# Obsidian Archive > Distils the current conversation into a concise reference note and saves it to the user's Obsidian vault in a configurable archive folder. Requires the mcp-obsidian MCP server. Use when the user asks to archive, save, log, capture, or file away the current conversation/chat/session — e.g., "archive this conversation", "save this to my vault", "add this to Obsidian", "remember this for later". Do not use for saving arbitrary content the user has pasted in. - Skill: `bgorkem/obsidian-archive` (Agent Skill) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add bgorkem/obsidian-archive` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/bgorkem/obsidian-archive/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: AI & ML - Author: bgorkem (https://skillmd.com/u/bgorkem) - Updated: 2026-09-17 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/bgorkem/obsidian-archive --- # Obsidian Archive Distil the current conversation into a concise reference note and save it to the user's Obsidian vault under the configured archive folder, one file per conversation. The goal is a **future-user-friendly** note: something they can grep or backlink to months later and immediately recall what was figured out. Not a transcript. Not a stenographer's record. A distillation. ## Configuration Before using this skill, set the archive folder below to a path that exists (or should exist) in your vault. It's a vault-relative path — no leading slash, trailing slash optional. The skill will save every note under this folder. ```yaml archive_folder: AI/Conversations/ ``` If the value above is left at a placeholder, looks empty, or obviously doesn't match the user's vault, ask once which folder to use and proceed with that for this call — don't guess, and don't silently fall back to the example value. If the user specifies a different folder inline (e.g. "save it under `Notes/Chats/` instead"), respect that override for the call but don't treat it as a permanent change to the configured default — that's an edit to this file. Throughout the rest of this skill, `` refers to the configured value above. ## When to use Trigger on any of: - "Archive this conversation", "save this chat", "add this to Obsidian", "log this" - "Save what we learned", "capture this", "write this up", "file this away" - "Remember this for later", "turn this into a note" If the user's intent is ambiguous (e.g. "save this" could mean saving a file they uploaded), ask one quick clarifying question before proceeding. ## Requirements - The [`mcp-obsidian`](https://github.com/MarkusPfundstein/mcp-obsidian) MCP server, connected to the user's Obsidian vault. - The **Local REST API** Obsidian community plugin, installed and enabled in that vault. - Obsidian running while the skill is used (the REST API needs the app to be open). ## Dependencies This skill orchestrates tools from the `mcp-obsidian` MCP server. If these aren't loaded into context, call `tool_search(query="obsidian")` first to load them. Tool names below use the fully qualified `ServerName:tool_name` form per Anthropic's [best practices](https://platform.claude.com/docs/en/agents-and-tools/agent-skills/best-practices#mcp-tool-references). This skill assumes the server is registered in the MCP client as `mcp-obsidian`. If it's registered under a different name in your config, substitute that name for the `mcp-obsidian:` prefix everywhere below. | Tool | Purpose | | --- | --- | | `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_list_files_in_dir` | Check for filename collisions inside `` | | `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content` | Create the note (creates the file and parent folders if they don't exist) | | `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_get_file_contents` | Read existing archive when the user wants to update it | If the MCP server isn't connected, stop and tell the user — don't fall back to a different vault location or save strategy. ## Workflow ### Step 1: Decide the filename Format: `YYYY-MM-DD - .md` - Use the **current date** (today, not the conversation's start date unless that's obviously different). - The slug is a 3–6 word kebab-case summary of the conversation's main subject. Examples: - `2026-04-19 - obsidian-cli-move-files.md` - `2026-04-19 - nestjs-bullmq-rate-limiter.md` - Avoid generic slugs like `chat`, `conversation`, `discussion`. Before writing, call `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_list_files_in_dir(dirpath="")` (substitute the configured value) to check for collisions. If the exact filename exists, append `-2`, `-3`, etc. If the folder doesn't exist yet, `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content` will create it — no need to create it separately. ### Step 2: Build the note content Use this exact structure. Sections may be omitted **only** if genuinely empty (don't pad with filler). ````markdown --- date: YYYY-MM-DD tags: [conversation, <2-4 topical tags>] --- # > One-to-two sentence TL;DR of what this conversation was about and what came out of it. ## Key decisions & conclusions - - ## Code & commands that worked ``` ``` Add brief context above each block if needed (one line). ## Follow-ups & open questions - [ ] - [ ] ## Related - [[]] - ```` **Content rules — important:** - **Distil, don't transcribe.** A 40-turn conversation might compress to 15 lines. That's fine. That's the point. - **Include what failed only if the failure is instructive.** "We tried X, it didn't work because Y, so we switched to Z" is worth capturing. Dead ends that taught nothing are not. - **Preserve working commands verbatim.