Obsidian

Obsidian

Obsidian vault = a normal folder on disk.

Vault structure (typical)

• Attachments: whatever folder you chose in Obsidian settings (images/PDFs/etc.)
• Canvases:*.canvas(JSON)
• Config:.obsidian/(workspace + plugin settings; usually don't touch from scripts)
• Notes:*.md(plain text Markdown; edit with any editor)

Find the active vault(s)

Obsidian desktop tracks vaults here (source of truth):

• ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json

obsidian-cli resolves vaults from that file; vault name is typically the folder name (path suffix).

Fast "what vault is active / where are the notes?"

• Otherwise, read~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json and use the vault entry with"open": true.
• If you've already set a default:obsidian-cli print-default --path-only

Notes

• Avoid writing hardcoded vault paths into scripts; prefer reading the config or usingprint-default.
• Multiple vaults common (iCloud vs~/Documents, work/personal, etc.). Don't guess; read config.

obsidian-cli quick start

Pick a default vault (once):

• obsidian-cli print-default/obsidian-cli print-default --path-only
• obsidian-cli set-default "<vault-name>"

Search

• obsidian-cli search-content "query"(inside notes; shows snippets + lines)
• obsidian-cli search "query"(note names)

Create

• Avoid creating notes under "hidden" dot-folders (e.g..something/...) via URI; Obsidian may refuse.
• Requires Obsidian URI handler (obsidian://…) working (Obsidian installed).
• obsidian-cli create "Folder/New note" --content "..." --open

Move/rename (safe refactor)

• Updates[[wikilinks]] and common Markdown links across the vault (this is the main win vsmv).
• obsidian-cli move "old/path/note" "new/path/note"

Delete

• obsidian-cli delete "path/note"

Prefer direct edits when appropriate: open the.md file and change it; Obsidian will pick it up.