obsidian-git-vault

name	obsidian-git-vault
description	HYPERFOCUS_ZONE vault auto-commit + auto-push via Obsidian Git plugin (Level 10 — Vault Immortal). 10-minute commit cycle, conflict resolution, recovering lost notes. Use when the user says "vault not committing", "git conflict in vault", "lost a note", "Obsidian Git", "auto-commit", "vault sync", or extends the vault backup strategy.

obsidian-git-vault

Level 10 of the Brain progression — Vault Immortal. Obsidian Git plugin auto-commits the vault every 10 mins, auto-pushes to remote. The vault literally cannot lose a note for more than 10 minutes.

How It Works

The Obsidian Git plugin (installed in the vault) runs in the Obsidian process:

Every 10 mins:
  ↓
git add -A         (in HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/)
git commit -m "vault: auto-commit <timestamp>"
git push origin <branch>

If push fails (conflict, no remote), it logs to Obsidian's notice tray but doesn't block — local commits still happen. Conflicts resolve next sync.

Verify It's Running

In Obsidian:

1. Cmd+P → "Obsidian Git: Show status"
2. Should show recent auto-commits in the log
3. Cmd+P → "Obsidian Git: Pull" (manual pull)
4. Cmd+P → "Obsidian Git: Push" (manual push)

If commands aren't available → plugin not installed/enabled. Settings → Community Plugins → enable Obsidian Git.

Plugin Config (in .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-git/data.json)

Canonical settings:

{
  "autoCommitInterval": 10,
  "autoPushInterval": 10,
  "autoPullInterval": 0,
  "commitMessage": "vault: auto-commit {{date}}",
  "commitDateFormat": "YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss",
  "pullBeforePush": true
}

autoPullInterval: 0 = no auto-pull (avoids surprise merges). Pull manually when starting work on a different machine.

Working On Multiple Machines

Machine A finishes work → push (auto, every 10min)
  ↓
Machine B starts work → MANUAL PULL FIRST
  ↓
Machine B works, commits queue → push (auto)

Always pull first when switching machines. Without it, you'll get merge conflicts on the next auto-commit.

# Manual pull from anywhere
cd H:\BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne
git pull
# (Note: this is on the REPO, but the vault is inside HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/. Run git from repo root.)

Recovering A Lost Note

The vault is git. Anything ever written is recoverable:

cd H:\BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne

# Find when a file existed
git log --all --follow -- "HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/01-Projects/<file>.md"

# Show file contents at a specific commit
git show <commit>:HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/01-Projects/<file>.md

# Restore file from a specific commit
git checkout <commit> -- HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/01-Projects/<file>.md

# Find any deleted file ever
git log --all --diff-filter=D --summary | Select-String "<filename>"

Conflict Resolution

If auto-commit fails with a conflict:

1. Obsidian Git shows a notice — open it
2. Files in conflict have <<<<<<< markers — resolve them in Obsidian or VS Code
3. After resolving:

   cd H:\BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne
   git add HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/
   git commit -m "vault: resolve conflict"
   git push
   

4. Auto-commit resumes on next interval

Don't try to fix conflicts inside Obsidian's editor without saving — Obsidian Git's "View changes" diff UI helps but is read-only. Use VS Code or terminal for the actual edit.

What's Committed

HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/        ← all notes, frontmatter, attachments
HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/.obsidian/  ← plugin configs, themes, hotkeys (committed = portable across machines)

The .obsidian/ folder is committed — that means plugins, hotkeys, and CSS modes travel with the vault.

What's NOT Committed (.gitignore)

.obsidian/workspace.json     # window layout (per-machine)
.obsidian/cache              # plugin cache
.trash/                      # Obsidian's local trash

Configure these in H:\BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne\.gitignore.

Common Failures

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Vault hasn't committed in hours	Obsidian closed, or plugin disabled	Open Obsidian, check plugin status
Push fails: "non-fast-forward"	Remote has changes you don't	Manual pull first, then push
Conflict marker <<<<<<< in a note	Concurrent edits across machines	Resolve manually, commit
Vault history missing	Repo not pushed to remote	Set up remote (git remote add origin <url>), git push -u origin main
"Not a git repository" error in Obsidian Git	.git folder missing	git init at repo root, push to remote
Massive commit (1000s of files)	First-time commit including media	OK — large attachments are part of the vault. Consider Git LFS for binary >50MB
Plugin commits secrets to git	.env in vault folder	Move secrets out of HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/, add to .gitignore

Best Practice — Repo Layout

H:\BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne\
├── .git/                       ← canonical git repo
├── .gitignore                  ← excludes per-machine state
├── HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/            ← the vault (Obsidian opens THIS)
├── *.py                        ← Brain modules
├── docker-compose.hyper-brain.yml
└── ...

Repo root is the git repo. Vault is inside. Obsidian Git operates on the whole repo, but only commits content under HYPERFOCUS_ZONE/ due to .gitignore rules (the Brain Python files are tracked too, but don't change as often).

Manual Backup (belt + braces)

Even with auto-commit, occasionally export a snapshot:

cd H:\
$stamp = Get-Date -Format "yyyy-MM-dd_HHmm"
Compress-Archive `
  -Path "BROski-Obsidian-Brain-for-HyperFocus-z0ne\HYPERFOCUS_ZONE" `
  -DestinationPath "vault-backup-$stamp.zip"

Drop the zip in cloud storage. Belt-and-braces — the vault is already on git, but redundancy never hurts.

Companion Skills

• vault-para-structure — what's getting committed
• hyper-brain-modules — modules write to vault, then auto-commit picks up
• morning-briefing-ai — briefings auto-commit within 10 mins of generation
• level-progression — Level 10 context

Hard Rules

• Pull before working on a 2nd machine — every time
• Don't disable auto-commit — vault immortality depends on it
• Don't commit .env files — .gitignore them
• Resolve conflicts in VS Code or terminal, not Obsidian's editor
• .obsidian/ is committed — plugins/hotkeys travel with the vault
• Push to remote — local-only git is one disk failure away from gone