obsidian

name	obsidian
description	Interact with Obsidian vaults via obsidian-cli. Read, create, search, and manage markdown notes. Use when user references their Obsidian vault, wants to save information to notes, search their knowledge base, or organize their personal knowledge management system. Use when this capability is needed.
metadata	{"author":"balloneij"}

Obsidian Vault Integration

This skill enables interaction with Obsidian vaults through the obsidian-cli tool and direct filesystem operations.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when the user:

• Mentions their Obsidian vault or notes
• Wants to save information, research, or summaries to notes
• Asks to search their knowledge base or "my notes"
• Wants to organize, rename, or manage their notes
• References personal knowledge management (PKM)
• Asks to read or retrieve information from their notes

Reading Notes

Read note contents directly:

# By note name (searches entire vault)
obsidian-cli print "note-name"

# By path from vault root
obsidian-cli print "folder/subfolder/note-name"

# Note: .md extension is optional

Creating Notes

Use direct file writes for reliable note creation:

# Get vault path
VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Create a new note
cat > "$VAULT/note-name.md" << 'EOF'
# Note Title

Content goes here.
EOF

# Create in a subfolder
mkdir -p "$VAULT/folder"
cat > "$VAULT/folder/note-name.md" << 'EOF'
# Title

Content here.
EOF

Appending to Notes

Add content to existing notes:

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Append a new section
cat >> "$VAULT/note-name.md" << 'EOF'

## New Section

Additional content appended.
EOF

Searching Notes

Use grep for non-interactive content search:

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Search for content across all notes
grep -r -n -i "search term" "$VAULT" --include="*.md"

# Find files containing a term (filenames only)
grep -r -l -i "search term" "$VAULT" --include="*.md"

# List all notes in vault
find "$VAULT" -name "*.md" -type f | sed "s|$VAULT/||" | sort

# Search by filename pattern
find "$VAULT" -name "*.md" -type f | sed "s|$VAULT/||" | grep -i "pattern"

Moving and Renaming Notes

The move command automatically updates all wikilinks:

# Rename a note (updates [[old-name]] links throughout vault)
obsidian-cli move "old-name" "new-name"

# Move to a different folder
obsidian-cli move "note-name" "folder/note-name"

# Move with full paths
obsidian-cli move "old-folder/note" "new-folder/note"

Deleting Notes

# Delete a note (permanent, no trash)
obsidian-cli delete "note-name"

# Delete by path
obsidian-cli delete "folder/note-name"

Working with Frontmatter

Extract and view YAML frontmatter:

# View full note including frontmatter
obsidian-cli print "note-name"

# Extract just the frontmatter
obsidian-cli print "note-name" | sed -n '/^---$/,/^---$/p'

To modify frontmatter, read the note, edit the content, and write it back:

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Read current content
CONTENT=$(obsidian-cli print "note-name")

# Write modified content back
cat > "$VAULT/note-name.md" << 'EOF'
---
title: Updated Title
tags: [tag1, tag2]
---

# Heading

Updated content here.
EOF

Multi-Vault Support

Specify a different vault for any command:

# Read from a specific vault
obsidian-cli print "note" --vault "work-vault"

# Move within a specific vault
obsidian-cli move "old" "new" --vault "personal-vault"

Common Workflows

Save Research to a Note

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Check if note exists
if obsidian-cli print "Research/topic" >/dev/null 2>&1; then
    # Append to existing note
    cat >> "$VAULT/Research/topic.md" << 'EOF'

## Additional Findings

New research content here.
EOF
else
    # Create new note
    mkdir -p "$VAULT/Research"
    cat > "$VAULT/Research/topic.md" << 'EOF'
# Topic Research

Initial research content.
EOF
fi

Find and Read Related Notes

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)

# Search for related notes
grep -r -l -i "keyword" "$VAULT" --include="*.md"

# Read each match
obsidian-cli print "matching-note-1"
obsidian-cli print "matching-note-2"

Organize Notes into Folders

# Find notes matching a pattern
VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)
find "$VAULT" -name "*meeting*.md" -type f | sed "s|$VAULT/||"

# Move each to organized folder
obsidian-cli move "standup-2024-01-15" "Meetings/standup-2024-01-15"
obsidian-cli move "standup-2024-01-16" "Meetings/standup-2024-01-16"

Create a Daily Note

VAULT=$(obsidian-cli print-default --path-only)
TODAY=$(date +%Y-%m-%d)

mkdir -p "$VAULT/Daily"
cat > "$VAULT/Daily/$TODAY.md" << EOF
# Daily Note - $TODAY

## Tasks
- [ ]

## Notes

## End of Day Review

EOF

Important Notes

1. Path resolution: Note names don't need .md extension; paths are relative to vault root
2. Wikilink updates: The move command automatically updates [[note]], [[note|display]], and [[note#heading]] links
3. Case sensitivity: Search is case-insensitive with -i flag
4. Hidden files: Operations skip hidden directories (starting with .)
5. Large files: Files over 10MB are skipped during search operations
6. No trash: Delete is permanent; there's no recycle bin

Error Handling

Common errors and solutions:

Error	Cause	Solution
Cannot find vault config	No default vault set	Run obsidian-cli set-default "vault-name"
Vault not found in Obsidian config	Vault name doesn't match	Check vault name in Obsidian app settings
Cannot find note in vault	Note doesn't exist	Verify note name/path with search

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