CLI Anything Obsidian

Command-line interface for Obsidian — Knowledge management and note-taking via Obsidian Local REST API. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to manage notes, search the vault, and execute commands without the GUI.

HKUDS Updated Sep 9, 2026

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cli-anything-obsidian

Knowledge management and note-taking via the Obsidian Local REST API. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to manage notes, search the vault, and execute commands without the GUI.

Installation

This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-obsidian package:

pip install cli-anything-obsidian

Prerequisites:

Python 3.10+
Obsidian must be installed and running with the Local REST API plugin enabled

Usage

Basic Commands

# Show help
cli-anything-obsidian --help

# Start interactive REPL mode
cli-anything-obsidian

# List vault files
cli-anything-obsidian vault list

# Run with JSON output (for agent consumption)
cli-anything-obsidian --json vault list

REPL Mode

When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session:

cli-anything-obsidian
# Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and history

Command Groups

Vault

Vault file management commands.

Command	Description
`list`	List files in the vault or a subdirectory
`read`	Read the content of a note
`create`	Create a new note
`update`	Overwrite an existing note
`delete`	Delete a note from the vault
`append`	Append content to an existing note

Search

Vault search commands.

Command	Description
`query`	Search using Obsidian query syntax
`simple`	Plain text search across the vault

Note

Active note commands.

Command	Description
`active`	Get the currently active note in Obsidian
`open`	Open a note in the Obsidian editor

Command

Obsidian command palette commands.

Command	Description
`list`	List all available Obsidian commands
`execute`	Execute a command by its ID

Server

Server status and info commands.

Command	Description
`status`	Check if the Obsidian Local REST API is running

Session

Session state commands.

Command	Description
`status`	Show current session state

Examples

List and Read Notes

# List all vault files
cli-anything-obsidian vault list

# List files in a subdirectory
cli-anything-obsidian vault list "Daily Notes"

# Read a note
cli-anything-obsidian vault read "Projects/my-project.md"

Create and Update Notes

# Create a new note
cli-anything-obsidian vault create "Projects/new-project.md" --content "# New Project"

# Update (overwrite) a note
cli-anything-obsidian vault update "Projects/new-project.md" --content "# Updated Content"

# Append to a note
cli-anything-obsidian vault append "Projects/new-project.md" --content "\n## New Section"

Search

# Plain text search (GET /search/simple/)
cli-anything-obsidian search simple "meeting notes"

# Dataview DQL query — default --type dql, sent as
# application/vnd.olrapi.dataview.dql+txt
cli-anything-obsidian search query 'TABLE file.link FROM "Projects"'

# JsonLogic query — application/vnd.olrapi.jsonlogic+json
cli-anything-obsidian search query --type jsonlogic \
  '{"==":[{"var":"frontmatter.status"},"active"]}'

Commands

# List available commands
cli-anything-obsidian command list

# Execute a command by ID
cli-anything-obsidian command execute "editor:toggle-bold"

Interactive REPL Session

Start an interactive session for exploratory use.

cli-anything-obsidian
# Enter commands interactively
# Use 'help' to see available commands

API Key Configuration

# Via flag
cli-anything-obsidian --api-key YOUR_KEY vault list

# Via environment variable (recommended for agents)
export OBSIDIAN_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY
cli-anything-obsidian vault list

State Management

The CLI maintains lightweight session state:

API key: Configurable via --api-key or OBSIDIAN_API_KEY environment variable
Host URL: Defaults to https://localhost:27124; configurable via --host

Output Formats

All commands support dual output modes:

Human-readable (default): Tables, colors, formatted text
Machine-readable (--json flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption

# Human output
cli-anything-obsidian vault list

# JSON output for agents
cli-anything-obsidian --json vault list

For AI Agents

When using this CLI programmatically:

Always use --json flag for parseable output
Check return codes - 0 for success, non-zero for errors
Parse stderr for error messages on failure
Set OBSIDIAN_API_KEY environment variable to avoid passing --api-key on every call
Verify Obsidian is running with server status before other commands

More Information

Full documentation: See README.md in the package
Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package
Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin

