obsidian-official-cliWork with Obsidian vaults using the official Obsidian CLI (v1.12+). Open, search, create, move, and manage notes from the terminal. Use when working with Obsidian vaults for note management, file operations, searching content, managing tasks, properties, links, plugins, themes, sync operations, or any command-line interaction with Obsidian.
Install via ClawdBot CLI:
clawdbot install slmoloch/obsidian-official-cliOfficial command-line interface for Obsidian. Anything you can do in Obsidian can be done from the command line ā including developer commands for debugging, screenshots, and plugin reloading.
obsidian commandsource ~/.zprofile (macOS)Test setup: obsidian version
# Single commands
obsidian <command> [parameters] [flags]
# TUI mode (interactive)
obsidian # Enter TUI with autocomplete and history
# Vault targeting
obsidian vault=Notes <command>
obsidian vault="My Vault" <command>name=value (quote values with spaces) for newlines, \t for tabs--copy to copy to clipboard# Info and listing
obsidian file # Active file info
obsidian file file=Recipe # Specific file info
obsidian files # List all files
obsidian files folder=Projects/ # Filter by folder
obsidian folders # List folders
# Open and read
obsidian open file=Recipe # Open file
obsidian open path="Inbox/Note.md" newtab
obsidian read # Read active file
obsidian read file=Recipe --copy # Read and copy to clipboard
# Create new notes
obsidian create name="New Note"
obsidian create name="Note" content="# Title Body"
obsidian create path="Inbox/Idea.md" template=Daily
obsidian create name="Note" silent overwrite
# Modify content
obsidian append file=Note content="New line"
obsidian append file=Note content="Same line" inline
obsidian prepend file=Note content="After frontmatter"
# Move and delete
obsidian move file=Note to=Archive/
obsidian move path="Inbox/Old.md" to="Projects/New.md"
obsidian delete file=Note # To trash
obsidian delete file=Note permanentfile= ā Wikilink resolution (matches by name)path= ā Exact path from vault rootobsidian search query="meeting notes"
obsidian search query="TODO" matches # Show context
obsidian search query="project" path=Projects/
obsidian search query="urgent" limit=10 case
obsidian search query="API" format=json
obsidian search:open query="search term" # Open in Obsidian# Tags
obsidian tags # Active file tags
obsidian tags all # All vault tags
obsidian tags all counts sort=count # By frequency
obsidian tag name=project # Tag info
# Properties (frontmatter)
obsidian properties file=Note
obsidian property:read name=status file=Note
obsidian property:set name=status value=done file=Note
obsidian property:set name=tags value="a,b,c" type=list file=Note
obsidian property:remove name=draft file=Note# Backlinks and outgoing links
obsidian backlinks file=Note # What links to this
obsidian links file=Note # Outgoing links
# Vault analysis
obsidian orphans # No incoming links
obsidian deadends # No outgoing links
obsidian unresolved # Broken links
obsidian unresolved verbose countsobsidian daily # Open today's note
obsidian daily paneType=split # Open in split
obsidian daily:read # Print contents
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] New task"
obsidian daily:prepend content="## Morning"# List tasks
obsidian tasks # Active file
obsidian tasks all # All vault tasks
obsidian tasks all todo # Incomplete only
obsidian tasks file=Recipe # Specific file
obsidian tasks daily # Daily note tasks
# Update tasks
obsidian task ref="Recipe.md:8" toggle
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8 done
obsidian task file=Recipe line=8 todo
obsidian task file=Note line=5 status="-" # Custom [-]obsidian templates # List all templates
obsidian template:read name=Daily
obsidian template:read name=Daily resolve title="My Note"
obsidian template:insert name=Daily # Insert into active file
obsidian create name="Meeting Notes" template=Meetingobsidian bookmarks # List all
obsidian bookmark file="Important.md"
obsidian bookmark file=Note subpath="#Section"
obsidian bookmark folder="Projects/"
obsidian bookmark search="TODO"
obsidian bookmark url="https://..." title="Reference"# List and info
obsidian plugins # All installed
obsidian plugins:enabled # Only enabled
obsidian plugin id=dataview # Plugin info
# Manage plugins
obsidian plugin:enable id=dataview
obsidian plugin:disable id=dataview
obsidian plugin:install id=dataview enable
obsidian plugin:uninstall id=dataview
obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin # Development# Themes
obsidian themes # List installed
obsidian theme # Active theme
obsidian theme:set name=Minimal
obsidian theme:install name="Theme Name" enable
# CSS Snippets
obsidian snippets # List all
obsidian snippet:enable name=my-snippet
obsidian snippet:disable name=my-snippetobsidian sync:status # Status and usage