** Don't paraphrase shell commands, API calls, or code. These are the highest-value content. - **Tag thoughtfully.** 2–4 topical tags in the frontmatter (e.g. `obsidian`, `cli`, `nestjs`, `forex`). Always include `conversation` as one tag. Don't use spaces in tags. - **Backlink opportunistically.** If the conversation touched a topic likely to have a note in the vault, include a `[[wikilink]]` in Related. Don't invent links to notes that don't exist. - **No "Claude said" / "User asked" framing.** Write in third person / impersonal style, like an engineering lab notebook entry. ### Step 3: Save via MCP Call `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content` with: - `filepath`: `/YYYY-MM-DD - .md` - `content`: the full markdown from step 2 Since this tool appends (or creates if new), step 1's collision check ensures the file doesn't already exist. ### Step 4: Confirm to the user Reply with: the path that was saved, and a one-line summary of what's in it. Don't paste the full note back — they can open it in Obsidian. Example: "Saved to `/2026-04-19 - obsidian-cli-move-files.md` — covers the `obsidian eval` + `fileManager.renameFile` pattern for moving files with backlink updates." (In practice, `` is replaced by the configured value.) ## Examples > In these examples, `` stands in for whatever the user has configured. The example calls below use `AI/Conversations` as the illustrative value — substitute the user's actual configured path. ### Example 1: Technical deep-dive with working code **User says:** "Archive this conversation before I lose it." **Context:** A 25-turn conversation about moving files in Obsidian via CLI, culminating in a working two-step command. Configured `archive_folder` is `AI/Conversations/`. **Actions:** 1. `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_list_files_in_dir(dirpath="AI/Conversations")` → no collision. 2. Build note with slug `obsidian-cli-move-files`, tags `[conversation, obsidian, cli, mcp]`, TL;DR summarising the CLI-vs-MCP tradeoff, a Key Decisions section listing the `fileManager.renameFile` insight, a Code block with the working two-step command, and a Follow-ups entry to wrap it in a zsh function. 3. `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content(filepath="AI/Conversations/2026-04-19 - obsidian-cli-move-files.md", content=)`. **Result:** "Saved to `AI/Conversations/2026-04-19 - obsidian-cli-move-files.md` — covers the CLI move pattern with backlink updates." ### Example 2: Too-short conversation **User says:** "Save this chat to Obsidian." **Context:** Three turns about the weather. **Action:** Don't archive. Reply: "This conversation's pretty short — it covered today's forecast and nothing that'd benefit from a reference note. Want to archive it anyway, or skip?" ### Example 3: Update an existing archive **User says:** "Add today's findings to yesterday's conversation note." **Actions:** 1. `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_list_files_in_dir(dirpath="")` to find the most recent matching file. 2. `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_get_file_contents` to confirm it exists and read context. 3. `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content` with a new `## Update 2026-04-19` section containing today's additions — don't rewrite the existing content. ## Edge cases - **Multiple distinct topics.** If the conversation genuinely covered unrelated subjects, offer to save two separate notes rather than one Frankenstein file. One file per conversation is the default, but topic coherence matters more. - **User asks for a different location/format for this call.** Respect the override for that call, but don't treat it as a permanent change — permanent changes belong in the Configuration section of this file. - **Configured folder doesn't exist yet.** That's fine — `mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content` will create it (and any missing parents) on first write. No pre-creation step needed. ## Troubleshooting **Error: `404 Not Found` from mcp-obsidian:obsidian_append_content** Cause: Obsidian isn't running, or the Local REST API plugin is disabled/misconfigured. Solution: Ask the user to confirm Obsidian is open and the Local REST API plugin is enabled. Don't retry blindly. **Tool call fails with "tool not found"** Cause: The mcp-obsidian tools aren't loaded in this session. Solution: Call `tool_search(query="obsidian")` first, then retry. **Filename collision after appending `-2`, `-3`, `-4`** Cause: The user is archiving many conversations on the same subject on the same day. Solution: Ask whether they want to update an existing file (see Example 3) rather than keep creating new ones. **Configured `archive_folder` is empty, clearly a placeholder, or doesn't fit the vault** Cause: The skill hasn't been configured for this vault yet. Solution: Ask the user which folder to use, save there for this call, and recommend they update the Configuration section so the choice persists across sessions. ## What NOT to do - Don't save the raw conversation transcript. Ever. - Don't include timestamps for individual turns — only the date in frontmatter. - Don't speculate about the user's unstated intent when writing Key Decisions. If they didn't actually decide X, don't claim they did. - Don't use emoji in the note body unless the user does. The vault is an engineering reference, not a scrapbook. - Don't add a note you can't justify the existence of. Quality over quantity.