Pp Obsidian

Obsidian — Printing Press CLI

Prerequisites: Install the CLI

This skill drives the obsidian-pp-cli binary. You must verify the CLI is installed before invoking any command from this skill. If it is missing, install it first:

1. Install via the Printing Press installer. It defaults binaries to $HOME/.local/bin on macOS/Linux and %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\PrintingPress\bin on Windows:

   npx -y @mvanhorn/printing-press-library install obsidian --cli-only
   

2. Verify: obsidian-pp-cli --version
3. Ensure the reported install directory is on $PATH for the agent/runtime that will invoke this skill.

If the npx install fails (no Node, offline, etc.), fall back to a direct Go install (requires Go 1.26.6 or newer):

go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/obsidian/cmd/obsidian-pp-cli@latest

If --version reports "command not found" after install, the runtime cannot see the binary directory on $PATH. Do not proceed with skill commands until verification succeeds.

When Not to Use This CLI

Do not activate this CLI for requests that require creating, updating, deleting, publishing, commenting, upvoting, inviting, ordering, sending messages, booking, purchasing, or changing remote state. This printed CLI exposes read-only commands for inspection, export, sync, and analysis.

HTTP Transport

This CLI uses Chrome-compatible HTTP transport for browser-facing endpoints. It does not require a resident browser process for normal API calls.

Command Reference

deadends — Manage deadends

• obsidian-pp-cli deadends — List notes with no outgoing links

files — Manage files

• obsidian-pp-cli files — Wraps obsidian files. Filter by folder or extension.

folders — Manage folders

• obsidian-pp-cli folders — Wraps obsidian folders.

live-search — Manage live search

• obsidian-pp-cli live-search context — Wraps obsidian search:context query=<text> — body-text search with surrounding lines for each hit.
• obsidian-pp-cli live-search live-search — Wraps obsidian search query=<text> — dials the running Obsidian process for body-text search. Distinct from the...

notes — Single-note read operations

• obsidian-pp-cli notes <name> — Wraps obsidian read file={name} (or path= for exact paths). Returns raw file contents.

tags — Manage tags

• obsidian-pp-cli tags — Wraps obsidian tags. Optionally scope to a file via path= query.

tasks — Manage tasks

• obsidian-pp-cli tasks — Wraps obsidian tasks. Filter by done/todo/status. (task mutation is V2.)

unresolved — Manage unresolved

• obsidian-pp-cli unresolved — Wraps obsidian unresolved. Tier-3 broken builds on this with source-note context.

vault — Vault-level inventory and metadata

• obsidian-pp-cli vault — Wraps obsidian vault. info= narrows to one field.

Finding the right command

When you know what you want to do but not which command does it, ask the CLI directly:

obsidian-pp-cli which "<capability in your own words>"

which resolves a natural-language capability query to the best matching command from this CLI's curated feature index. Exit code 0 means at least one match; exit code 2 means no confident match — fall back to --help or use a narrower query.

Auth Setup

No authentication required.

Run obsidian-pp-cli doctor to verify setup.

Agent Mode

Add --agent to any command. Expands to: --json --compact --no-input --no-color --yes.

• Pipeable — JSON on stdout, errors on stderr

• Filterable — --select keeps a subset of fields. Dotted paths descend into nested structures; arrays traverse element-wise. Critical for keeping context small on verbose APIs:

  obsidian-pp-cli deadends --agent --select id,name,status
  

• Previewable — --dry-run shows the request without sending

• Offline-friendly — sync/search commands can use the local SQLite store when available

• Non-interactive — never prompts, every input is a flag

• Read-only — do not use this CLI for create, update, delete, publish, comment, upvote, invite, order, send, or other mutating requests

Response envelope

Commands that read from the local store or the API wrap output in a provenance envelope:

{
  "meta": {"source": "live" | "local", "synced_at": "...", "reason": "..."},
  "results": <data>
}

Parse .results for data and .meta.source to know whether it's live or local. A human-readable N results (live) summary is printed to stderr only when stdout is a terminal AND no machine-format flag (--json, --csv, --compact, --quiet, --plain, --select) is set — piped/agent consumers and explicit-format runs get pure JSON on stdout.

Agent Feedback

When you (or the agent) notice something off about this CLI, record it:

obsidian-pp-cli feedback "the --since flag is inclusive but docs say exclusive"
obsidian-pp-cli feedback --stdin < notes.txt
obsidian-pp-cli feedback list --json --limit 10

Entries are stored locally at ~/.obsidian-pp-cli/feedback.jsonl. They are never POSTed unless OBSIDIAN_FEEDBACK_ENDPOINT is set AND either --send is passed or OBSIDIAN_FEEDBACK_AUTO_SEND=true. Default behavior is local-only.

Write what surprised you, not a bug report. Short, specific, one line: that is the part that compounds.

Output Delivery

Every command accepts --deliver <sink>. The output goes to the named sink in addition to (or instead of) stdout, so agents can route command results without hand-piping. Three sinks are supported:

Unknown schemes are refused with a structured error naming the supported set. Webhook failures return non-zero and log the URL + HTTP status on stderr.

Named Profiles

A profile is a saved set of flag values, reused across invocations. Use it when a scheduled agent calls the same command every run with the same configuration - HeyGen's "Beacon" pattern.

obsidian-pp-cli profile save briefing --json
obsidian-pp-cli --profile briefing deadends
obsidian-pp-cli profile list --json
obsidian-pp-cli profile show briefing
obsidian-pp-cli profile delete briefing --yes

Explicit flags always win over profile values; profile values win over defaults. agent-context lists all available profiles under available_profiles so introspecting agents discover them at runtime.

Exit Codes

Argument Parsing

Parse $ARGUMENTS:

1. Empty, help, or --help → show obsidian-pp-cli --help output
2. Starts with install → ends with mcp → MCP installation; otherwise → see Prerequisites above
3. Anything else → Direct Use (execute as CLI command with --agent)

MCP Server Installation

1. Install the MCP server:

   go install github.com/mvanhorn/printing-press-library/library/productivity/obsidian/cmd/obsidian-pp-mcp@latest
   

2. Register with Claude Code:

   claude mcp add obsidian-pp-mcp -- obsidian-pp-mcp
   

3. Verify: claude mcp list

Direct Use

1. Check if installed: which obsidian-pp-cli If not found, offer to install (see Prerequisites at the top of this skill).
2. Match the user query to the best command from the Unique Capabilities and Command Reference above.
3. Execute with the --agent flag:

   obsidian-pp-cli <command> [subcommand] [args] --agent
   

4. If ambiguous, drill into subcommand help: obsidian-pp-cli <command> --help.