AdiPP Obsidian CLI Skill
The obsidian CLI controls the Obsidian desktop app from the terminal. It communicates with the running app — Obsidian must be open.
Prerequisites
- Obsidian desktop app running
obsidianCLI installed and on PATH
How file arguments work
| Form | Behavior |
|---|---|
file=<name> |
Wikilink-style name matching (fuzzy, resolves by note name) |
path=<path> |
Exact filesystem path (folder/note.md) |
| Omitted | Defaults to the active file in Obsidian |
Quote values with spaces: name="My Note". Use \n for newline, \t for tab in content values.
Vault targeting
Pass vault=<name> to target a specific vault. Omit when only one vault exists.
Command tree
obsidian
├── File ops: create | read | append | prepend | delete | move | rename | open | file | files | folders | folder
├── Daily notes: daily | daily:read | daily:append | daily:prepend | daily:path
├── Search: search | search:context | search:open
├── Tags: tags | tag
├── Properties: properties | property:read | property:set | property:remove
├── Tasks: tasks | task
├── Templates: templates | template:read | template:insert
├── Links: backlinks | links | orphans | deadends | unresolved
├── History: history | history:list | history:read | history:restore | history:open
├── Sync: sync | sync:status | sync:history | sync:read | sync:restore | sync:deleted | sync:open
├── Plugins: plugins | plugins:enabled | plugins:restrict | plugin | plugin:install | plugin:enable | plugin:disable | plugin:reload | plugin:uninstall
├── Themes: themes | theme | theme:install | theme:set | theme:uninstall
├── Bookmarks: bookmarks | bookmark
├── Tabs: tabs | tab:open
├── Bases: bases | base:create | base:query | base:views
├── Snippets: snippets | snippets:enabled | snippet:enable | snippet:disable
├── Dev tools: eval | devtools | dev:dom | dev:css | dev:console | dev:errors | dev:screenshot | dev:debug | dev:cdp | dev:mobile
└── Misc: vault | vaults | reload | restart | version | random | random:read | recents | outline | aliases | wordcount | commands | command | hotkeys | hotkey | workspace | diff
File operations
create
obsidian create name="My Note" content="# Hello"
obsidian create path=journal/entry.md template=daily overwrite open
obsidian create name="Project" content="# Notes" newtab
| Param | Purpose |
|---|---|
name=<name> |
File name (wikilink resolution) |
path=<path> |
Exact file path |
content=<text> |
Initial content |
template=<name> |
Template to use |
overwrite |
Overwrite if exists |
open |
Open after creating |
newtab |
Open in new tab |
read / append / prepend
obsidian read file="Meeting Notes" # read by name
obsidian read path=journal/2024-01-01.md # read by path
obsidian append path=log.md content="New entry\nline two" # append content
obsidian prepend path=log.md content="# Header" # prepend content
obsidian append path=log.md content="inline text" inline # no trailing newline
append and prepend require content=<text>.
delete / move / rename / open
obsidian delete file="Draft" # trash (safe)
obsidian delete path=temp.md permanent # skip trash
obsidian move file=Chapter1 to="Archive/Chapter1" # move to folder
obsidian rename file=WIP name="Final" # rename file
obsidian open path=dashboard.md # open in current tab
obsidian open file="Daily" newtab # open in new tab
file / files / folders / folder — list and inspect
obsidian file path=note.md # file info (metadata)
obsidian files # all files
obsidian files folder=Projects ext=.md total # filtered + count
obsidian folders # all folders
obsidian folders folder=Projects total # subfolder count
obsidian folder path=References # folder info
obsidian folder path=References info=size # size only
files supports folder=<path>, ext=<extension>, total. folder supports info=files|folders|size.
Daily notes
obsidian daily # open today's daily
obsidian daily paneType=split # open in split pane
obsidian daily:read # read today's daily
obsidian daily:append content="Task: review PR" # append to daily
obsidian daily:prepend content="## Morning" # prepend to daily
obsidian daily:append content="line" inline # append without newline
obsidian daily:path # get daily note path
Use open flag on append/prepend to open the file after adding content. paneType=tab|split|window controls where daily opens.
