Obsidian CLI

Obsidian CLI Skill

Control Obsidian from the terminal. Create files, append content, manage properties, search the vault, toggle tasks, query bases, and more — all from the command line.

Prerequisites

• Obsidian 1.12+ installer (check: obsidian version)
• CLI enabled in Settings > General > Command line interface
• Obsidian app must be running — CLI connects to the running instance
• On macOS, PATH is set via ~/.zprofile: export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS"

Core Concepts

Two Modes

1. Single command: obsidian <command> [params] [flags]
2. TUI (Terminal UI): Run obsidian alone to enter interactive mode with autocomplete and history

Parameters vs Flags

• Parameter: takes a value — name=Note content="Hello world"
• Flag: boolean switch, no value — open, overwrite, newtab
• Multiline content: use \n for newline, \t for tab
• Spaces in values: wrap in quotes — content="Hello world"

Vault Targeting

• Default: current working directory if it's a vault, otherwise the active vault
• Explicit: vault=<name> or vault=<id> as FIRST parameter before the command

obsidian vault=PraxVault daily
obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="test"

File Targeting

Many commands accept file and path:

• file=<name> — wikilink-style resolution (name only, no path/extension needed)
• path=<path> — exact path from vault root, e.g. 100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy/classes/SS-W01.md
• If neither provided, defaults to active file

Copy Output

Add --copy to any command to copy output to clipboard:

obsidian read --copy
obsidian search query="TODO" --copy

File Operations

create — Create or overwrite a file

obsidian create name=<name> path=<path> content=<text> template=<name>
# Flags: overwrite, open, newtab

Examples:

# Create with content
obsidian create name="SS-W01 - Blockchains" content="# SS-W01\n\nStudy notes"

# Create from template
obsidian create name="New Note" template=Travel

# Create at specific path and open it
obsidian create path="Projects/idea.md" content="# Idea" open

# Overwrite existing
obsidian create name=Note content="Fresh start" overwrite

read — Read file contents

obsidian read                          # active file
obsidian read file=Recipe              # by name
obsidian read path="folder/note.md"    # by path

append — Append content to end of file

obsidian append content=<text>         # active file
obsidian append file=<name> content=<text>
obsidian append path=<path> content=<text>
# Flag: inline (no newline before appended content)

Examples:

# Append to specific file
obsidian append file="SS-W01 - Blockchains" content="\n## New Section\nContent here"

# Inline append (no preceding newline)
obsidian append file=Note content=" more text" inline

prepend — Prepend content after frontmatter

obsidian prepend content=<text>
obsidian prepend file=<name> content=<text>
# Flag: inline

[!important] Prepend inserts AFTER frontmatter, not at the very top of the file.

move — Move or rename a file

obsidian move file=<name> to=<path>       # move to folder
obsidian move path=<path> to=<new-path>   # move with new path

Automatically updates internal links if enabled in vault settings.

rename — Rename a file

obsidian rename file=<name> name=<new-name>
obsidian rename path=<path> name=<new-name>

Extension preserved automatically if omitted.

delete — Delete a file

obsidian delete file=<name>       # to trash (default)
obsidian delete file=<name> permanent  # skip trash

open — Open a file

obsidian open file=<name>
obsidian open path=<path> newtab

File & Folder Info

file — Show file metadata

obsidian file                    # active file
obsidian file file=<name>

Returns: path, name, extension, size, created, modified timestamps.

files — List vault files

obsidian files                   # all files
obsidian files folder=<path>     # filter by folder
obsidian files ext=md            # filter by extension
obsidian files total             # just the count

folder — Show folder info

obsidian folder path=<path>
obsidian folder path=<path> info=files    # file count only
obsidian folder path=<path> info=size     # size only

folders — List vault folders

obsidian folders                       # all folders
obsidian folders folder=<path>         # filter by parent
obsidian folders total                 # just the count

Properties (Frontmatter)

properties — List properties

obsidian properties                           # all vault properties
obsidian properties active                    # active file's properties
obsidian properties file=<name>               # specific file
obsidian properties name=status               # specific property count
obsidian properties counts sort=count         # sorted by frequency
obsidian properties format=yaml               # yaml|json|tsv

property:set — Set a property

obsidian property:set name=<prop> value=<val>
obsidian property:set name=<prop> value=<val> file=<name>
obsidian property:set name=<prop> value=<val> type=<type>
# Types: text, list, number, checkbox, date, datetime

