# Export Vault Note > Exports a single Obsidian vault note and all its linked images into a portable zip or tar.gz archive, preserving vault-root-relative paths so the archive unpacks correctly anywhere. Use only when the user explicitly invokes /export-vault-note. - Skill: `psenger/export-vault-note` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files) - Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add psenger/export-vault-note` - Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/psenger/export-vault-note/raw - Safety review: pending - Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex - Category: Coding & Dev Tools - Author: psenger (https://skillmd.com/u/psenger) - Updated: 2026-09-10 - Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/psenger/export-vault-note --- # Export Vault Note This skill runs inside an **Obsidian vault**. It bundles a single Markdown note and every image it links into a portable archive placed at a location of the user's choosing (defaulting to one directory above the vault root). Handles two image link styles: - Wiki-style: `![[image.png]]` or `![[subfolder/image.png]]` - Inline Markdown: `![alt text](path/to/image.png)` **Example:** ``` /export-vault-note projects/blog/my-post.md zip ~/Desktop ``` --- ## Step 1 — Parse Arguments Read `$ARGUMENTS`. Extract: - `note_path` — vault-relative path to the Markdown file (e.g. `ai/notes/my-note.md`) - `format` — `zip` or `tar` - `output_dir` — absolute or relative path where the archive should be saved If `note_path` is missing, ask: *"Which note do you want to export? Provide the vault-relative path, e.g. `ai/notes/my-note.md`."* If `format` is not provided, ask: *"Do you want a `zip` or `tar` archive?"* If `output_dir` is not provided, tell the user: *"The archive will be saved to one directory above the vault root by default. Is that OK, or do you want a different location?"* Wait for confirmation or a new path before continuing. --- ## Step 2 — Locate the Vault Root Walk up the directory tree from the current working directory looking for a `.obsidian` folder. If the note path given is absolute, also try walking up from its parent directory. ```bash python3 -c " import sys from pathlib import Path for start in sys.argv[1:]: p = Path(start).resolve() for candidate in [p] + list(p.parents): if (candidate / '.obsidian').is_dir(): print(candidate) raise SystemExit(0) print('') " "." "" ``` If the output is empty (no `.obsidian` found), ask: *"I couldn't detect the vault root automatically. What is the absolute path to your vault root?"* --- ## Step 3 — Run the Export Write the script below to `/tmp/export_vault_note.py` and run it. The script is embedded directly so the skill works regardless of install location. ```bash cat > /tmp/export_vault_note.py << 'PYEOF' import sys import re import zipfile import tarfile from pathlib import Path def find_vault_wide(vault_root, name): for p in vault_root.rglob(name): return p return None def collect_images(vault_root, note_path): content = note_path.read_text(encoding="utf-8") note_dir = note_path.parent images = [] warnings = [] seen = set() wiki = re.findall(r"!\[\[([^\]|#]+)", content) inline = re.findall(r"!\[[^\]]*\]\(([^)#\s]+)", content) for ref in wiki + inline: ref = ref.strip() if not ref or ref in seen: continue seen.add(ref) if re.match(r"https?://", ref): warnings.append(f"Skipping external image: {ref}") continue abs_path = None if "/" in ref or "\\" in ref: for candidate in [vault_root / ref, note_dir / ref]: if candidate.exists(): abs_path = candidate break else: found = find_vault_wide(vault_root, ref) if found: abs_path = found print(f"Resolved bare link '{ref}' -> {abs_path.relative_to(vault_root)}") if abs_path is None: warnings.append(f"Warning: image not found, skipping: {ref}") continue try: vault_rel = str(abs_path.relative_to(vault_root)) images.append((abs_path, vault_rel)) except ValueError: warnings.append(f"Warning: image outside vault, skipping: {abs_path}") return images, warnings def main(): if len(sys.argv) < 3: print(f"Usage: {sys.argv[0]} [zip|tar] [output_dir]", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(1) vault_root = Path(sys.argv[1]).resolve() note_rel = sys.argv[2] fmt = sys.argv[3] if len(sys.argv) > 3 else "zip" output_dir = Path(sys.argv[4]).resolve() if len(sys.argv) > 4 else vault_root.parent if fmt not in ("zip", "tar"): print(f"Error: format must be 'zip' or 'tar', got '{fmt}'", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(1) if not vault_root.is_dir(): print(f"Error: vault root not found: {vault_root}", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(1) note_path = vault_root / note_rel if not note_path.exists(): print(f"Error: note not found: {note_path}", file=sys.stderr) sys.exit(1) if not output_dir.exists(): output_dir.mkdir(parents=True) images, warnings = collect_images(vault_root, note_path) stem = note_path.stem if fmt == "tar": archive_path = output_dir / f"{stem}.tar.gz" with tarfile.open(archive_path, "w:gz") as tar: tar.add(note_path, arcname=note_rel) for abs_path, vault_rel in images: tar.add(abs_path, arcname=vault_rel) else: archive_path = output_dir / f"{stem}.zip" with zipfile.ZipFile(archive_path, "w", zipfile.ZIP_DEFLATED) as zf: zf.write(note_path, note_rel) for abs_path, vault_rel in images: zf.write(abs_path, vault_rel) print(f"Archive: {archive_path}") print(f"Note: {note_rel}") for _, vault_rel in images: print(f"Image: {vault_rel}") for w in warnings: print(w) if __name__ == "__main__": main() PYEOF python3 /tmp/export_vault_note.py "" "" "" "" ``` Substitute all four values. If the user accepted the default output location, resolve and pass `vault_root.parent` explicitly. --- ## Step 4 — Report Results Parse the script output and report: - **Archive created:** full path - **Note inside archive:** vault-relative path - **Images included:** one line each - **Warnings:** skipped images, resolved bare links — display each prominently so the user can investigate if needed