Version

1.1.0

---name: cli-anything-obsidiandescription: Command-line interface for Obsidian — Knowledge management and note-taking via Obsidian Local REST API. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to manage notes, search the vault, and execute commands without the GUI.--- # cli-anything-obsidian Knowledge management and note-taking via the Obsidian Local REST API. Designed for AI agents and power users who need to manage notes, search the vault, and execute commands without the GUI. ## Installation This CLI is installed as part of the cli-anything-obsidian package: ```bash pip install cli-anything-obsidian ``` **Prerequisites:** - Python 3.10+ - Obsidian must be installed and running with the [Local REST API plugin](https://github.com/coddingtonbear/obsidian-local-rest-api) enabled ## Usage ### Basic Commands ```bash # Show help cli-anything-obsidian --help # Start interactive REPL mode cli-anything-obsidian # List vault files cli-anything-obsidian vault list # Run with JSON output (for agent consumption) cli-anything-obsidian --json vault list ``` ### REPL Mode When invoked without a subcommand, the CLI enters an interactive REPL session: ```bash cli-anything-obsidian # Enter commands interactively with tab-completion and history ``` ## Command Groups ### Vault Vault file management commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `list` | List files in the vault or a subdirectory | | `read` | Read the content of a note | | `create` | Create a new note | | `update` | Overwrite an existing note | | `delete` | Delete a note from the vault | | `append` | Append content to an existing note | ### Search Vault search commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `query` | Search using Obsidian query syntax | | `simple` | Plain text search across the vault | ### Note Active note commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `active` | Get the currently active note in Obsidian | | `open` | Open a note in the Obsidian editor | ### Command Obsidian command palette commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `list` | List all available Obsidian commands | | `execute` | Execute a command by its ID | ### Server Server status and info commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `status` | Check if the Obsidian Local REST API is running | ### Session Session state commands. | Command | Description | |---------|-------------| | `status` | Show current session state | ## Examples ### List and Read Notes ```bash # List all vault files cli-anything-obsidian vault list # List files in a subdirectory cli-anything-obsidian vault list "Daily Notes" # Read a note cli-anything-obsidian vault read "Projects/my-project.md" ``` ### Create and Update Notes ```bash # Create a new note cli-anything-obsidian vault create "Projects/new-project.md" --content "# New Project" # Update (overwrite) a note cli-anything-obsidian vault update "Projects/new-project.md" --content "# Updated Content" # Append to a note cli-anything-obsidian vault append "Projects/new-project.md" --content "\n## New Section" ``` ### Search ```bash # Plain text search (GET /search/simple/) cli-anything-obsidian search simple "meeting notes" # Dataview DQL query — default --type dql, sent as # application/vnd.olrapi.dataview.dql+txt cli-anything-obsidian search query 'TABLE file.link FROM "Projects"' # JsonLogic query — application/vnd.olrapi.jsonlogic+json cli-anything-obsidian search query --type jsonlogic \ '{"==":[{"var":"frontmatter.status"},"active"]}' ``` ### Commands ```bash # List available commands cli-anything-obsidian command list # Execute a command by ID cli-anything-obsidian command execute "editor:toggle-bold" ``` ### Interactive REPL Session Start an interactive session for exploratory use. ```bash cli-anything-obsidian # Enter commands interactively # Use 'help' to see available commands ``` ### API Key Configuration ```bash # Via flag cli-anything-obsidian --api-key YOUR_KEY vault list # Via environment variable (recommended for agents) export OBSIDIAN_API_KEY=YOUR_KEY cli-anything-obsidian vault list ``` ## State Management The CLI maintains lightweight session state: - **API key**: Configurable via `--api-key` or `OBSIDIAN_API_KEY` environment variable - **Host URL**: Defaults to `https://localhost:27124`; configurable via `--host` ## Output Formats All commands support dual output modes: - **Human-readable** (default): Tables, colors, formatted text - **Machine-readable** (`--json` flag): Structured JSON for agent consumption ```bash # Human output cli-anything-obsidian vault list # JSON output for agents cli-anything-obsidian --json vault list ``` ## For AI Agents When using this CLI programmatically: 1. **Always use `--json` flag** for parseable output 2. **Check return codes** - 0 for success, non-zero for errors 3. **Parse stderr** for error messages on failure 4. **Set `OBSIDIAN_API_KEY`** environment variable to avoid passing `--api-key` on every call 5. **Verify Obsidian is running** with `server status` before other commands ## More Information - Full documentation: See README.md in the package - Test coverage: See TEST.md in the package - Methodology: See HARNESS.md in the cli-anything-plugin ## Version 1.1.0

HKUDS/CLI-Anything commit 1e45a3977b

Frequently asked questions

npx skillmds@latest add hkuds/cli-anything-obsidian