Examples:

# Set status on active file
obsidian property:set name=status value=in-progress

# Set status on specific file
obsidian property:set name=status value=complete file="SS-W01 - Blockchains"

# Set a date property
obsidian property:set name=date value=2026-03-02 type=date

# Set a list property
obsidian property:set name=tags value="[100xdev, web3]" type=list

property:read — Read a property value

obsidian property:read name=status
obsidian property:read name=status file=<name>

property:remove — Remove a property

obsidian property:remove name=<prop>
obsidian property:remove name=<prop> file=<name>

Search

search — Search vault text (returns file paths)

obsidian search query=<text>
obsidian search query=<text> path=<folder>    # limit to folder
obsidian search query=<text> limit=10         # max results
obsidian search query=<text> case             # case sensitive
obsidian search query=<text> total            # count only
obsidian search query=<text> format=json      # text|json

search:context — Search with line context

Returns grep-style path:line: text output.

obsidian search:context query=<text>
obsidian search:context query=<text> path=<folder>
obsidian search:context query="TODO" format=json

search:open — Open search view in Obsidian

obsidian search:open query="meeting notes"

Tags

tags — List tags

obsidian tags                         # all vault tags
obsidian tags active                  # active file's tags
obsidian tags file=<name>             # specific file
obsidian tags counts                  # with occurrence counts
obsidian tags counts sort=count       # sorted by frequency
obsidian tags total                   # just the count
obsidian tags format=json             # json|tsv|csv

tag — Tag info

obsidian tag name=web3                # occurrence count
obsidian tag name=web3 total          # just the number
obsidian tag name=web3 verbose        # include file list

Tasks

tasks — List tasks

obsidian tasks                        # all tasks
obsidian tasks todo                   # incomplete only
obsidian tasks done                   # completed only
obsidian tasks file=<name>            # from specific file
obsidian tasks daily                  # from daily note
obsidian tasks active                 # from active file
obsidian tasks verbose                # group by file with line numbers
obsidian tasks total                  # just the count
obsidian tasks 'status=?'            # filter by custom status char
obsidian tasks format=json            # json|tsv|csv|text

task — Show or update a task

# Show task info
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8
obsidian task ref="Recipe.md:8"

# Toggle completion
obsidian task ref="Recipe.md:8" toggle

# Mark done/todo
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8 done
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8 todo
obsidian task daily line=3 toggle

# Set custom status
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8 status=-

Daily Notes

daily — Open daily note

obsidian daily
obsidian daily paneType=tab

daily:path — Get daily note path

Returns the expected path even if the file hasn't been created yet.

obsidian daily:path

daily:read — Read daily note

obsidian daily:read

daily:append — Append to daily note

obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Buy groceries"
obsidian daily:append content="## Evening\nReflection" open
# Flags: inline, open

daily:prepend — Prepend to daily note

obsidian daily:prepend content="# Morning Priorities"
# Flags: inline, open

Templates

templates — List available templates

obsidian templates
obsidian templates total

template:read — Read template content

obsidian template:read name=<template>
obsidian template:read name=<template> resolve         # resolve variables
obsidian template:read name=<template> title="My Note" resolve

The resolve flag processes {{date}}, {{time}}, {{title}} variables.

template:insert — Insert template into active file

obsidian template:insert name=<template>

[!tip] Creating files from templates Use obsidian create path=<path> template=<name> to create a new file with a template applied.

