Skill

Review

Audit score 70

obsidian

steipete/clawdis

Work with Obsidian vaults via official CLI: read, search, create, edit notes, tasks, links, and properties.

What is obsidian?

The Obsidian skill provides command-line access to Obsidian vaults through the official obsidian CLI. Use it to programmatically read, search, create, modify, and organize notes, manage tasks, handle properties and links, and control plugins—while the Obsidian app is running.

Read and search notes across vaults with query and format options
Create and edit notes with content, properties, and frontmatter
Manage daily notes and task lists with completion tracking
Move, delete, and organize files with Obsidian-aware updates
Query and set note properties, tags, backlinks, and unresolved links
Reload plugins and access developer tools like eval and screenshots

How to install obsidian

npx skills add https://github.com/steipete/clawdis --skill obsidian

Prerequisites

Obsidian 1.12.7 or later installed
Command line interface enabled in Obsidian Settings → General
obsidian binary registered on PATH (automatic on macOS; manual on Linux)
Obsidian desktop app running (CLI connects to the running instance)

Claude Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Cline

How to use obsidian

1.Verify setup by running obsidian version and obsidian help
2.Identify your vault name from ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json (macOS) or equivalent
3.Use obsidian open file=<name> or obsidian read to view notes
4.Use obsidian search query=<term> format=json to find content
5.Use obsidian create path=<path> content=<text> to add new notes
6.Use obsidian append or prepend to modify existing notes
7.Use obsidian move, delete, property:set, and task commands for vault maintenance

Use cases

Good for

Bulk create or append to notes from external workflows or scripts
Search vault content by query or metadata (e.g., status::active) and export results
Automate daily note creation and task management from CI/CD or scheduled jobs
Programmatically organize files by moving or archiving based on properties
Debug vault structure and plugin state without opening the desktop app

Who it's for

Knowledge workers automating Obsidian workflows
Developers integrating Obsidian with external tools or scripts
Power users managing large vaults or multiple vaults programmatically
Teams building custom automation around Obsidian as a backend

obsidian FAQ

Do I need the Obsidian app running?

Yes. The CLI connects to the running Obsidian desktop app. The app must be open for commands to work.

Can I edit vault files directly instead of using the CLI?

Yes. Direct Markdown edits are fine and often faster for bulk text changes. Use the CLI for Obsidian-aware operations like move, delete, and property updates.

How do I work with multiple vaults?

Pass vault="<name>" as a parameter when the vault is ambiguous. Vault names are registered in Obsidian's configuration.

What is the difference between file= and path= parameters?

file=<name> uses Obsidian's file resolution (fuzzy matching); path=<vault-relative.md> is exact and requires the full relative path including .md extension.

Can I use third-party obsidian-cli packages instead?

No. Use only the official obsidian CLI unless the user explicitly requests otherwise.

Full instructions (SKILL.md)

Source of truth, from steipete/clawdis.

name: obsidian description: "Work with Obsidian vaults using the official obsidian CLI: read/search/create/edit notes, tasks, links, properties, plugins." homepage: https://obsidian.md/cli metadata: { "openclaw": { "emoji": "💎", "requires": { "bins": ["obsidian"] } } }

Obsidian

Use the official obsidian CLI for Obsidian vault work. Vault files are plain Markdown, so direct file edits are still fine when safer/faster.

Requirements

Obsidian 1.12.7+ installed.
Settings -> General -> Command line interface enabled.
obsidian registered on PATH.
Obsidian app running; the CLI connects to the running app.

Check:

obsidian version
obsidian help

macOS registration creates /usr/local/bin/obsidian pointing at the app-bundled CLI. Linux registration copies the binary to ~/.local/bin/obsidian.

Vault model

Notes: *.md.
Config: .obsidian/; avoid editing unless asked.
Canvases: *.canvas JSON.
Attachments: vault-configured folder.
Multiple vaults are common; pass vault="<name>" when ambiguous.

Obsidian desktop tracks vaults here:

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

Command pattern

obsidian <command> [name=value] [flag]
obsidian vault="Notes" search query="meeting notes" format=json

Parameter values with spaces need quotes. Add --copy to copy output where useful.

Common commands

Open/read:

obsidian open file=Recipe
obsidian open path="Inbox/Idea.md" newtab
obsidian read
obsidian read file=Recipe

Search:

obsidian search query="TODO" matches
obsidian search query="status::active" format=json
obsidian search:open query="project notes"

Create/modify:

obsidian create name="New Note"
obsidian create path="Inbox/Idea.md" content="# Idea"
obsidian append file=Note content="New line"
obsidian prepend file=Note content="After frontmatter"

Move/delete:

obsidian move file=Note to=Archive/
obsidian move path="Inbox/Old.md" to="Projects/New.md"
obsidian delete file=Note

Daily/tasks:

obsidian daily
obsidian daily:read
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Review inbox"
obsidian tasks all todo
obsidian task file=Note line=8 done

Properties/links:

obsidian tags all counts
obsidian property:read file=Note name=status
obsidian property:set file=Note name=status value=done
obsidian backlinks file=Note
obsidian unresolved verbose counts

Developer/debug:

obsidian plugin:reload my-plugin
obsidian dev:errors
obsidian dev:screenshot file=shot.png
obsidian eval "app.vault.getFiles().length"

Notes

file=<name> uses Obsidian-style file resolution; path=<vault-relative.md> is exact.
Prefer CLI move/delete/property commands for Obsidian-aware updates.
Prefer direct Markdown edits for bulk text changes after locating the vault path.
Do not rely on third-party obsidian-cli unless user explicitly asks for it.