obsidian-headless

Obsidian Headless

Use Obsidian Headless (ob) to run Obsidian Sync and Obsidian Publish from the command line. It doesn't need the desktop app, so it works on servers, in CI, and in sandboxes. It's in open beta. Docs: https://help.obsidian.md/headless

ob only syncs and publishes files. To read or change notes without the app, edit the files directly and follow the obsidian-markdown skill. To control a running desktop app, use the obsidian-cli skill.

Before using ob

Check availability with ob --help. If it is missing, explain that Obsidian Headless requires Node.js 22 or later and offer installation with npm install -g obsidian-headless. Run ob <command> --help for a command's options.

Sync and Publish each need an active subscription on the user's account.

Most commands accept --json for machine-readable output.

Log in

ob login prints the account when already logged in. Otherwise it prompts for email, password, and a 2FA code, so ask the user to run it in their own terminal. Don't ask for their password or pass it with --password. ob logout clears the stored credentials.

Vault paths

Commands act on the vault in the current directory, or the one given with --path. Pass --path so the target is explicit. Before a command that changes remote state, confirm the vault, site, and path from list or status output.

Sync

Don't use the desktop app's Sync and Headless Sync for the same vault on the same device, because they cause conflicts. Ask the user to back up the vault folder before the first sync.

ob sync-list-remote                                  # remote vaults, including shared ones
ob sync-list-local                                   # vaults set up on this machine
ob sync-setup --vault "Research" --path ~/vaults/research
ob sync --path ~/vaults/research                     # sync once
ob sync --path ~/vaults/research --continuous        # keep syncing as files change
ob sync-status --path ~/vaults/research
ob sync-unlink --path ~/vaults/research              # disconnect and remove stored credentials

--vault takes a remote vault's name or ID. For an end-to-end encrypted vault, sync-setup prompts for the encryption password, so let the user enter it. Set --device-name to label this machine in version history.

--continuous runs until stopped, so start it in the background or as a service.

ob sync-create-remote --name "Research" creates a remote vault. Add --encryption e2ee for end-to-end encryption or --encryption standard for managed encryption.

Sync settings

ob sync-config --path <vault> prints the vault's settings. Change them with:

• --mode bidirectional|pull-only|mirror-remote. pull-only ignores local changes and mirror-remote reverts them, so confirm before setting either.
• --conflict-strategy merge|conflict
• --excluded-folders "Archive,Templates"
• --file-types image,audio,video,pdf,unsupported for the attachment types to sync.
• --configs for the settings categories to sync, e.g. app,appearance,core-plugin.
• --config-dir when the vault's configuration folder isn't .obsidian.

An empty string clears a list option, e.g. --excluded-folders "".

Publish

ob publish-list-sites
ob publish-setup --site my-notes --path ~/vaults/research
ob publish --path ~/vaults/research --dry-run
ob publish --path ~/vaults/research --yes

ob publish includes only notes with publish: true in their properties. --all includes every file, so use it only when the user asks. Run --dry-run first and show the user the changes. Without --yes, ob publish waits for confirmation, so pass --yes once the user approves or for an unattended job they set up.

ob publish-create-site --slug my-notes creates a site at publish.obsidian.md/my-notes.

Run these with no options to print the current settings:

• ob publish-config sets folders to include or exclude with --includes and --excludes.
• ob publish-site-options sets the site name, home page, navigation, theme, and other display options. Run ob publish-site-options --help for the full list.

ob publish-unlink disconnects the vault from its site.