Links Analysis

backlinks — Incoming links to a file

obsidian backlinks                     # active file
obsidian backlinks file=<name>
obsidian backlinks file=<name> counts  # include link counts
obsidian backlinks total               # just the count
obsidian backlinks format=json         # json|tsv|csv

links — Outgoing links from a file

obsidian links                         # active file
obsidian links file=<name>
obsidian links total

unresolved — Broken/unresolved links

obsidian unresolved                    # list all
obsidian unresolved total              # count
obsidian unresolved counts verbose     # with source files

orphans — Files with no incoming links

obsidian orphans
obsidian orphans total

deadends — Files with no outgoing links

obsidian deadends
obsidian deadends total

Bases

bases — List .base files

obsidian bases

base:views — List views in a base

obsidian base:views                    # active base

base:create — Create a new item in a base

obsidian base:create file=<base> name=<name> content=<text>
obsidian base:create file=<base> view=<view> name=<name>
# Flags: open, newtab

base:query — Query a base

obsidian base:query file=<base>
obsidian base:query file=<base> view=<view>
obsidian base:query file=<base> format=json    # json|csv|tsv|md|paths

Outline

outline — Show headings

obsidian outline                       # active file
obsidian outline file=<name>
obsidian outline format=tree           # tree|md|json
obsidian outline total                 # heading count

Plugins

plugins — List installed plugins

obsidian plugins
obsidian plugins filter=community versions
obsidian plugins filter=core
obsidian plugins format=json

plugin — Plugin info

obsidian plugin id=<plugin-id>

plugin:enable / plugin:disable

obsidian plugin:enable id=<id>
obsidian plugin:disable id=<id>

plugin:install / plugin:uninstall

obsidian plugin:install id=<id> enable
obsidian plugin:uninstall id=<id>

plugin:reload — Reload plugin (for developers)

obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin

Themes & Snippets

Themes

obsidian themes                        # list installed
obsidian theme                         # show active
obsidian theme:set name=<name>         # set active
obsidian theme:install name=<name> enable
obsidian theme:uninstall name=<name>

CSS Snippets

obsidian snippets                      # list all
obsidian snippets:enabled              # list enabled
obsidian snippet:enable name=<name>
obsidian snippet:disable name=<name>

Bookmarks

obsidian bookmarks                     # list bookmarks
obsidian bookmarks total verbose
obsidian bookmark file=<path>          # bookmark a file
obsidian bookmark file=<path> subpath="#Heading"
obsidian bookmark search="TODO"        # bookmark a search
obsidian bookmark url="https://..."    # bookmark a URL

Vault Info

vault — Show vault info

obsidian vault
obsidian vault info=name               # name|path|files|folders|size

vaults — List known vaults

obsidian vaults
obsidian vaults verbose                # include paths
obsidian vaults total

vault:open — Switch vault (TUI only)

vault:open PraxVault

Wordcount

obsidian wordcount                     # active file
obsidian wordcount file=<name>
obsidian wordcount words               # word count only
obsidian wordcount characters          # char count only

Workspace

obsidian workspace                     # show tree
obsidian workspaces                    # list saved
obsidian workspace:save name=<name>
obsidian workspace:load name=<name>
obsidian workspace:delete name=<name>
obsidian tabs                          # list open tabs
obsidian tabs ids
obsidian recents                       # recently opened files

File History & Diff

diff — Compare file versions

obsidian diff                          # list versions of active file
obsidian diff file=<name>              # list versions
obsidian diff file=<name> from=1       # compare latest to current
obsidian diff file=<name> from=2 to=1  # compare two versions
obsidian diff filter=sync              # only sync versions

history — Local file recovery

obsidian history file=<name>           # list versions
obsidian history:list                  # all files with history
obsidian history:read file=<name> version=1
obsidian history:restore file=<name> version=2
obsidian history:open file=<name>      # open recovery UI

Command Palette

Execute any registered Obsidian command:

obsidian commands                      # list all command IDs
obsidian commands filter=editor        # filter by prefix
obsidian command id=<command-id>       # execute a command
obsidian hotkeys                       # list all hotkeys
obsidian hotkey id=<command-id>        # get hotkey for command

