pablo-mano
e30c0eb9cc
Clarifies exact error returned when no file is active in Obsidian UI: "Error: No active editor. Open a file first." Co-Authored-By: Claude Sonnet 4.6 <noreply@anthropic.com>
421 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
421 lines
12 KiB
Markdown
# Obsidian CLI — Full Command Reference
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Complete reference for all official Obsidian CLI commands (v1.12+).
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**Syntax**: `obsidian [vault] <command> [subcommand] [key=value ...] [flags]`
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All parameters use `key=value` syntax. Quote values containing spaces: `content="hello world"`.
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---
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## Table of Contents
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1. [Files](#files)
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2. [Daily Notes](#daily-notes)
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3. [Search](#search)
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4. [Properties](#properties)
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5. [Tags](#tags)
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6. [Tasks](#tasks)
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7. [Links](#links)
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8. [Bookmarks](#bookmarks)
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9. [Templates](#templates)
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10. [Plugins](#plugins)
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11. [Sync](#sync)
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12. [Themes](#themes)
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13. [Developer](#developer)
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14. [Vault & System](#vault--system)
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---
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## Files
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File operations: read, write, create, move, delete, list.
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### Reading Notes
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```bash
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obsidian read path="folder/note.md"
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```
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Prints raw markdown content of a note to stdout. Path is vault-relative.
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### Creating Notes
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```bash
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obsidian create path="folder/note" content="# Title\n\nBody text"
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obsidian create path="folder/note" template="template-name"
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```
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- Path should **not** include `.md` — it is appended automatically.
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- Use `template=` to create from a template file.
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- Use `content=` to set initial content directly.
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### Appending & Prepending
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```bash
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obsidian append path="folder/note.md" content="Appended text"
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obsidian prepend path="folder/note.md" content="Prepended text"
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```
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- `append` adds content at the end of the file.
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- `prepend` adds content after the frontmatter (not at byte 0).
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### Moving & Renaming
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```bash
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obsidian move path="old/path/note.md" to="new/path/note.md"
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```
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- `to=` is the full vault-relative target path including the `.md` extension.
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- Can be used to move, rename, or both in a single command.
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### Deleting
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```bash
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obsidian delete path="folder/note.md" # Moves to trash
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obsidian delete path="folder/note.md" permanent # Permanent deletion
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```
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### File Discovery
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```bash
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obsidian files # List all files in vault
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obsidian files ext=md # Filter by extension
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obsidian files folder="subfolder" # Files in specific folder
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obsidian files total # Just the file count
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obsidian folders # List all folders
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obsidian file path="folder/note.md" # File info (size, created, modified dates)
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```
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---
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## Daily Notes
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Operations on the daily note (requires Daily Notes core plugin enabled).
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```bash
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obsidian daily # Open today's daily note in Obsidian
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obsidian daily:read # Print today's daily note content to stdout
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obsidian daily:append content="text" # Append content to today's note
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obsidian daily:prepend content="text" # Prepend content (after frontmatter)
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```
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**Notes:**
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- `daily:prepend` inserts content after the frontmatter block, not at the very beginning.
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- If today's note doesn't exist, `daily` will create it (using the configured template if set).
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- Daily note format/folder are configured in Obsidian's Daily Notes plugin settings.
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---
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## Search
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Full-text search across the vault.
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```bash
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obsidian search query="search text"
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obsidian search query="text" path="folder" # Scope to folder
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obsidian search query="text" limit=10 # Limit results
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obsidian search query="text" format=json # JSON output (array of file paths)
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obsidian search query="text" matches # Accepted but returns file paths only
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obsidian search query="text" case # Case-sensitive search
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```
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**Parameters:**
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- `query=` — Search term (required)
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- `path=` — Restrict search to a folder
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- `limit=` — Maximum number of results
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- `format=json` — Returns a JSON array of matching file paths: `["folder/note.md", ...]`
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- `matches` — Flag accepted by the CLI but does not return match context/snippets in v1.12
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- `case` — Enable case-sensitive matching
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---
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## Properties
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Manage frontmatter (YAML metadata) on notes.
