How do I install the Obsidian skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add joogy06/obsidian in your terminal (requires Node.js), paste this page's agent-chat prompt into Claude, Cursor, or any MCP-connected agent, or download the SKILL.md file and copy it into your agent's skills directory.

Is Obsidian safe to use?

This skill has not completed SkillMD's automated safety review yet. SkillMD never runs a skill's scripts for you; review the SKILL.md before installing.

Which AI agents work with Obsidian?

This skill is tagged as working with Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex. SKILL.md is an open format, so most agents that read a skills directory can load it too.

Is Obsidian free to use?

Yes. Installing skills from SkillMD is free, and the skill stays under its author's original license.

Who published Obsidian?

joogy06 (@joogy06) published this skill. Their other Agent Skills are listed on their SkillMD profile.

Obsidian by joogy06 — Agent Skill

Name: Obsidian
Author: joogy06

Obsidian

Obsidian knowledge management reference. Use when setting up Obsidian vaults, configuring plugins (Dataview, Templater, Web Clipper, Marp, Excalidraw), writing wikilinks and frontmatter, using Dataview queries, configuring graph view, adding CSS snippets/themes, or building obsidian:// deep links. Covers vault structure, daily notes, community plugins, CSS customization, and URI schemes. Useful as a standalone skill OR as a companion to the wiki skill family. Trigger on: Obsidian, vault, dataview, templater, wikilink, frontmatter, graph view, markdown vault, second brain, Zettelkasten tool.

joogy06 3d77bd2 9 files · 36.5 KB Updated Sep 17, 2026

File contents

Obsidian — Vault, Plugins, and Knowledge Management

Parent skill for Obsidian: a local-first, markdown-based knowledge management tool. Standalone skill — useful beyond the wiki agent.

This is a slim parent — detail lives in reference files. Read this file for routing. Read the reference files for HOW.

What Obsidian Is

Obsidian is a markdown editor with:

Vaults: a directory of markdown files is a vault. No database, no lock-in.
Wikilinks: [[page]] syntax for internal linking
Frontmatter: YAML metadata at the top of files
Plugins: community ecosystem for Dataview queries, templating, graph views, and more
Graph view: visualize the link network
obsidian:// URIs: deep links from anywhere into vault content

Obsidian is free for personal use. Obsidian Sync (paid) and Obsidian Publish (paid) are optional services.

Routing Table

User Intent	Reference File
"Set up a new vault" / folder structure / daily notes	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/vault-setup.md`
"Which plugins should I install?" / plugin config	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/plugins.md`
"Write a Dataview query" / DQL / DataviewJS	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/dataview.md`
"YAML properties" / metadata conventions	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/frontmatter.md`
"How do wikilinks work?" / aliases / embeds / block refs	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/wikilinks.md`
"Graph view looks messy" / graph config	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/graph-view.md`
"Change theme" / CSS snippets / callouts	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/css-themes.md`
"Deep link to a note" / obsidian:// URIs	`~/.claude/skills/obsidian/uri-schemes.md`

When To Use Obsidian vs. The wiki Skill

Obsidian is the tool. The wiki skill is a structured knowledge workflow that happens to produce Obsidian-compatible vaults. They're complementary:

Use wiki when you want structured ingestion, citations, lint, and agent-driven knowledge compilation
Use obsidian alone when you want plain markdown notes with wikilinks and plugin power, no formal schema
Use both together when a wiki created by the wiki agent is opened in Obsidian for browsing, graph view, and Dataview queries

Wikis produced by the wiki skill are Obsidian-compatible by design (wikilinks, YAML frontmatter, kebab-case slugs).

