How do I target a specific file?

Many commands accept file= , which resolves like a wikilink, or path= , an exact path from the vault root. Without either, the active file is used.

How do I target a specific vault?

Commands target the most recently focused vault by default. Use vault= as the first parameter to target a specific vault.

How do I write multiline content in a command?

Use \n for newline and \t for tab in the content value.

How do I see all available commands?

Run obsidian help. It is always up to date.

Obsidian CLI

SkillSearch

The obsidian-cli skill teaches an AI agent to drive the obsidian command-line tool against a running Obsidian vault. The agent can read, create, append, and search notes, manage tasks, properties, and tags, and list backlinks. It also covers plugin and theme development, including reloading plugins, checking errors, taking screenshots, inspecting the DOM, and running JavaScript. Obsidian must be open for the commands to work.

Use Obsidian CLI in Claude, ChatGPT or Ahel Desktop

Free. Sign in, add Obsidian CLI and connect your AI. About a minute.

Claude ChatGPT Ahel Desktop

Also: Claude Code · Cursor · Codex

Then ask your AI: use the Obsidian CLI skill

Details

Instructions available. Your AI can read the instructions. Execution depends on the setup they require.

Account requirements not reviewed. Check the skill instructions before use; ahel provides instructions and does not run this skill.

No other account needed.

Have Obsidian installed and open on the vault you want to work with.

Obsidian CLIStart free

What your AI can do with it

Read, create, append, and search notes in a vault
Manage tasks, properties, and tags
List backlinks for a note
Reload plugins and check for errors
Take screenshots and inspect the DOM
Run JavaScript in the app context

Getting started

Have Obsidian installed and open on the vault you want to work with.
Make sure the obsidian command-line tool is available on your system.
Run obsidian help to see the current list of commands.
Target a file with file=<name> or path=<path>, or leave it out to use the active file.
Target a specific vault with vault=<name> as the first parameter.

What this skill tells your AI

The instructions your AI receives, as published by kepano/obsidian-skills in skills/obsidian-cli/SKILL.md and read by ahel’s review.

Use the obsidian CLI to interact with a running Obsidian instance. Requires Obsidian to be open.

Command reference

Run obsidian help to see all available commands. This is always up to date. Full docs: https://help.obsidian.md/cli

Syntax

Parameters take a value with =. Quote values with spaces:

obsidian create name="My Note" content="Hello world"

Flags are boolean switches with no value:

obsidian create name="My Note" silent overwrite

For multiline content use \n for newline and \t for tab.

File targeting

Many commands accept file or path to target a file. Without either, the active file is used.

file=<name> — resolves like a wikilink (name only, no path or extension needed)
path=<path> — exact path from vault root, e.g. folder/note.md

Vault targeting

Commands target the most recently focused vault by default. Use vault=<name> as the first parameter to target a specific vault:

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

Common patterns

obsidian read file="My Note"
obsidian create name="New Note" content="# Hello" template="Template" silent
obsidian append file="My Note" content="New line"
obsidian search query="search term" limit=10
obsidian daily:read
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] New task"
obsidian property:set name="status" value="done" file="My Note"
obsidian tasks daily todo
obsidian tags sort=count counts
obsidian backlinks file="My Note"

Use --copy on any command to copy output to clipboard. Use silent to prevent files from opening. Use total on list commands to get a count.

Plugin development

Develop/test cycle

After making code changes to a plugin or theme, follow this workflow:

Reload the plugin to pick up changes:
```
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin
```
Check for errors — if errors appear, fix and repeat from step 1:
```
obsidian dev:errors
```

Verify visually with a screenshot or DOM inspection:

obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf" text

Check console output for warnings or unexpected logs:
```
obsidian dev:console level=error
```

Additional developer commands

Run JavaScript in the app context:

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

Inspect CSS values:

obsidian dev:css selector=".workspace-leaf" prop=background-color

Toggle mobile emulation:

obsidian dev:mobile on

Run obsidian help to see additional developer commands including CDP and debugger controls.

Signals

GitHub stars: 49k
Forks: 3k
Last commit: Sep 2026
Installs: 77k installs

Others that do the same job

obsidian-cli
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Skill · kevrojo obsidian-cli
Skill · georgekhananaev obsidian-cli
Skill · martinlwx obsidian-cli
Skill · guanyang obsidian-cli
Skill · brycewang-stanford

Questions

Does Obsidian need to be open for the commands to work?: Yes. The skill uses the obsidian CLI to interact with a running Obsidian instance, so Obsidian must be open.
How do I target a specific file?: Many commands accept file=<name>, which resolves like a wikilink, or path=<path>, an exact path from the vault root. Without either, the active file is used.
How do I target a specific vault?: Commands target the most recently focused vault by default. Use vault=<name> as the first parameter to target a specific vault.
How do I write multiline content in a command?: Use \n for newline and \t for tab in the content value.
How do I see all available commands?: Run obsidian help. It is always up to date.

Advanced

Item type: skill
Key: obsidian-cli-kepano
Source: github.com/kepano/obsidian-skills

github.com/kepano/obsidian-skills

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