Search
obsidian search query="meeting notes" # search vault
obsidian search query="API key" path=Projects limit=10 # filtered + limited
obsidian search query="TODO" case # case-sensitive
obsidian search query="schema" total # match count only
obsidian search:context query="function" format=json # with line context
obsidian search:open query="@mentioned" # open search view
| Param | Purpose |
|---|---|
query=<text> |
Search query (required) |
path=<folder> |
Limit to folder |
limit=<n> |
Max results |
case |
Case-sensitive |
total |
Match count only |
| `format=text | json` |
Tags
obsidian tags # all vault tags
obsidian tags counts # with occurrence counts
obsidian tags sort=count format=json # sorted by count
obsidian tags file="Note" # tags on a file
obsidian tags active # tags on active file
obsidian tag name=project # tag info + files
obsidian tag name=project verbose # include file list
Properties
obsidian properties # all vault properties
obsidian properties file="Note" # properties on a file
obsidian properties name=status counts # property occurrence count
obsidian property:read name=status file="Note" # read property value
obsidian property:set name=status value=done type=text # set property
obsidian property:set name=priority value=high type=list # list property type
obsidian property:remove name=status file="Note" # remove property
property:set supports type=text|list|number|checkbox|date|datetime.
Tasks
obsidian tasks # all incomplete tasks
obsidian tasks done # completed tasks
obsidian tasks todo # incomplete tasks (alt)
obsidian tasks status="?" # tasks with specific status
obsidian tasks file="Project" verbose # tasks grouped by file
obsidian tasks active # active file tasks
obsidian tasks daily # daily note tasks
obsidian task ref="note.md:42" toggle # toggle task status
obsidian task path=note.md line=42 done # mark task done
obsidian task path=note.md line=42 status="?" # set custom status
task targets a specific task by ref=<path:line> or file+line. Supported actions: toggle, done, todo, status="<char>".
Templates
obsidian templates # list templates
obsidian template:read name=standard # read template content
obsidian template:read name=project resolve # resolve variables
obsidian template:insert name=standard # insert into active file
template:read with resolve substitutes template variables. Optionally pass title=<title> for variable resolution context.
Links and backlinks
obsidian backlinks path=note.md # incoming links
obsidian backlinks file="Note" counts total # link counts
obsidian backlinks path=note.md format=json # JSON output
obsidian links file="Note" # outgoing links
obsidian links path=note.md total # outgoing link count
obsidian orphans # no incoming links
obsidian deadends # no outgoing links
obsidian unresolved # broken wikilinks
orphans and deadends support all (include non-markdown) and total. unresolved supports counts, verbose, total, format.
History
obsidian history path=note.md # version history
obsidian history:list # files with history
obsidian history:read path=note.md version=3 # read old version
obsidian history:restore path=note.md version=2 # restore version
obsidian history:open path=note.md # open recovery view
Sync
obsidian sync on # resume sync
obsidian sync off # pause sync
obsidian sync:status # sync status
obsidian sync:history path=note.md # sync versions
obsidian sync:read path=note.md version=3 # read sync version
obsidian sync:restore path=note.md version=2 # restore sync version
obsidian sync:deleted # deleted sync files
obsidian sync:open path=note.md # open sync history
Plugins
obsidian plugins # all installed plugins
obsidian plugins filter=community versions # community plugins with versions
obsidian plugins:enabled # enabled plugins
obsidian plugins:restrict on # enable restricted mode
obsidian plugins:restrict # check restricted mode status
obsidian plugin id=obsidian-map-view # plugin info
obsidian plugin:install id=obsidian-git enable # install + enable
obsidian plugin:enable id=obsidian-git # enable plugin
obsidian plugin:disable id=obsidian-git # disable plugin
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin # reload (dev)
obsidian plugin:uninstall id=obsidian-git # uninstall
Plugin lifecycle: list → install → enable → disable → uninstall. Use filter=core|community to narrow lists.
