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>
225 lines
9.0 KiB
Markdown
225 lines
9.0 KiB
Markdown
---
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name: obsidian-cli
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description: >
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Interact with Obsidian vaults using the official Obsidian CLI (v1.12+).
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Read, create, append, search, and manage notes, daily notes, properties, tags,
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tasks, bookmarks, templates, themes, sync, plugins, and links — all from the terminal.
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Use this skill whenever the user mentions Obsidian CLI, wants to automate Obsidian
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vault operations, manage notes programmatically, script daily note workflows,
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query vault metadata, or integrate Obsidian with AI agents or automation pipelines.
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Also trigger when the user asks about controlling Obsidian from the command line,
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building scripts around their knowledge base, or running headless Obsidian setups.
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Even if the user just says "add something to my daily note" or "search my vault"
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in a CLI/scripting context, this skill applies.
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---
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# Obsidian CLI
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The official Obsidian CLI (released in v1.12, February 2026) lets you control every aspect of Obsidian from the terminal. It communicates with a running Obsidian desktop instance via IPC.
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> For the full command reference with all subcommands, flags and examples, read
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> `references/command-reference.md` in this skill folder.
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## Prerequisites
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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** for CLI to work (IPC) |
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### Platform Notes
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- **macOS / Linux**: The `obsidian` binary is registered in 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 with normal user privileges** — admin terminals produce silent failures.
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- **Headless Linux**: Use the `.deb` package (not snap). Run under `xvfb`. Prefix commands with `DISPLAY=:5` (or your xvfb display number). Ensure `PrivateTmp=false` if running as a service.
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## Syntax
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All parameters use **`key=value`** syntax. Quote values containing spaces.
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```bash
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obsidian <command> [subcommand] [key=value ...] [flags]
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```
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### Multi-Vault
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Target a specific vault by making it the **first argument**:
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```bash
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obsidian "My Vault" daily:read
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obsidian "Work Notes" search query="meeting"
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```
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If omitted, the CLI targets the most recently active vault.
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## Command Overview
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The CLI provides **100+ commands** across these groups:
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| Group | Key Commands | Purpose |
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|---|---|---|
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| **files** | `read`, `create`, `append`, `prepend`, `move`, `delete`, `files`, `folders`, `file` | Note CRUD and file discovery |
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| **daily** | `daily`, `daily:read`, `daily:append`, `daily:prepend` | Daily note operations |
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| **search** | `search` | Full-text vault search with scoping and JSON output |
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| **properties** | `properties`, `property:read`, `property:set`, `property:remove`, `aliases` | Frontmatter/metadata management |
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| **tags** | `tags`, `tag` | Tag listing, counts, and filtering |
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| **tasks** | `tasks`, `task` | Task querying, filtering, and toggling |
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| **links** | `backlinks`, `links`, `unresolved`, `orphans`, `deadends` | Graph and link analysis |
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| **bookmarks** | `bookmarks` | Bookmark management |
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| **templates** | `templates`, `template:read`, `template:insert` | Template listing, rendering, insertion |
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| **plugins** | `plugins`, `plugin:enable`, `plugin:disable`, `plugin:install`, `plugin:uninstall`, `plugin:reload` | Plugin management |
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| **sync** | `sync`, `sync:status`, `sync:history`, `sync:read`, `sync:restore`, `sync:deleted` | Obsidian Sync operations |
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| **themes** | `themes`, `themes versions` | Theme management |
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| **dev** | `dev:screenshot`, `eval`, `dev:debug`, `dev:console`, `dev:errors` | Developer/debugging tools |
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| **vault** | `vault`, `vaults`, `version` | Vault info and metadata |
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| **other** | `outline`, `wordcount`, `recents`, `reload` | Utility commands |
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## Quick Reference — Most Common Commands
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### Reading & Writing Notes
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```bash
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obsidian read path="folder/note.md"
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obsidian create path="folder/note" content="# New Note"
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obsidian create path="folder/note" template="meeting-notes"
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obsidian append path="folder/note.md" content="New paragraph"
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obsidian prepend path="folder/note.md" content="Top content"
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obsidian move path="old/note.md" to="new/note.md"
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obsidian delete path="folder/note.md"
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obsidian delete path="folder/note.md" permanent
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```
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### Daily Notes
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```bash
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obsidian daily # Open today's daily note
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obsidian daily:read # Print content of today's note
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obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] New task"
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obsidian daily:prepend content="## Morning Notes"
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```
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### Search
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```bash
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obsidian search query="project alpha"
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obsidian search query="TODO" path="projects" limit=10
