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obsidian-cli

obsidian-cli

github.com/breferrariProductivity5.5k85 installsUpdated 2w ago
Repository

About obsidian-cli

obsidian-cli is a skill for using the obsidian command-line interface with a running Obsidian instance. It covers vault and note operations as well as plugin-development checks and app inspection commands.

Key features

  1. 01Read, create, and append notes
  2. 02Search notes and manage daily entries
  3. 03Set note properties and manage tasks
  4. 04Target files and vaults by name or path
  5. 05Reload plugins and inspect app errors, UI, and console

Use cases

  1. 01Create and update notes from a command line
  2. 02Search a specific vault
  3. 03Add items to daily notes
  4. 04Test plugin changes and inspect app behavior

Install

Copy the command and run it in a terminal.

$npx skills add https://github.com/breferrari/obsidian-mind --skill obsidian-cli

After installing, type/obsidian-cliin Claude Code to confirm it loaded.

Details

From the project README

Obsidian CLI

Use the obsidian CLI to interact with a running Obsidian instance. Requires Obsidian to be open.

Important

macOS — open Obsidian once before using the CLI. On macOS the obsidian command launches the Electron app if no Obsidian instance is running, producing a visible window flash on the first call. Once Obsidian is open, subsequent CLI calls forward args to the running instance silently — no further flicker. For interactive workflows (slash commands), ensure Obsidian is open at the start of the session. For non-interactive contexts where you can't guarantee Obsidian is open (background hooks, automation, CI), prefer filesystem reads via Read / Grep / Glob.

Command reference

Run obsidian help to see all available commands. This is always up to date. Full docs: https://help.obsidian.md/cli

Syntax

Parameters take a value with =. Quote values with spaces:

obsidian create name="My Note" content="Hello world"

Flags are boolean switches with no value:

obsidian create name="My Note" silent overwrite

For multiline content use \n for newline and \t for tab.

File targeting

Many commands accept file or path to target a file. Without either, the active file is used.

  • file=<name> — resolves like a wikilink (name only, no path or extension needed)
  • path=<path> — exact path from vault root, e.g. folder/note.md

Vault targeting

Commands target the most recently focused vault by default. Use vault=<name> as the first parameter to target a specific vault:

obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="test"

Common patterns

obsidian read file="My Note"
obsidian create name="New Note" content="# Hello" template="Template" silent
obsidian append file="My Note" content="New line"
obsidian search query="search term" limit=10
obsidian daily:read
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] New task"
obsidian property:set name="status" value="done" file="My Note"
obsidian tasks daily todo
obsidian tags sort=count counts
obsidian backlinks file="My Note"

Use --copy on any command to copy output to clipboard. Use silent to prevent files from opening. Use total on list commands to get a count.

Plugin development

Develop/test cycle

After making code changes to a plugin or theme, follow this workflow:

  1. Reload the plugin to pick up changes: 
    obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
  2. Check for errors — if errors appear, fix and repeat from step 1: 
    obsidian dev:errors
  3. Verify visually with a screenshot or DOM inspection: 
    obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf" text
  4. Check console output for warnings or unexpected logs: 
    obsidian dev:console level=error
Additional developer commands

Run JavaScript in the app context:

obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"

Inspect CSS values:

obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace-leaf" prop=background-color

Toggle mobile emulation:

obsidian dev:mobile on

Run obsidian help to see additional developer commands including CDP and debugger controls.

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