Themes
obsidian themes # installed themes
obsidian theme # current theme info
obsidian theme name=Minimal # theme details
obsidian theme:install name=Minimal enable # install + activate
obsidian theme:set name=Minimal # activate theme
obsidian theme:uninstall name=Minimal # remove theme
Bookmarks
obsidian bookmarks # list bookmarks
obsidian bookmarks verbose format=json # with types (JSON)
obsidian bookmark file=note.md # bookmark a file
obsidian bookmark folder=Projects # bookmark a folder
obsidian bookmark search="meeting" # bookmark a search
obsidian bookmark url=https://example.com title="Example" # bookmark a URL
obsidian bookmark subpath="#section" file=note.md # bookmark heading
Tabs
obsidian tabs # list open tabs
obsidian tabs ids # include tab IDs
obsidian tab:open file=note.md # open in new tab
obsidian tab:open file=dashboard.md group=<id> # open in tab group
obsidian tab:open view=graph-view # open a view type
Bases
obsidian bases # list base files
obsidian base:create file=inventory name="Item 1" # create base item
obsidian base:create file=inventory view="Grid" open newtab # open after create
obsidian base:query file=inventory # query base (JSON)
obsidian base:query file=inventory format=csv # CSV output
obsidian base:views # views in current base
base:query supports format=json|csv|tsv|md|paths.
Snippets
obsidian snippets # list CSS snippets
obsidian snippets:enabled # enabled snippets
obsidian snippet:enable name=my-style # enable snippet
obsidian snippet:disable name=my-style # disable snippet
Dev tools
obsidian eval code='console.log("hello")' # execute JS
obsidian devtools # toggle dev tools
obsidian dev:dom selector=".markdown-source-view" # query DOM
obsidian dev:dom selector="h1" text # text content
obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-file" all attr=data-path # attribute values
obsidian dev:css selector=".markdown-preview-view" prop=color # inspect CSS
obsidian dev:console # console messages
obsidian dev:console level=error limit=10 # filter + limit
obsidian dev:console clear # clear buffer
obsidian dev:errors # captured errors
obsidian dev:errors clear # clear error buffer
obsidian dev:screenshot path=~/Desktop/shot.png # screenshot
obsidian dev:debug on # attach CDP debugger
obsidian dev:debug off # detach
obsidian dev:cdp method=Target.getTargets # CDP command
obsidian dev:cdp method=Page.navigate params='{"url":"..."}' # CDP with params
obsidian dev:mobile on # mobile emulation
obsidian dev:mobile off # disable
Misc commands
obsidian vault # vault info
obsidian vault info=files # file count
obsidian vaults # known vaults
obsidian vaults verbose # with paths
obsidian reload # reload vault
obsidian restart # restart app
obsidian version # Obsidian version
obsidian random # open random note
obsidian random folder=Projects # from folder
obsidian random:read # read random note
obsidian recents # recently opened
obsidian outline # active file headings
obsidian outline path=note.md format=json # headings as JSON
obsidian aliases file=note.md # aliases for file
obsidian aliases active # active file aliases
obsidian wordcount path=note.md # word + char count
obsidian wordcount path=note.md words # words only
obsidian diff path=note.md # local/sync diff
obsidian diff path=note.md from=1 to=3 # version range
obsidian commands # all commands
obsidian commands filter=editor: # filtered
obsidian command id=editor:insert-link # execute command
obsidian hotkeys # all hotkeys
obsidian hotkey id=editor:insert-link verbose # specific hotkey
obsidian workspace # workspace tree
obsidian workspace ids # with item IDs
Tips
- Quoting: always quote values with spaces:
name="My Note",query="search phrase". - Escapes:
\nfor newline,\tfor tab in content values. - Format flags: most list commands accept
format=json|tsv|csv. JSON is best for scripting. - Active file default: most file commands default to the active file when
file/pathis omitted. - Counts: pass
totalto get counts instead of detailed output. - Vault targeting: single-vault users can omit
vault=<name>. Multi-vault users must specify it. - Help:
obsidian help <command>for syntax on any command. - File vs path:
file=<name>does wikilink resolution (fuzzy, by note name).path=<path>is a literal filesystem path.