How do I install the Vault Management skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add laurigates/vault-management 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 Vault Management safe to use?

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

Which AI agents work with Vault Management?

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 Vault Management free to use?

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

Who published Vault Management?

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

Vault Management by laurigates — Agent Skill

Name: Vault Management
Rating: 4.666666666666667 (3 reviews)
Author: laurigates

File contents

Obsidian Vault Management

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use the alternative instead when...
Listing every vault Obsidian knows about	Listing files inside the active vault — use `vault-files`
Targeting a non-active vault for one command	Switching the active vault permanently — `vault:open` (TUI only)
Reporting vault info (path, file count, size) for diagnostics	Reading a specific note — use `vault-files`

The CLI defaults to the active vault (the one currently focused in the Obsidian app), unless your terminal's working directory is itself inside a vault folder — in which case that vault wins. The vault= prefix overrides both, scoped to a single command invocation.

Prerequisites

Obsidian desktop v1.12.4+ with CLI enabled
Obsidian must be running

Vault Info

# Active vault overview
obsidian vault

# Specific fields only
obsidian vault info=name
obsidian vault info=path
obsidian vault info=files
obsidian vault info=folders
obsidian vault info=size

Enumerate Known Vaults

# All known vaults (name only)
obsidian vaults

# Include vault paths (verbose)
obsidian vaults verbose

# Just the count
obsidian vaults total

Target a Specific Vault

vault= is a global prefix — it must come before the command, not as a normal parameter:

# Run against a specific vault by name
obsidian vault=Notes daily
obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="meeting"

# By vault ID (from `obsidian vaults verbose` or settings)
obsidian vault=abc123def files

In the TUI, vault:open name=Notes switches the active vault for the rest of the session. Outside the TUI, prefer the vault= prefix per command.

Working-Directory Default

If the terminal is cd-ed into a vault folder, that vault is the default — no vault= needed:

cd ~/vaults/Work
obsidian search query="status::active"   # runs against ~/vaults/Work

This is convenient for shell scripts that live alongside a specific vault.

Common Patterns

"Diagnostic snapshot of every vault"

obsidian vaults verbose | while read -r line; do
  name=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $1}')
  echo "=== $name ==="
  obsidian vault="$name" vault info=files
  obsidian vault="$name" vault info=size
done

"Search across one vault while a different one is active"

obsidian vault=Personal search query="trip ideas" format=json

"Confirm which vault a script will hit"

obsidian vault info=name
obsidian vault info=path

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Active vault summary	`obsidian vault`
Active vault path only	`obsidian vault info=path`
Active vault file count	`obsidian vault info=files`
List vaults (verbose)	`obsidian vaults verbose`
Vault count	`obsidian vaults total`
Run command against a vault	`obsidian vault=NAME <command>`

Related Skills

vault-files — File operations within the active or targeted vault
publish-sync — Per-vault Obsidian Sync configuration and status
search-discovery — Search inside a (possibly vault=-prefixed) vault

---name: vault-managementdescription: Obsidian vault inspection and cross-vault routing via `vault=` prefix. Use when checking vault info (path, size, file count) or targeting a non-active vault.--- # Obsidian Vault Management ## When to Use This Skill | Use this skill when... | Use the alternative instead when... | |---|---| | Listing every vault Obsidian knows about | Listing files inside the active vault — use `vault-files` | | Targeting a non-active vault for one command | Switching the active vault permanently — `vault:open` (TUI only) | | Reporting vault info (path, file count, size) for diagnostics | Reading a specific note — use `vault-files` | The CLI defaults to the **active vault** (the one currently focused in the Obsidian app), unless your terminal's working directory is itself inside a vault folder — in which case that vault wins. The `vault=` prefix overrides both, scoped to a single command invocation. ## Prerequisites - Obsidian desktop v1.12.4+ with CLI enabled - Obsidian must be running ## Vault Info ```bash # Active vault overview obsidian vault # Specific fields only obsidian vault info=name obsidian vault info=path obsidian vault info=files obsidian vault info=folders obsidian vault info=size ``` ## Enumerate Known Vaults ```bash # All known vaults (name only) obsidian vaults # Include vault paths (verbose) obsidian vaults verbose # Just the count obsidian vaults total ``` ## Target a Specific Vault `vault=` is a **global prefix** — it must come before the command, not as a normal parameter: ```bash # Run against a specific vault by name obsidian vault=Notes daily obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="meeting" # By vault ID (from `obsidian vaults verbose` or settings) obsidian vault=abc123def files ``` In the TUI, `vault:open name=Notes` switches the active vault for the rest of the session. Outside the TUI, prefer the `vault=` prefix per command. ## Working-Directory Default If the terminal is `cd`-ed into a vault folder, that vault is the default — no `vault=` needed: ```bash cd ~/vaults/Work obsidian search query="status::active" # runs against ~/vaults/Work ``` This is convenient for shell scripts that live alongside a specific vault. ## Common Patterns ### "Diagnostic snapshot of every vault" ```bash obsidian vaults verbose | while read -r line; do name=$(echo "$line" | awk '{print $1}') echo "=== $name ===" obsidian vault="$name" vault info=files obsidian vault="$name" vault info=size done ``` ### "Search across one vault while a different one is active" ```bash obsidian vault=Personal search query="trip ideas" format=json ``` ### "Confirm which vault a script will hit" ```bash obsidian vault info=name obsidian vault info=path ``` ## Agentic Optimizations | Context | Command | |---------|---------| | Active vault summary | `obsidian vault` | | Active vault path only | `obsidian vault info=path` | | Active vault file count | `obsidian vault info=files` | | List vaults (verbose) | `obsidian vaults verbose` | | Vault count | `obsidian vaults total` | | Run command against a vault | `obsidian vault=NAME <command>` | ## Related Skills - **vault-files** — File operations within the active or targeted vault - **publish-sync** — Per-vault Obsidian Sync configuration and status - **search-discovery** — Search inside a (possibly `vault=`-prefixed) vault

Frequently asked questions

Vault Management