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name: obsidian description: Use when working with Obsidian vaults, creating/searching/moving notes, or automating note management via obsidian-cli

Obsidian

Obsidian vault = a normal folder on disk.

Vault Structure

• Notes: *.md (plain text Markdown; edit with any editor)
• Config: .obsidian/ (workspace + plugin settings; usually don't touch from scripts)
• Canvases: *.canvas (JSON)
• Attachments: whatever folder configured in Obsidian settings (images/PDFs/etc.)

Find the Active Vault

Obsidian desktop tracks vaults here (source of truth):

• ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json

obsidian-cli resolves vaults from that file; vault name is typically the folder name (path suffix).

Fast vault lookup:

• If default is set: obsidian-cli print-default --path-only
• Otherwise, read ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json and use the vault entry with "open": true

Notes:

• Multiple vaults common (iCloud vs local, work/personal). Don't guess; read config.
• Avoid hardcoded vault paths in scripts; prefer reading config or using print-default.

obsidian-cli Quick Reference

Key Points

• Move command updates links: obsidian-cli move updates [[wikilinks]] and Markdown links across the vault (main advantage over mv)
• Create requires Obsidian URI: Uses obsidian:// handler, so Obsidian must be installed
• Avoid dot-folders: Don't create notes under hidden folders (.something/...) via URI; Obsidian may refuse
• Direct edits work: Open the .md file directly and edit; Obsidian picks up changes
• Use print for reading: obsidian-cli print "note" outputs note contents to stdout
• Safe multi-line content: Avoid passing Markdown in double quotes when it includes backticks or $(); use a single-quoted heredoc or write directly to the vault path instead
• Verify after create: Run obsidian-cli print "note" and confirm the last section is present
• Vault flag: Most commands accept -v <vault-name> to specify a non-default vault