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### Read All Properties
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```bash
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obsidian properties path="note.md"
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```
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### Read Single Property
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```bash
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obsidian property:read path="note.md" name="status"
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```
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### Set Property
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```bash
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obsidian property:set path="note.md" name="status" value="active"
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obsidian property:set path="note.md" name="tags" value="[project, alpha]"
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obsidian property:set path="note.md" name="date" value="2026-02-27"
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```
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### Remove Property
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```bash
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obsidian property:remove path="note.md" name="draft"
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```
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### Aliases
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```bash
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obsidian aliases path="note.md"
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```
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Lists all aliases defined in the note's frontmatter.
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---
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## Tags
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Tag discovery and filtering.
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```bash
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obsidian tags # List all tags in the vault
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obsidian tags counts # Tags with usage counts
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obsidian tags counts sort=count # Sorted by frequency (most used first)
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obsidian tags path="note.md" # Tags in a specific file
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obsidian tag name="project/alpha" # List notes with a specific tag
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```
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**Notes:**
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- Nested tags are supported (e.g., `project/alpha`).
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- Tags from both frontmatter and inline `#tag` syntax are included.
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---
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## Tasks
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Query and manage checkbox tasks across the vault.
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### Querying Tasks
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```bash
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obsidian tasks # All tasks (same as tasks all in v1.12)
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obsidian tasks all # All tasks (complete + incomplete)
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obsidian tasks done # Only completed tasks
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obsidian tasks path="note.md" # Tasks in a specific file
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obsidian tasks daily # Tasks in today's daily note
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```
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> **Note:** In v1.12, `tasks` with no arguments returns all tasks (complete + incomplete), identical to `tasks all`. Filtering to incomplete-only is not currently supported without post-processing (e.g. pipe to `grep "\[ \]"`).
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### Toggling Task Status
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```bash
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obsidian task path="note.md" line=12 toggle
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```
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Toggles the checkbox on the specified line number between `- [ ]` and `- [x]`.
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---
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## Links
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Graph analysis and link management.
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```bash
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obsidian backlinks path="note.md" # Notes linking TO this note
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obsidian backlinks path="note.md" counts # With link counts per file
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obsidian links path="note.md" # Outgoing links FROM this note
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obsidian unresolved # All unresolved [[wikilinks]]
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obsidian orphans # Notes with no incoming or outgoing links
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obsidian deadends # Notes with no outgoing links
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```
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---
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## Bookmarks
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Manage Obsidian bookmarks (requires Bookmarks core plugin).
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```bash
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obsidian bookmarks # List all bookmarks
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```
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Bookmarks commands let you view and manage bookmarked notes, searches, and groups. Use `obsidian bookmarks --help` for all available subcommands.
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---
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## Templates
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Work with note templates (requires Templates or Templater plugin).
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```bash
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obsidian templates # List available templates
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obsidian template:read name="weekly-review" # Read template content
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obsidian template:read name="weekly-review" resolve title="My Note" # Render with variables
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obsidian template:insert name="weekly-review" # Insert template into the active Obsidian UI file
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```
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**Parameters:**
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- `name=` — Template name (without path prefix or extension)
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- `resolve` — Process template variables (`{{date}}`, `{{title}}`, etc.)
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- Title and other variables can be passed as `key=value` for template rendering.
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> **Note:** `template:insert` inserts into whichever file is currently active in the Obsidian UI — it does not accept a `path=` parameter. If no file is open, it returns `Error: No active editor. Open a file first.` To create a new file from a template, use `obsidian create path="..." template="..."` instead.
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---
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## Plugins
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Manage community and core plugins.
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```bash
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obsidian plugins # List all plugins (core + community)
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obsidian plugins:enabled # Only enabled plugins
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obsidian plugins versions # Plugins with version numbers (community only)
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obsidian plugin:enable id="canvas" # Enable a plugin
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obsidian plugin:disable id="canvas" # Disable a plugin
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obsidian plugin:install id="dataview" # Install from community plugins
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obsidian plugin:uninstall id="dataview" # Uninstall a community plugin
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obsidian plugin:reload id="my-plugin" # Reload a plugin (useful for dev)
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```
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> **Note:** `plugins versions` only shows version numbers for community plugins. Core (built-in) plugins share Obsidian's version and display blank version fields.
