to suppress file opening. Use total on list commands for a count.

Plugin Development Cycle

After code changes to a plugin or theme:

1. Reload the plugin:

   obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
   

2. Check for errors — fix and repeat if any:

   obsidian dev:errors
   

3. Verify visually:

   obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
   obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf" text
   

4. Check console:

   obsidian dev:console level=error
   

Additional developer commands:

obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"     # Run JS in app context
obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace-leaf" prop=background-color
obsidian dev:mobile on                               # Toggle mobile emulation