obsidian sync on/off # Resume/pause
obsidian sync:history file=Note
obsidian sync:restore file=Note version=2
obsidian sync:deleted # Deleted filesobsidian history file=Note # List versions
obsidian history:read file=Note version=1
obsidian history:restore file=Note version=2
obsidian diff file=Note from=2 to=1 # Compare versions# Console and debugging
obsidian devtools # Toggle dev tools
obsidian dev:console # Show console
obsidian dev:errors # JS errors
obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"
# Screenshots and DOM
obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
obsidian dev:dom selector=".workspace-leaf"
obsidian dev:css selector=".mod-active" prop=background
# Mobile and debugging
obsidian dev:mobile on/off
obsidian dev:debug on/off# Workspace management
obsidian workspace # Current layout
obsidian workspace:save name="coding"
obsidian workspace:load name="coding"
obsidian tabs # Open tabs
obsidian tab:open file=Note
# Random and unique
obsidian random # Open random note
obsidian random folder=Inbox newtab
obsidian unique # Create unique name
obsidian wordcount file=Note # Word countobsidian commands # List all command IDs
obsidian commands filter=editor # Filter commands
obsidian command id=editor:toggle-bold
obsidian hotkeys # List hotkeysInteractive terminal UI with enhanced features:
obsidian # Enter TUI modeTUI Shortcuts:
macOS: PATH added to ~/.zprofile
# For other shells, add manually:
export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS"Linux: Symlink at /usr/local/bin/obsidian
# Manual creation if needed:
sudo ln -s /path/to/obsidian /usr/local/bin/obsidianWindows: Requires Obsidian.com terminal redirector (Catalyst Discord)
Generated Mar 1, 2026
Knowledge workers can automate the creation and updating of daily notes with predefined templates, appending tasks, and prepending morning reflections. This ensures consistent note-taking habits and reduces manual entry time, ideal for consultants, researchers, or writers who rely on structured daily logs for productivity.
Teams can use the CLI to batch move, rename, or delete notes across an Obsidian vault, such as reorganizing project files into new folders or archiving outdated content. This streamlines collaboration and maintains vault cleanliness, beneficial for software development, marketing, or academic groups managing shared knowledge bases.
Project managers can list all incomplete tasks across a vault, toggle task statuses, and update frontmatter properties like status or tags programmatically. This enables real-time progress tracking and reporting without opening the GUI, useful in industries like construction, event planning, or product development.
Developers can install, enable, or reload plugins and themes via CLI commands, facilitating automated setup or testing workflows in development environments. This speeds up configuration and debugging for teams building custom Obsidian integrations or themes, common in software engineering and IT.
Content strategists can perform advanced searches for specific terms, identify orphaned or dead-end notes, and analyze backlinks to optimize information architecture. This helps in auditing and refining knowledge bases for accuracy and connectivity, applicable in publishing, education, or corporate training.
Offer a free version with basic file operations and search, while charging for advanced features like automated task management, batch processing, or API integrations. Revenue comes from subscription tiers, targeting individual power users and small teams who need enhanced productivity tools.
Sell enterprise licenses that include multi-user vault management, role-based access controls, and dedicated support for CLI automation. This model caters to larger organizations in sectors like finance or healthcare, where secure, scalable note management is critical, generating revenue through annual contracts.
Provide consulting services to help businesses integrate the Obsidian CLI into their workflows, offering custom scripts, training, and support. Revenue is generated from project-based fees and ongoing maintenance contracts, ideal for clients in research or tech who require tailored solutions.
š¬ Integration Tip
Ensure Obsidian is running and the CLI is enabled in settings before use; start with simple commands like 'obsidian version' to verify setup, then gradually incorporate file operations and searches into scripts for automation.
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Work with Obsidian vaults as a knowledge base. Features: fuzzy/phonetic search across all notes, auto-folder detection for new notes, create/read/edit notes with frontmatter, manage tags and wikilinks. Use when: querying knowledge base, saving notes/documents, editing existing notes by user instructions.