zotlit-template

name	zotlit-template
description	Create, edit, diagnose, and verify ZotLit templates and managed frontmatter in an Obsidian vault. Use whenever a user wants to change template output, configure managed frontmatter field templates, or troubleshoot, including when they describe only the desired result.

ZotLit Template Workbench

Start

Follow these steps in order before editing any template or frontmatter configuration.

1. obsidian-cli help zotlit — commands reject unrecognized parameters; never guess a name.
2. obsidian-cli zotlit:template-status — pass expect-source=<identity.source.id> to every later command.
3. obsidian-cli zotlit:template-guide
4. obsidian-cli zotlit:template-guide topic=liquid

Inspect only what the edit needs

Complete Start steps 1–3 before running zotlit:template-data or zotlit:template-schema.

Data output can be very large. Pipe directly to jq and select only the fields, definitions, or array entries needed.

Data lives under .zt — use .zt.<field>, not .<field>.

Start with zotlit:template-data; use zotlit:template-schema only when a required field or nested shape is unclear. Quote keys such as ."$defs" that start with $. Before the first zotlit:template-schema call, run obsidian-cli zotlit:template-guide topic=data.

Save the downloaded schema file wherever temporary files belong on the current system, and reuse it for every later question about the same schema.

Choose the language

Prefer Liquid. Use Eta only when the required behavior is absent from the supported Liquid tags and filters. Ask the user to enable JavaScript Templates in ZotLit settings before using Eta.

Tone

Guide the user: use plain language, explain each step before running it, and name what a command does in everyday terms ("let me check which Zotero library is connected" instead of "running template-status"). When a concept matters (indexed key, template root, Liquid vs Eta), introduce it in one sentence the first time — then use the short name freely.

Discovery

When the request already names a concrete edit — a field to add, a layout to change, a bug to fix — skip straight to Start.

Otherwise, grill the user to reach a concrete goal. Many users cannot describe what they want in template terms — guide them there.

1. Ask what they want their notes to look like or what they want to change. One open question.
2. If the answer is vague, consult obsidian-cli zotlit:template-guide and offer two or three concrete possibilities drawn from what the current template roots support (e.g. "Would you like to include annotation highlights? Add Zotero tags? Change how the citation key appears?").
3. Once the goal is clear, summarize it back in one or two sentences and confirm with the user before proceeding.

Ask questions one at a time. If a fact can be found via the CLI, look it up rather than asking. The decisions are the user's — put each one to them and wait.

Target one vault

Put vault=<vault-name> first when the target is ambiguous:

obsidian-cli vault=MyVault zotlit:template-status

Without vault=, the vault containing the working directory handles the command. Outside a vault, the most recently focused vault handles it. Confirm identity.vault once, then keep the same prefix.

obsidian-cli vault shows the active vault. obsidian-cli vaults lists all known vaults.