Anti-Patterns

Anti-Pattern	Why It Fails	Correct Approach
Recommending Notion/Roam over Obsidian for local-first needs	Defeats the user's data-ownership goal	Obsidian for local markdown; recommend alternatives only when local-first is not a requirement
Mixing wikilink syntax (`[[ ]]`) with markdown link syntax (`[text](url)`) inconsistently	Breaks graph view and backlinks	Use `[[ ]]` for internal links, `[text](url)` for external URLs only
Writing content inline in this SKILL.md instead of routing	Breaks ≤80 line slim-parent convention	Route to reference files; keep this file as a map
Not linking to the wiki skill family	Users miss the structured workflow option	`## When to use Obsidian vs. wiki` section routes to both
Recommending plugins without noting compatibility or maintenance status	Users install abandoned plugins	Always check current maintenance status in `plugins.md`

---name: obsidiandescription: Obsidian knowledge management reference. Use when setting up Obsidian vaults, configuring plugins (Dataview, Templater, Web Clipper, Marp, Excalidraw), writing wikilinks and frontmatter, using Dataview queries, configuring graph view, adding CSS snippets/themes, or building obsidian:// deep links. Covers vault structure, daily notes, community plugins, CSS customization, and URI schemes. Useful as a standalone skill OR as a companion to the wiki skill family. Trigger on: Obsidian, vault, dataview, templater, wikilink, frontmatter, graph view, markdown vault, second brain, Zettelkasten tool.---# Obsidian — Vault, Plugins, and Knowledge ManagementParent skill for Obsidian: a local-first, markdown-based knowledge management tool. Standalone skill — useful beyond the wiki agent.This is a **slim parent** — detail lives in reference files. Read this file for routing. Read the reference files for HOW.<HARD-RULE>**Local-first, markdown-first.** Never recommend cloud-only or proprietary alternatives when Obsidian's local markdown covers the need. Users choose Obsidian for data ownership.</HARD-RULE><HARD-RULE>**Never recommend paid plugins without flagging cost.** Community plugins are free; paid features (Obsidian Sync, Publish) must be clearly labeled.</HARD-RULE>---## What Obsidian IsObsidian is a markdown editor with:- **Vaults**: a directory of markdown files is a vault. No database, no lock-in.- **Wikilinks**: `[[page]]` syntax for internal linking- **Frontmatter**: YAML metadata at the top of files- **Plugins**: community ecosystem for Dataview queries, templating, graph views, and more- **Graph view**: visualize the link network- **obsidian:// URIs**: deep links from anywhere into vault contentObsidian is free for personal use. Obsidian Sync (paid) and Obsidian Publish (paid) are optional services.---## Routing Table| User Intent | Reference File ||-------------|----------------|| "Set up a new vault" / folder structure / daily notes | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/vault-setup.md` || "Which plugins should I install?" / plugin config | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/plugins.md` || "Write a Dataview query" / DQL / DataviewJS | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/dataview.md` || "YAML properties" / metadata conventions | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/frontmatter.md` || "How do wikilinks work?" / aliases / embeds / block refs | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/wikilinks.md` || "Graph view looks messy" / graph config | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/graph-view.md` || "Change theme" / CSS snippets / callouts | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/css-themes.md` || "Deep link to a note" / obsidian:// URIs | `~/.claude/skills/obsidian/uri-schemes.md` |---## When To Use Obsidian vs. The wiki SkillObsidian is the **tool**. The `wiki` skill is a **structured knowledge workflow** that happens to produce Obsidian-compatible vaults. They're complementary:- Use **wiki** when you want structured ingestion, citations, lint, and agent-driven knowledge compilation- Use **obsidian** alone when you want plain markdown notes with wikilinks and plugin power, no formal schema- Use **both together** when a wiki created by the wiki agent is opened in Obsidian for browsing, graph view, and Dataview queriesWikis produced by the wiki skill are Obsidian-compatible by design (wikilinks, YAML frontmatter, kebab-case slugs).---## Anti-Patterns| Anti-Pattern | Why It Fails | Correct Approach ||---|---|---|| Recommending Notion/Roam over Obsidian for local-first needs | Defeats the user's data-ownership goal | Obsidian for local markdown; recommend alternatives only when local-first is not a requirement || Mixing wikilink syntax (`[[ ]]`) with markdown link syntax (`[text](url)`) inconsistently | Breaks graph view and backlinks | Use `[[ ]]` for internal links, `[text](url)` for external URLs only || Writing content inline in this SKILL.md instead of routing | Breaks ≤80 line slim-parent convention | Route to reference files; keep this file as a map || Not linking to the wiki skill family | Users miss the structured workflow option | `## When to use Obsidian vs. wiki` section routes to both || Recommending plugins without noting compatibility or maintenance status | Users install abandoned plugins | Always check current maintenance status in `plugins.md` |

Frequently asked questions