How do I install the Ob Headless Sync skill?

Run npx skillmds@latest add olafgeibig/ob-headless-sync 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 Ob Headless Sync 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 Ob Headless Sync?

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 Ob Headless Sync free to use?

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

Who published Ob Headless Sync?

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

Ob Headless Sync by olafgeibig — Agent Skill

Name: Ob Headless Sync
Author: olafgeibig

File contents

Obsidian Headless Sync — Timer & Service Management

The Obsidian Headless Sync is running in a fixed interval every three minutes, controlled by a system service. The agent MUST not do the sync manually. This is important to avoid conflicts.

Quick Diagnostic

# 1. Is ob reachable?
which ob || echo "ob not in PATH — use: ~/.npm-global/bin/ob"

# 2. Timer status
systemctl --user list-timers --all --no-pager | grep ob-sync

# 3. Recent service logs
journalctl --user -u ob-sync-all.service -n 20 --no-pager

The `ob` Binary

Full path: /home/olaf/.npm-global/bin/ob
PATH may not include it in subshell/agent contexts — always use the full path in scripts

Manual sync test:

~/.npm-global/bin/ob sync --path /home/olaf/vaults/akademeia

Known Issue: Timer Dies After Service Kill/Timeout

Symptom: Timer shows inactive (dead) even though it is enabled and has Persistent=true.

Trigger: If the service (ob-sync-all.service) is killed with SIGKILL after a timeout (e.g. from systemctl stop), the User Manager daemon can lose track of the timer's next-execution state. systemctl status shows Trigger: n/a and the NEXT column shows an old/distant timestamp or -.

Fix — run all three commands:

systemctl --user daemon-reload
systemctl --user reset-failed
systemctl --user start ob-sync-all.timer

Then verify:

systemctl --user list-timers --all --no-pager | grep ob-sync
# Should show: Active: active (running) and a near-future NEXT time

Do NOT just systemctl --user restart ob-sync-all.timer — the daemon-reload and reset-failed are required to clear the stale state.

Files

File	Purpose
`~.local/bin/ob-sync-all-vaults`	Wrapper script — discovers vaults via `ob sync-list-local` and syncs each
`~/.config/systemd/user/ob-sync-all.timer`	Fires every 3min (`OnUnitActiveSec=3min`), `Persistent=true`
`~/.config/systemd/user/ob-sync-all.service`	Runs the wrapper script; `Restart=on-failure`

Service / Timer Commands

# Full restart (daemon-reload included)
systemctl --user daemon-reload && systemctl --user reset-failed
systemctl --user start ob-sync-all.timer

# Check status
systemctl --user status ob-sync-all.timer --no-pager
systemctl --user status ob-sync-all.service --no-pager

# Stop completely
systemctl --user stop ob-sync-all.timer ob-sync-all.service

# View logs
journalctl --user -u ob-sync-all.service -n 50 --no-pager

Timer vs Service — Key Distinction

ob-sync-all.timer — the scheduler (fires every 3 min)
ob-sync-all.service — the worker (runs ob sync)
A timer in inactive (dead) state means no syncs are being triggered
A service that fails/times-out does NOT automatically restart the timer

---name: ob-headless-syncdescription: Obsidian Headless Sync — systemd timer monitoring, diagnostics, and recovery for the ob sync service on headless machines---# Obsidian Headless Sync — Timer & Service ManagementThe Obsidian Headless Sync is running in a fixed interval every three minutes, controlled by a system service. The agent MUST not do the sync manually. This is important to avoid conflicts. ## Quick Diagnostic```bash# 1. Is ob reachable?which ob || echo "ob not in PATH — use: ~/.npm-global/bin/ob"# 2. Timer statussystemctl --user list-timers --all --no-pager | grep ob-sync# 3. Recent service logsjournalctl --user -u ob-sync-all.service -n 20 --no-pager```## The `ob` Binary- **Full path:** `/home/olaf/.npm-global/bin/ob`- **PATH may not include it** in subshell/agent contexts — always use the full path in scripts- **Manual sync test:** ```bash ~/.npm-global/bin/ob sync --path /home/olaf/vaults/akademeia ```## Known Issue: Timer Dies After Service Kill/Timeout**Symptom:** Timer shows `inactive (dead)` even though it is `enabled` and has `Persistent=true`.**Trigger:** If the service (`ob-sync-all.service`) is killed with SIGKILL after a timeout (e.g. from `systemctl stop`), the User Manager daemon can lose track of the timer's next-execution state. `systemctl status` shows `Trigger: n/a` and the `NEXT` column shows an old/distant timestamp or `-`.**Fix — run all three commands:**```bashsystemctl --user daemon-reloadsystemctl --user reset-failedsystemctl --user start ob-sync-all.timer```Then verify:```bashsystemctl --user list-timers --all --no-pager | grep ob-sync# Should show: Active: active (running) and a near-future NEXT time```**Do NOT just `systemctl --user restart ob-sync-all.timer`** — the daemon-reload and reset-failed are required to clear the stale state.## Files| File | Purpose ||------|---------|| `~.local/bin/ob-sync-all-vaults` | Wrapper script — discovers vaults via `ob sync-list-local` and syncs each || `~/.config/systemd/user/ob-sync-all.timer` | Fires every 3min (`OnUnitActiveSec=3min`), `Persistent=true` || `~/.config/systemd/user/ob-sync-all.service` | Runs the wrapper script; `Restart=on-failure` |## Service / Timer Commands```bash# Full restart (daemon-reload included)systemctl --user daemon-reload && systemctl --user reset-failedsystemctl --user start ob-sync-all.timer# Check statussystemctl --user status ob-sync-all.timer --no-pagersystemctl --user status ob-sync-all.service --no-pager# Stop completelysystemctl --user stop ob-sync-all.timer ob-sync-all.service# View logsjournalctl --user -u ob-sync-all.service -n 50 --no-pager```## Timer vs Service — Key Distinction- `ob-sync-all.timer` — the **scheduler** (fires every 3 min)- `ob-sync-all.service` — the **worker** (runs `ob sync`)- A timer in `inactive (dead)` state means **no syncs are being triggered**- A service that fails/times-out does NOT automatically restart the timer

Frequently asked questions

Ob Headless Sync