Obsidian CLI

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

Command Reference

Run obsidian help to see the current command set. Full docs: https://help.obsidian.md/cli

Syntax

• Parameters take a value with =.
• Flags are boolean switches with no value.
• Quote values with spaces.
• Use \n for multiline content and \t for tabs.

obsidian create name="My Note" content="# Hello"
obsidian create name="My Note" silent overwrite

Targeting

Many commands accept file or path:

• file=<name> resolves like a wikilink.
• path=<path> uses an exact vault-relative path such as folder/note.md.

Commands target the most recently focused vault by default. Use vault=<name> as the first parameter to select another vault.

obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="project alpha"

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

Development Work

When the task is plugin, theme, or UI debugging work, keep the main skill light and load the extra workflow only when needed:

• Plugin and Theme Development Reference

Guidance

• Prefer the narrowest command that answers the request instead of reaching for eval first.
• For note content changes, target an exact file or path when ambiguity would be risky.
• For development tasks, reload the plugin or theme and check for errors before claiming success.