| name | obsidian-cli |
| description | Drive Obsidian via the official CLI through terminal_command. Use when the user asks for Obsidian CLI, or when native fs_* / js_eval tools cannot cover Obsidian-specific operations (backlinks, properties, daily notes, command palette, plugin reload, tasks/tags, version history, etc.). |
| mode | lazy |
Obsidian CLI
Thin adapter: route to the official CLI executable and let its help command supply command details. Do not duplicate CLI docs here.
When to use
- User explicitly asks for Obsidian CLI, or needs capabilities that
fs_* / js_eval do not cover (Obsidian semantics: backlinks, frontmatter properties, daily notes, command palette, plugin reload, link graph, tasks/tags, file history, etc.).
- Otherwise prefer native tools (
bash, fs_write, fs_edit, …). Do not round-trip through terminal_command for simple vault file work — bash already covers it.
Workflow
- Resolve executable (first use in the conversation): prefer the real CLI binary over the app launcher. On macOS, first check
/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS/obsidian-cli; if executable, use that absolute path for all later commands. Otherwise use command -v obsidian. If the resolved path is /Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS/obsidian, treat it as invalid because it is the app executable.
- Probe: run
<resolved-cli> version.
- Discover: run
<resolved-cli> help or <resolved-cli> help <command> — CLI documents parameters; read on demand.
- Execute: run
<resolved-cli> <subcommand> …. Add format=json when you need structured output to parse.
Rules:
- Never launch the interactive TUI (do not run the resolved CLI with no subcommand).
- Do not use
/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS/obsidian as the CLI on macOS; that is the app executable, not the preferred CLI binary.
- Mutating CLI commands may require user approval like any other shell command.
- Desktop only (
terminal_command is not available on mobile).
Probe failure
If <resolved-cli> version fails (command not found or CLI error), tell the user to enable Settings → General → Command line interface, then retry. Do not guess command syntax — use <resolved-cli> help after probe succeeds.
