Obsidian CLI Agent Skill
Interact with Obsidian vaults using the Obsidian CLI to read, create, search, and manage notes, tasks, properties, and more. Also supports plugin and theme development with commands to reload plugins, run JavaScript, capture errors, take screenshots, and inspect the DOM. Use when the user asks to interact with their Obsidian vault, manage notes, search vault content, perform vault operations from the command line, or develop and debug Obsidian plugins and themes.
Install
one command, takes just this skill from the repositorynpx skills add https://github.com/kepano/obsidian-skills --skill obsidian-cliThe instruction itself
9 sections, as written by the authorObsidian CLI
Use the obsidian CLI to interact with a running Obsidian instance. Requires Obsidian to be open.
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:
- Reload the plugin to pick up changes:
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
- Check for errors — if errors appear, fix and repeat from step 1:
obsidian dev:errors
- Verify visually with a screenshot or DOM inspection:
obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf" text
- 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.
Other skills for the same job
different authors, same section of the catalogue
Comprehensive project architecture blueprint generator that analyzes codebases to create detailed architectural documentation. Automatically detects technology stacks and architectural patterns, generates visual diagrams, documents implementation patterns, and provides extensible blueprints for maintaining architectural consistency and guiding new development.
Securely inspect and automate microscopy data workflows against OMERO.server with omero-py, BlitzGateway, OMERO CLI, tables, annotations, ROIs, rendering, and documented OMERO.web APIs. Use for scoped OMERO inventory, metadata export, import/export planning, or reviewed write workflows.
Review the changes since a fixed point (commit, branch, tag, or merge-base) along two axes — Standards (does the code follow this repo's documented coding standards?) and Spec (does the code match what the originating issue/PRD asked for?). Runs both reviews in parallel sub-agents and reports them side by side. Use when the user wants to review a branch, a PR, work-in-progress changes, or asks to "review since X".
Master API documentation with OpenAPI 3.1, AI-powered tools, and modern developer experience practices. Create interactive docs, generate SDKs, and build comprehensive developer portals.
Creates comprehensive API changelogs documenting breaking changes, deprecations, and migration strategies for API consumers. Use when managing API versions, communicating breaking changes, or creating upgrade guides.
Master API documentation with OpenAPI 3.1, AI-powered tools, and modern developer experience practices. Create interactive docs, generate SDKs, and build comprehensive developer portals. Use PROACTIVELY for API documentation or developer portal creation.
Analyze fundamental data primitives, type systems, and state management patterns in a codebase. Use when (1) evaluating typing strategies (Pydantic vs TypedDict vs loose dicts), (2) assessing immutability and mutation patterns, (3) understanding serialization approaches, (4) documenting state shape and lifecycle, or (5) comparing data modeling approaches across frameworks.
Write minimal, evergreen code comments that explain complex logic without documenting obvious behavior or temporary changes. Use this skill when adding comments to PHP files, TypeScript/JavaScript files, or any code files, when documenting complex algorithms or business logic, when adding PHPDoc blocks or JSDoc comments, when writing self-documenting code with clear naming, or when reviewing existing comments for relevance and necessity. Focus on keeping code self-explanatory through clear structure and naming rather than relying heavily on comments.
How to use it
Take kepano/obsidian-cli from the repository into ~/.claude/skills for personal
use, or into .claude/skills inside a project.
The agent identifies a skill by the name field in its header. Two skills with the
same name cannot sit side by side — one of them will be ignored.