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---
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## Sync
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Manage Obsidian Sync (requires active Sync subscription).
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```bash
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obsidian sync # Show sync status summary
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obsidian sync on # Resume syncing
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obsidian sync off # Pause syncing
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obsidian sync:status # Detailed sync status
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obsidian sync:history path="note.md" # Version history for a file
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obsidian sync:read path="note.md" version=3 # Read a specific version
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obsidian sync:restore path="note.md" version=3 # Restore a previous version
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obsidian sync:deleted # List files deleted via sync
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```
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---
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## Themes
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Manage appearance themes.
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```bash
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obsidian themes # List installed themes
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obsidian themes versions # List installed themes with version numbers
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```
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---
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## Developer
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Debugging and development tools.
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### Screenshots
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```bash
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obsidian dev:screenshot path="folder/screenshot.png"
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```
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Takes a screenshot of the Obsidian window and saves it. **Path must be vault-relative** — absolute filesystem paths are silently ignored.
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### JavaScript Evaluation
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```bash
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obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"
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obsidian eval code="app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().map(f => f.path).join('\n')"
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```
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Executes arbitrary JavaScript in the Obsidian app context. Has access to the full Obsidian API (`app`, `app.vault`, `app.workspace`, `app.metadataCache`, etc.).
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### Console & Errors
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```bash
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obsidian dev:debug on # Start capturing console output (required before dev:console)
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obsidian dev:debug off # Stop capturing console output
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obsidian dev:console limit=20 # Recent console output (requires dev:debug on first)
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obsidian dev:errors # Recent error messages
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```
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> **Note:** `dev:console` will return an error unless `dev:debug on` has been run first in the current session.
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---
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## Vault & System
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### Vault Information
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```bash
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obsidian vault # Current vault: name, path, file/folder counts
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obsidian vaults # List all known vaults
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```
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### Other Utilities
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```bash
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obsidian version # Obsidian version info
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obsidian outline path="note.md" # Heading structure of a note
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obsidian wordcount path="note.md" # Word and character count
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obsidian recents # Recently opened files
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obsidian reload # Reload the vault (re-index)
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```
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---
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## Output Formatting & Piping
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The CLI outputs plain text by default, ideal for piping into Unix tools:
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```bash
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# Count notes in a folder
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obsidian files folder="projects" | wc -l
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# Find notes with a specific tag, then read them
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obsidian tag name="urgent" | while read -r note; do
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echo "=== $note ==="
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obsidian read path="$note"
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done
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# Export search results as JSON and process with jq
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# format=json returns an array of file path strings: ["folder/note.md", ...]
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obsidian search query="meeting" format=json | jq '.[]'
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# Filter console errors (requires dev:debug on first)
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obsidian dev:debug on
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obsidian dev:console limit=50 | grep -i error
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```
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---
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## Multi-Vault Usage
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When working with multiple vaults, pass the vault name as the **first argument** (before the command):
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```bash
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obsidian "Personal" daily:read
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obsidian "Work" search query="standup"
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obsidian "Archive" files total
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```
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If the vault name contains spaces, quote it. The vault name must match what's shown in `obsidian vaults`.
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---
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## Headless / Server Setup (Linux)
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For running Obsidian CLI on a headless Linux server (useful for AI agent integration):
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1. Install the `.deb` package (not snap — snap confinement breaks IPC)
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2. Install and start `xvfb`: `Xvfb :5 -screen 0 1920x1080x24 &`
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3. Start Obsidian under xvfb: `DISPLAY=:5 obsidian &`
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4. Run CLI commands: `DISPLAY=:5 obsidian daily:read`
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**Systemd note**: If running as a service, ensure `PrivateTmp=false` so the IPC socket is accessible.
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**Stderr filtering**: Headless environments produce harmless GPU warnings. Filter with:
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```bash
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DISPLAY=:5 obsidian search query="test" 2>/dev/null
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```
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