obsidian-cli

name

obsidian-cli

description

Operate Obsidian vaults via the `obsidian` CLI - create/read/edit notes, manage properties and tags, search vault content, handle daily notes and templates, manage plugins and themes, work with bases, control sync and file history, manipulate workspace layout, and use developer tools. Use when the user asks to interact with their Obsidian vault, manage notes, query vault data, automate Obsidian workflows, or debug Obsidian plugins. Triggers: mentions of Obsidian, vault operations, note management, obsidian CLI, daily notes, or working with .md files in an Obsidian context.

Obsidian CLI

CLI reference based on Obsidian v1.12.4 (installer 1.11.7). All commands: /usr/local/bin/obsidian <command> [options].

CLI Path

Always invoke the CLI via its full path: /usr/local/bin/obsidian. This is required for sandbox compatibility. Obsidian Desktop must be running (the CLI communicates with the app via IPC).

CLI version note: This reference was built against Obsidian v1.12.4. If commands behave unexpectedly, run /usr/local/bin/obsidian version to check for changes.

Conventions

• file=<name> resolves by name (like wikilinks). path=<path> is exact (folder/note.md).
• Most commands default to the active file when file/path is omitted.
• Quote values with spaces: name="My Note". Use \n for newline, \t for tab.
• Target a specific vault: /usr/local/bin/obsidian vault=<name> <command>.
• Output formats: many commands accept format=json|tsv|csv (default varies).
• Use total flag on list commands to get counts instead of full output.

Quick Reference

Need	Command	Example
Read a note	read	/usr/local/bin/obsidian read file="My Note"
Create a note	create	/usr/local/bin/obsidian create name="New Note" content="# Hello"
Append to note	append	/usr/local/bin/obsidian append file="Log" content="Entry"
Search vault	search	/usr/local/bin/obsidian search query="meeting agenda"
Daily note	daily	/usr/local/bin/obsidian daily
List files	files	/usr/local/bin/obsidian files folder="Projects"
Get properties	properties	/usr/local/bin/obsidian properties file="Note"
Set property	property:set	/usr/local/bin/obsidian property:set name=status value=done file="Task"
List tags	tags	/usr/local/bin/obsidian tags counts sort=count
Find backlinks	backlinks	/usr/local/bin/obsidian backlinks file="Topic"
Run command	command	/usr/local/bin/obsidian command id=editor:toggle-bold
List vaults	vaults	/usr/local/bin/obsidian vaults verbose

Command Domains

Obsidian CLI has 75+ commands across these domains. Load the relevant reference for detailed usage:

Vault and Files

Create, read, append, prepend, delete, move, rename files and folders. Search vault content. See references/vault-and-files.md

Knowledge Graph

Backlinks, outgoing links, orphans, dead-ends, tags, properties, aliases, outline headings. See references/knowledge-graph.md

Daily Notes and Templates

Daily note operations (open, read, append, prepend), templates, bookmarks. See references/daily-and-templates.md

Plugins, Themes, and Sync

Plugin management (install/enable/disable), themes, CSS snippets, sync control, file history. See references/plugins-themes-sync.md

Workspace and UI

Tabs, workspace layout, window management, executing commands, hotkeys. See references/workspace-and-ui.md

Bases

Create, query, and manage base views (Obsidian's structured data feature). See references/bases.md

Developer Tools

JavaScript eval, DOM inspection, CSS debugging, CDP protocol, console capture, screenshots. See references/developer-tools.md

Tasks

Obsidian tracks checkbox items (- [ ]) across notes:

/usr/local/bin/obsidian tasks                          # list all tasks
/usr/local/bin/obsidian tasks todo                     # incomplete only
/usr/local/bin/obsidian tasks done                     # completed only
/usr/local/bin/obsidian tasks file="Project"           # tasks in specific file
/usr/local/bin/obsidian tasks daily                    # tasks from daily note
/usr/local/bin/obsidian task file="Todo" line=5 toggle # toggle a task
/usr/local/bin/obsidian task file="Todo" line=5 done   # mark done
/usr/local/bin/obsidian task file="Todo" line=5 status="/" # custom status char

Parsing Output

When processing command output, prefer CLI tools over Python. Check availability first:

command -v jq   # JSON parsing
command -v yq   # YAML/JSON parsing (supports both)
command -v gawk # field/column processing

JSON output (format=json): use jq if available.

/usr/local/bin/obsidian files format=json | jq '.[].path'
/usr/local/bin/obsidian properties file="Note" format=json | jq '.tags[]'
/usr/local/bin/obsidian search query="meeting" format=json | jq '.[] | {file, line}'

YAML/JSON (format=json or properties): use yq if available, falls back to jq.

/usr/local/bin/obsidian properties file="Note" format=json | yq '.status'

TSV/CSV output: use awk, cut, or column - no external deps needed.

/usr/local/bin/obsidian files format=tsv | awk -F'\t' '{print $1}'
/usr/local/bin/obsidian tags format=tsv | column -t -s $'\t'

Only fall back to Python when the above tools are not available or the transformation is too complex for them.

Tips

• Pipe JSON output to jq for filtering: /usr/local/bin/obsidian files format=json | jq '.[]'
• Chain operations: read a template, create from it, set properties
• Use search:context instead of search when you need matching line context
• /usr/local/bin/obsidian commands filter=editor to discover commands by prefix
• /usr/local/bin/obsidian hotkeys all shows every command including those without keybindings
• Run obsidian with no arguments for full help