pablo-mano
232 lines
8.2 KiB
Markdown
232 lines
8.2 KiB
Markdown
# Obsidian CLI — Claude Code Skill
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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+).
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---
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## What This Skill Does
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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.
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Covers **100+ commands** across all major areas:
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| Area | Commands |
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| **Files** | `read`, `create`, `append`, `prepend`, `move`, `delete`, `files`, `folders` |
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| **Daily Notes** | `daily`, `daily:read`, `daily:append`, `daily:prepend` |
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| **Search** | `search` with scoping, limits, JSON output |
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| **Properties** | `properties`, `property:read`, `property:set`, `property:remove` |
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| **Tags** | `tags`, `tag` with counts and filtering |
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| **Tasks** | `tasks`, `task` — query, filter, toggle |
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| **Links** | `backlinks`, `links`, `unresolved`, `orphans`, `deadends` |
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| **Templates** | `templates`, `template:read`, `template:insert` |
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| **Plugins** | `plugins`, `plugin:enable/disable/install/reload` |
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| **Sync** | `sync`, `sync:status`, `sync:history`, `sync:restore` |
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| **Developer** | `eval`, `dev:screenshot`, `dev:console`, `dev:errors` |
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| **Vault** | `vault`, `vaults`, `version`, `recents`, `outline`, `wordcount` |
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---
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## Prerequisites
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> Obsidian v1.12 is available to **all users** — no Early Access build or Catalyst license required.
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| Requirement | Details |
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|---|---|
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| **Obsidian Desktop** | v1.12.0+ |
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| **CLI enabled** | Settings → Command line interface → Toggle ON |
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| **Obsidian running** | The desktop app must be running — the CLI communicates over IPC |
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### Platform notes
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- **macOS / Linux** — the `obsidian` binary is added to PATH automatically when you enable CLI in settings.
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- **Windows** — requires an `Obsidian.com` redirector file placed alongside `Obsidian.exe`. Must run from a **normal-privilege terminal** — admin terminals produce silent failures.
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- **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.
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---
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## Installation
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### Claude Code — Plugin (native)
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**Option A — Marketplace install (recommended):**
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```
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/plugin marketplace add https://github.com/pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill
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/plugin install obsidian-cli
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```
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Done — the skill auto-triggers when you ask Claude to interact with Obsidian.
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**Option B — Direct plugin load:**
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1. Clone this repository:
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```bash
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git clone https://github.com/pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill
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```
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2. Load the plugin with the `--plugin-dir` flag:
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```bash
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claude --plugin-dir ./Obsidian-CLI-skill
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```
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**Option C — Persistent via `settings.json`:**
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Add to your project's `.claude/settings.json`:
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```json
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{
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"plugins": {
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"obsidian-cli": {
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"source": { "source": "github", "repo": "pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill" }
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}
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}
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}
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```
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> The `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` manifest makes this repository compatible with Claude Code's marketplace system.
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---
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### Cursor
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Cursor has a native skills system (launched Feb 2026) that is directly compatible with the `SKILL.md` format — no rules file needed.
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In a terminal:
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```bash
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git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/pablo-mano/Obsidian-CLI-skill /tmp/Obsidian-CLI-skill
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mkdir -p ~/.cursor/skills
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cp -r /tmp/Obsidian-CLI-skill/skills/obsidian-cli ~/.cursor/skills/obsidian-cli
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rm -rf /tmp/Obsidian-CLI-skill
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```
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Cursor picks it up automatically — no restart needed.
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---
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### GitHub Copilot (VS Code)
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Copilot supports [custom instructions](https://docs.github.com/en/copilot/customizing-copilot/adding-custom-instructions-for-github-copilot) via repository files:
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**Option A — Repository-wide (recommended):**
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1. Create `.github/copilot-instructions.md` in your repo.
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2. Paste the body of `SKILL.md` into the file.
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**Option B — Path-scoped:**
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1. Create `.github/instructions/obsidian-cli.instructions.md`
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2. Add frontmatter `applyTo: "**/*"` then paste the `SKILL.md` body.
