Obsidian CLI Integration

Trigger

• Keywords: obsidian, vault, daily note, capture to vault, search vault, obsidian task

When NOT to Use

• Obsidian is not installed or CLI is not enabled
• User wants to edit markdown files directly (just use Read/Write)
• User wants to browse Obsidian docs (use agent-browser)
• User wants general task management without Obsidian

Prerequisites

• Obsidian v1.12+ with CLI enabled (Settings > General > Command line interface)
• Obsidian desktop app must be running (CLI uses IPC)

Workflow

/obsidian-cli [intent] [args]
     │
     ▼
 obsidian-preflight.sh --check
     │
     ├─ FAIL → Report issue + remediation
     │
     └─ OK → Resolve vault
              │
              ▼
         obsidian-exec.sh <intent> [args]
              │
              ├─ context → search vault, return results
              ├─ capture → write note/append to file
              ├─ daily   → append to daily note
              └─ task    → add/query tasks

Scripts

Script	Purpose	Invocation
obsidian-preflight.sh	Doctor + vault resolve + config	bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-preflight.sh [--check|--vault <id>|--print-env]
obsidian-exec.sh	Safe intent execution with timeout	bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-exec.sh <intent> [args]

Preflight

# Check CLI + app + IPC readiness
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-preflight.sh --check

# Set default vault
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-preflight.sh --vault "My Vault"

# Print resolved env (for debugging)
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-preflight.sh --print-env

Output lines:

STATUS=ok|error
VAULT=<resolved-vault-name>
OBSIDIAN_VERSION=<version>
ERROR=<message if STATUS=error>

Exec Intents

Intent	Args	CLI Commands Used
context	--query <q> [--limit N]	obsidian search query= limit=
capture	--file <path> --text <content>	obsidian read path=, obsidian create path= content=, obsidian append path= content=
daily	--text <content>	obsidian daily:append content=
task	--add <text> or --list	obsidian daily:append content=, obsidian tasks daily

# Search vault for context
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-exec.sh context --query "auth middleware"

# Capture a decision record
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-exec.sh capture --file "dev/decisions/2026-02-28-auth.md" --text "..."

# Append to daily note
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-exec.sh daily --text "- Implemented auth middleware refactor"

# Add a task
bash scripts/run-skill.sh obsidian-cli obsidian-exec.sh task --add "Review PR #42 auth changes"

Vault Resolution Policy

Deterministic precedence (first match wins):

1. --vault <name> explicit argument
2. OBSIDIAN_VAULT environment variable
3. ~/.sd0x/obsidian-cli.env persisted default
4. CLI-discovered active vault

Verification

• obsidian-preflight.sh --check outputs STATUS=ok
• Vault resolution returns correct vault name
• Each intent produces expected CLI output
• Timeout handles IPC hang gracefully (exit 124)

References

• references/integration-patterns.md — read when planning how to integrate Obsidian into dev workflow
• references/troubleshooting.md — read when preflight fails or commands time out

Examples

# First-time setup: check readiness and set default vault
/obsidian-cli --check
/obsidian-cli --vault "Dev Notes"

# During development: search for related notes
/obsidian-cli context --query "rate limiting implementation"

# After making a decision: capture it
/obsidian-cli capture --file "decisions/2026-02-28-rate-limit.md" --text "Decided to use sliding window..."

# End of session: log what was done
/obsidian-cli daily --text "- Completed rate limiting feature for API gateway"