# Obsidian CLI — Claude Code Skill A skill for AI coding agents that enables full control of [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md) vaults from the terminal using the official **Obsidian CLI** (v1.12+). ![Obsidian](https://img.shields.io/badge/Obsidian-v1.12%2B-7C3AED?logo=obsidian&logoColor=white) ![Claude Code](https://img.shields.io/badge/Claude_Code-Plugin-D97757) ![Claude Code Plugin](https://img.shields.io/badge/Anthropic-Compatible-CC785C) --- ## What This Skill Does Once installed, your AI agent will know how to interact with Obsidian vaults through the official CLI — reading, creating, and editing notes; managing daily notes; running full-text search; querying tasks, tags, links, and properties; managing plugins and sync; and running developer tools. Covers **100+ commands** across all major areas: | Area | Commands | |---|---| | **Files** | `read`, `create`, `append`, `prepend`, `move`, `delete`, `files`, `folders` | | **Daily Notes** | `daily`, `daily:read`, `daily:append`, `daily:prepend` | | **Search** | `search` with scoping, limits, JSON output | | **Properties** | `properties`, `property:read`, `property:set`, `property:remove` | | **Tags** | `tags`, `tag` with counts and filtering | | **Tasks** | `tasks`, `task` — query, filter, toggle | | **Links** | `backlinks`, `links`, `unresolved`, `orphans`, `deadends` | | **Templates** | `templates`, `template:read`, `template:insert` | | **Plugins** | `plugins`, `plugin:enable/disable/install/reload` | | **Sync** | `sync`, `sync:status`, `sync:history`, `sync:restore` | | **Developer** | `eval`, `dev:screenshot`, `dev:console`, `dev:errors` | | **Vault** | `vault`, `vaults`, `version`, `recents`, `outline`, `wordcount` | --- ## Prerequisites > Obsidian v1.12 is available to **all users** — no Early Access build or Catalyst license required. | Requirement | Details | |---|---| | **Obsidian Desktop** | v1.12.0+ | | **CLI enabled** | Settings → Command line interface → Toggle ON | | **Obsidian running** | The desktop app must be running — the CLI communicates over IPC | ### Platform notes - **macOS / Linux** — the `obsidian` binary is added to PATH automatically when you enable CLI in settings. - **Windows** — requires an `Obsidian.com` redirector file placed alongside `Obsidian.exe`. Must run from a **normal-privilege terminal** — admin terminals produce silent failures. - **Headless Linux** — use the `.deb` package (not snap). Run under `xvfb` and prefix commands with `DISPLAY=:5`. Set `PrivateTmp=false` if running as a systemd service. --- ## Installation ### Claude Code — Plugin (native) Install directly from GitHub using the Claude Code plugin system: 1. Open Claude Code and run: ``` /plugin marketplace add https://github.com/pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill ``` 2. Install the `obsidian-cli` skill from the plugin list. 3. Done — the skill auto-triggers when you ask Claude to interact with Obsidian, automate vault operations, manage daily notes, search your vault, etc. **Alternative — manual install:** 1. Download `obsidian-cli-skill-v1.0.0.zip` from the [Releases](https://github.com/pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill/releases) page. 2. Open Claude Code → Skills plugin settings → Import → select the `.zip`. > The `plugin.json` manifest at the repo root makes this repository directly compatible with Claude Code's plugin system. --- ### Cursor Cursor loads context via [Rules](https://docs.cursor.com/context/rules-for-ai). Add the skill as a project-level or global rule: 1. Create the file `.cursor/rules/obsidian-cli.mdc` in your project root (or in `~/.cursor/rules/` for global scope). 2. Paste the body of `SKILL.md` (everything after the `---` frontmatter block) into the file. 3. Optionally append the contents of `references/command-reference.md` for the full command reference. Cursor will now apply Obsidian CLI knowledge when you work on related tasks. --- ### Windsurf Windsurf uses [Rules](https://docs.windsurf.com/windsurf/memories-and-rules) stored in `.windsurf/rules/`: 1. Create `.windsurf/rules/obsidian-cli.md` in your project. 2. Paste the body of `SKILL.md` (below the frontmatter) into the file. 3. Optionally include the command reference from `references/command-reference.md`. --- ### GitHub Copilot (VS Code) Copilot supports [custom instructions](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot) via a repository-level file: 1. Create `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in your repo. 2. Paste the body of `SKILL.md` into the file. For workspace-level instructions in VS Code, add the content to your VS Code settings under `"github.copilot.chat.codeGeneration.instructions"`. --- ### Any Other LLM Agent or Assistant `SKILL.md` is a plain Markdown document. For any agent that supports custom system prompts or instructions: 1. Open the agent's system prompt / custom instructions settings. 2. Paste the contents of `SKILL.md` (with or without the YAML frontmatter — most agents accept either). 3. Optionally include `references/command-reference.md` for the complete command reference. This works with Aider, Continue.dev, LM Studio, Open Interpreter, or any chat interface with a system prompt field. --- ## Quick Examples ### Append to today's daily note ```bash obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Review pull requests" ``` ### Search your vault and pipe to jq ```bash obsidian search query="meeting notes" format=json | jq '.[].path' ``` ### Vault health check ```bash obsidian files total # Total file count obsidian tags counts sort=count # Most-used tags obsidian tasks # All open tasks obsidian orphans # Notes with no links obsidian unresolved # Broken wikilinks ``` ### Create a note from a template with metadata ```bash obsidian create path="projects/new-feature" template="project-template" obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="status" value="planning" obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="created" value="$(date -I)" obsidian daily:append content="- Started [[projects/new-feature|New Feature]]" ``` --- ## Full Command Reference See [`references/command-reference.md`](references/command-reference.md) for the complete reference covering all commands, parameters, flags, output formatting, multi-vault usage, and headless Linux setup. --- ## Troubleshooting | Problem | Cause | Fix | |---|---|---| | Empty output / hangs | Obsidian not running, or admin terminal (Windows) | Start Obsidian; use a normal-privilege terminal | | `command not found` | CLI not registered in PATH | Re-enable CLI in Settings; restart terminal | | Unicode errors | Bug fixed in v1.12.2+ | Update Obsidian | | Wrong vault targeted | Multi-vault ambiguity | Pass vault name as the first argument: `obsidian "My Vault" ...` | | IPC socket not found (Linux) | `PrivateTmp=true` in systemd unit | Set `PrivateTmp=false` | | Snap confinement errors | Snap restricts IPC | Use the `.deb` package instead | --- ## License This skill is provided as-is for use with the Obsidian CLI. Obsidian v1.12+ is free for all users.