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---
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### Windsurf
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Windsurf uses a Rules system (`.windsurf/rules/`). Rules have a 12,000 character limit per file, so split the skill across two files:
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1. Create `.windsurf/rules/obsidian-cli.md` — paste the body of `SKILL.md` (everything after the `---` frontmatter).
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2. Create `.windsurf/rules/obsidian-cli-reference.md` — paste the contents of `skills/obsidian-cli/references/command-reference.md`.
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Set the activation mode to **Always On** or **Model Decision** in each file's frontmatter to control when the rules apply.
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---
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### Nanoclaw
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Nanoclaw loads skills from `.claude/skills/` using the same `SKILL.md` format — directly compatible.
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1. Clone or download this repo
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2. Copy the skill folder into your Nanoclaw project:
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```bash
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cp -r Obsidian-CLI-skill /path/to/nanoclaw/.claude/skills/obsidian-cli
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```
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3. The skill is available as a slash command (`/obsidian-cli`) or auto-triggers when you ask the agent to interact with Obsidian.
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> This is a knowledge skill — it adds Obsidian CLI awareness to the agent without modifying Nanoclaw's codebase.
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---
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### Openclaw
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Openclaw loads skills from the `skills/` directory at the project root using the `SKILL.md` format — directly compatible.
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1. Clone or download this repo
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2. Copy the skill folder into Openclaw's skills directory:
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```bash
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cp -r Obsidian-CLI-skill /path/to/openclaw/skills/obsidian-cli
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```
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3. Restart the Openclaw agent — skills are discovered automatically.
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---
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### Any Other LLM Agent or Assistant
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`SKILL.md` is a plain Markdown document. For any agent that supports custom system prompts or instructions:
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1. Open the agent's system prompt / custom instructions settings.
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2. Paste the contents of `SKILL.md` (with or without the YAML frontmatter — most agents accept either).
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3. Optionally include `skills/obsidian-cli/references/command-reference.md` for the complete command reference.
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This works with any chat interface or coding agent that has a system prompt or custom instructions field.
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---
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## Quick Examples
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### Append to today's daily note
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```bash
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obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Review pull requests"
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```
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### Search your vault and pipe to jq
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```bash
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obsidian search query="meeting notes" format=json | jq '.[].path'
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```
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### Vault health check
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```bash
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obsidian files total # Total file count
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obsidian tags counts sort=count # Most-used tags
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obsidian tasks # All open tasks
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obsidian orphans # Notes with no links
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obsidian unresolved # Broken wikilinks
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```
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### Create a note from a template with metadata
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```bash
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obsidian create path="projects/new-feature" template="project-template"
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obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="status" value="planning"
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obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="created" value="$(date -I)"
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obsidian daily:append content="- Started [[projects/new-feature|New Feature]]"
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```
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---
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## Full Command Reference
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See [`skills/obsidian-cli/references/command-reference.md`](skills/obsidian-cli/references/command-reference.md) for the complete reference covering all commands, parameters, flags, output formatting, multi-vault usage, and headless Linux setup.
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---
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## Troubleshooting
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| Problem | Cause | Fix |
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| Empty output / hangs | Obsidian not running, or admin terminal (Windows) | Start Obsidian; use a normal-privilege terminal |
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| `command not found` | CLI not registered in PATH | Re-enable CLI in Settings; restart terminal |
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| Unicode errors | Bug fixed in v1.12.2+ | Update Obsidian |
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| Wrong vault targeted | Multi-vault ambiguity | Pass vault name as the first argument: `obsidian "My Vault" ...` |
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| IPC socket not found (Linux) | `PrivateTmp=true` in systemd unit | Set `PrivateTmp=false` |
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| Snap confinement errors | Snap restricts IPC | Use the `.deb` package instead |
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---
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## License
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This skill is provided as-is for use with the Obsidian CLI. Obsidian v1.12+ is free for all users.
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