Developer Commands

devtools — Toggle dev tools

obsidian devtools

dev:screenshot — Take screenshot

obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png

eval — Execute JavaScript

obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"
obsidian eval code="app.workspace.getActiveFile().path"

dev:console — Show console messages

obsidian dev:console
obsidian dev:console limit=10 level=error
obsidian dev:console clear

dev:errors — Show JavaScript errors

obsidian dev:errors
obsidian dev:errors clear

dev:css — Inspect CSS

obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace" prop=background

dev:dom — Query DOM

obsidian dev:dom selector=".nav-file-title" total
obsidian dev:dom selector=".cm-line" text all

dev:debug — Chrome DevTools Protocol

obsidian dev:debug on     # attach
obsidian dev:debug off    # detach

dev:cdp — Run CDP command

obsidian dev:cdp method="Page.captureScreenshot" params='{"format":"png"}'

dev:mobile — Toggle mobile emulation

obsidian dev:mobile on
obsidian dev:mobile off

Miscellaneous

obsidian help                          # all commands
obsidian help <command>                # specific command help
obsidian version                       # show version
obsidian reload                        # reload app window
obsidian restart                       # restart app
obsidian random                        # open random note
obsidian random:read                   # read random note
obsidian web url="https://..."         # open URL in web viewer
obsidian unique name=<text>            # create unique note

TUI Keyboard Shortcuts

When in TUI mode (obsidian with no command):

Navigation

Editing

Autocomplete

History

Other

Obsidian Headless (Separate Tool)

Obsidian Headless is a STANDALONE client — no desktop app required. It syncs vaults from the command line.

Install

npm install -g obsidian-headless

Requires Node.js 22+ and an active Obsidian Sync subscription.

Authentication

ob login                               # interactive login
ob logout                              # log out
export OBSIDIAN_AUTH_TOKEN="your-token" # for CI/scripts

Headless Sync Commands

ob sync-list-remote                    # list remote vaults
ob sync-list-local                     # list local vaults
ob sync-create-remote --name "Vault" --encryption e2ee --password <pw>
ob sync-setup --vault "Vault" --path ~/vaults/my-vault
ob sync                                # one-time sync
ob sync --continuous                   # watch for changes
ob sync-status                         # check sync status
ob sync-config                         # view/change sync settings
ob sync-unlink                         # disconnect vault

[!warning] Do NOT use both desktop Sync and Headless Sync on the same device. Use one sync method per device.

Agent Workflow Patterns

Common patterns for AI agents working with Obsidian vaults:

Pattern: Append Learning to Study Note

# Append a section to a specific study note
obsidian append path="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy/classes/SS-W01 - Blockchains.md" content="\n## New Insight\nContent here..."

# Update status property after studying
obsidian property:set name=status value=in-progress path="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy/classes/SS-W01 - Blockchains.md"

Pattern: Create Concept Note on Demand

# Create a new concept note
obsidian create path="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy/concepts/PDAs.md" content="---\ntitle: PDAs\ntags:\n  - web3\n  - concept\nstatus: active\n---\n\n# Program Derived Addresses (PDAs)\n\n## Intuition\n..."

Pattern: Search Before Creating

# Check if a concept note already exists
obsidian search query="Program Derived Addresses" path="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy"

# If no result, create it; if found, append to it

Pattern: Check Study Progress

# List all files in SelfStudy
obsidian files folder="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy"

# Check properties of a study note
obsidian properties file="SS-W01 - Blockchains"

# Get tasks from study notes
obsidian tasks path="100xDevBootcamp/03_Web3/SelfStudy"

Pattern: Daily Study Log

# Append study session to daily note
obsidian daily:append content="\n## Web3 Study Session\n- Studied: W01 - Blockchains\n- Key concepts: Distributed ledger, transaction lifecycle\n- Next: W02 - Wallets"

Pattern: Vault Health Check

# Find orphaned notes
obsidian orphans

# Find broken links
obsidian unresolved verbose

# Find dead-end notes
obsidian deadends

Troubleshooting

CLI not found

# Check if binary exists
which obsidian

# macOS: verify PATH in ~/.zprofile
cat ~/.zprofile | grep Obsidian

# Manual PATH addition (macOS)
export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS"

Commands not executing

• Ensure Obsidian app is running (CLI connects to the running instance)
• Restart terminal after initial CLI registration
• Check version: obsidian version (requires 1.12+)

File not found

• Use file= for wikilink-style resolution (just the name)
• Use path= for exact vault-relative paths
• Check if file exists: obsidian search query="filename"

References

• Obsidian CLI Docs
• Obsidian Headless
• Headless Sync