| name | open-page |
| description | Search for and open a page in Obsidian by name, description, or keywords. Triggers when the user says any of: "open <page>", "open the <name> page", "go to <topic>", "show me <something>", "pull up <name>", "find and open <X>", or any variant asking to locate and display a vault page. Uses the Obsidian CLI for all operations — never raw filesystem reads. Searches across the entire vault including untracked files (Git-ignored pages are still in Obsidian). If multiple candidates exist, present them as options. If none found, offer to create it. |
Open a page
Search for a file by name or description and open it in Obsidian using the
Obsidian CLI (obsidian). This skill handles untracked files, spaces in
names, special characters, and ambiguous results.
Workflow
1. Extract search terms
From the user's request, pull out the page name or topic keywords. If the
user gave no specifics (e.g., "open a page"), ask what they want.
2. Search for the file
Apply strategies from references/search-strategies.md in order:
A. Exact filename match:
obsidian files | grep -i "<name>"
This is the fastest and most reliable — it lists every file the vault knows
about, including Git-ignored ones. The Obsidian CLI reads the filesystem
directly.
B. Wikilink resolution (if A fails):
obsidian file file="<Name>"
The file= parameter resolves like a wikilink — handles spaces and special
characters automatically if quoted properly.
C. Content search (if A and B fail):
obsidian search query="<keywords>" limit=10 format=json
Searches inside file contents. Use this when the filename might differ from
what the user described (e.g., "carbonara recipe" → Pasta Carbonara.md).
D. Folder-scope check (if you have a strong hunch):
obsidian files folder=<folder>
Only use when the user's description implies a domain — e.g., "recipes"
suggests wiki/recipes/, "books" suggests wiki/books/.
3. Handle results
Single match: Proceed to step 4.
Multiple matches: Present via AskUserQuestion with the full relative path
as each option's description. Include up to 5 candidates. Always include
"Other — not listed" as a fallback option.
No matches: Report that no file was found. Offer to create it via the
create-page skill if appropriate, or ask for different search terms.
4. Open the file
obsidian open path="<relative-path>"
Use path= (not file=) since you already know the exact relative path from
the search results. This avoids any wikilink-resolution ambiguity.
If the user wants it in a new tab, add newtab:
obsidian open path="<relative-path>" newtab
5. Report
Return one short sentence: "Opened <display-name>."
Do not include extra context unless asked.
Rules
- Always use the Obsidian CLI. Never read files directly with
cat or Read just to find them — that's what this skill is for. Reading the content after opening is fine.
- Quote paths with spaces. Pasta Carbonara →
path="wiki/recipes/Pasta Carbonara.md". The Obsidian CLI requires proper quoting for spaces and special characters.
- Use relative paths (vault-root-relative), never absolute filesystem paths, in CLI commands.
- Never assume a file exists — always search first. Even if you "know" the path from prior context, verify it still exists before opening.
- One question at a time. If you need clarification (which folder? which page?), ask one AskUserQuestion — don't chain multiple questions.
- Don't open duplicate tabs. Before opening, check
obsidian tabs to see if the file is already open. If so, just report it's already open instead of creating a new tab.
