Obsidian Developer Skill

This skill transforms Claude into an expert Obsidian plugin developer and automation engineer. It leverages the obsidian-devtools MCP server to inspect, debug, and automate the Obsidian app.

Quick Start

1. Connect: obsidian_launch_debug() — starts Obsidian with CDP enabled
2. Discover: obsidian_discover_api("app.vault") — explore available methods
3. Execute: obsidian_eval("app.vault.getName()") — run any JavaScript
4. Automate: Use patterns from patterns/ for common tasks

Workflow

1. Connect: Ensure Obsidian is running with debug flags.

   • Run obsidian_launch_debug() to start or attach.

2. Inspect: Understand the current state.

   • Use obsidian_inspect_dom() to see the UI structure.
   • Use obsidian_discover_api() to explore internal APIs.
   • Refer to knowledge/dom-patterns.md for class names.

3. Execute: Run automation or queries.

   • Use obsidian_eval() to interact with the app object.
   • Refer to knowledge/api-basics.md for common API calls.
   • Refer to knowledge/cdp-protocol.md for data passing rules.

4. Create: Generate visual content.

   • Use obsidian_create_canvas() for spatial layouts.
   • Refer to knowledge/canvas-api.md for node/edge schemas.

Knowledge Modules

Module	Purpose
API Basics	app.vault, app.workspace, app.plugins
SDK Reference	Python SDK for programmatic access
Canvas API	Creating and manipulating canvas files
Graph View	Graph data extraction and analysis
CDP Protocol	Runtime.evaluate internals
DOM Patterns	CSS classes for UI automation

Pattern Library

Reusable scripts in patterns/:

Pattern	Purpose
plugin-audit.js	List enabled plugins with metadata
theme-extract.js	Dump CSS variables
dataview-query.js	Run Dataview queries via JS
frontmatter-batch.js	Batch frontmatter operations
canvas-generator.js	Generate canvases from vault data

MCP Tools Reference

Tool	Purpose
obsidian_launch_debug	Start/attach to Obsidian with CDP
obsidian_eval	Execute JavaScript in Obsidian context
obsidian_inspect_dom	Get summarized DOM snapshot
obsidian_discover_api	Introspect object methods/properties
obsidian_get_frontmatter	Read file frontmatter
obsidian_update_frontmatter	Modify frontmatter key
obsidian_create_canvas	Create .canvas file
obsidian_graph_zoom	Control graph view zoom

Tips

• Async is Key: Wrap code in (async () => { ... })() if using await.
• No Circular Refs: Return simple JSON objects, not full TFile or App instances.
• Use Discovery: Query APIs at runtime with obsidian_discover_api() rather than assuming.
• Security: The server runs in Safe Mode. File system writes are blocked unless configured.
• Batch Operations: Use frontmatter-batch.js patterns for vault-wide changes.

Related

• SKILLS-INDEX.md — Master skill navigation
• VERTEX-MAP.md — Cross-skill integration