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obsidian search query="meeting" format=json # Returns JSON array of file paths
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obsidian search query="urgent" case
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```
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### Properties & Tags
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```bash
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obsidian properties path="note.md"
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obsidian property:set path="note.md" name="status" value="active"
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obsidian property:read path="note.md" name="status"
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obsidian property:remove path="note.md" name="draft"
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obsidian tags counts sort=count
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obsidian tag name="project/alpha"
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```
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### Tasks
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```bash
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obsidian tasks # All tasks (done + todo) — same as tasks all in v1.12
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obsidian tasks all # All tasks (done + todo)
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obsidian tasks done # Completed only
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obsidian tasks daily # Tasks in today's daily note
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obsidian task path="note.md" line=12 toggle
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obsidian tasks | grep "\[ \]" # Workaround: filter to incomplete only
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```
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### Developer & Automation
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```bash
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obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"
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obsidian dev:screenshot path="folder/screenshot.png" # Path must be vault-relative
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obsidian dev:debug on # Required before dev:console
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obsidian dev:console limit=20
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obsidian dev:errors
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```
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## TUI Mode
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Running `obsidian` with no arguments launches an interactive TUI (Terminal User Interface):
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| Key | Action |
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|---|---|
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| `↑↓` | Navigate files |
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| `Enter` | Open file |
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| `/` | Search |
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| `n` | Create new file |
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| `d` | Delete file |
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| `r` | Rename file |
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| `q` | Quit |
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## Common Agent Patterns
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### Daily Journal Automation
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```bash
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# Append a timestamped entry
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obsidian daily:append content="## $(date '+%H:%M') — Status Update
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- Completed: feature branch merge
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- Next: code review for PR #42
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- Blocked: waiting on API credentials"
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```
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### Create Note from Template with Metadata
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```bash
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obsidian create path="projects/new-feature" template="project-template"
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obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="status" value="planning"
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obsidian property:set path="projects/new-feature.md" name="created" value="$(date -I)"
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obsidian daily:append content="- Started [[projects/new-feature|New Feature]]"
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```
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### Vault Analytics Script
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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 | grep "\[ \]" # Incomplete tasks across vault
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obsidian orphans # Notes needing integration
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obsidian unresolved # Broken links to fix
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```
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### Search and Extract for AI Processing
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```bash
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obsidian search query="meeting notes" format=json | jq '.[]'
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obsidian read path="meetings/standup.md" | grep "Action item"
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```
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### Sync Management
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```bash
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obsidian sync:status # Check sync health
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obsidian sync:history path="important.md" # Version history
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obsidian sync:restore path="important.md" version=3 # Rollback
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```
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## Tips
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1. **Paths are vault-relative** — use `folder/note.md`, not absolute filesystem paths.
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2. **`create` paths omit `.md`** — the extension is added automatically.
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3. **`move` requires full target path** including `.md` extension.
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4. **Pipe-friendly** — plain text output works with `grep`, `awk`, `sed`, `jq`.
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5. **JSON output** — use `format=json` on `search` for a JSON array of file paths. The `files` command does not support JSON output.
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6. **Stderr noise** — GPU/Electron warnings on headless are harmless; filter with `2>/dev/null`.
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7. **`daily:prepend`** inserts content after frontmatter, not at byte 0.
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8. **Use `eval`** to run arbitrary JavaScript against the Obsidian API (`app.*`).
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9. **`template:insert`** inserts into the currently active file 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 file from a template via CLI, use `obsidian create path="..." template="..."` instead.
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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 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 | Fixed in v1.12.2+ | Update Obsidian |
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| Wrong vault targeted | Multi-vault ambiguity | Pass vault name as first arg |
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| IPC socket not found (Linux) | `PrivateTmp=true` in systemd | Set `PrivateTmp=false` |
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| Snap confinement issues | Snap restricts IPC | Use `.deb` package instead |
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