obsidian-cli - Control Obsidian from the Terminal

Keyword:
obsidian cli
·
obsidian uri
·
obsidian daily note command
·
obsidian plugin reload cli
Use this skill for the official desktop CLI. If the user needs sync without the desktop app, that is Obsidian Headless, not this skill.

Obsidian CLI is the official command line interface for controlling a running Obsidian app from the terminal. It supports single commands, an interactive TUI, vault and file targeting, note operations, search, tags, tasks, and developer commands. Official docs also link it closely with the

obsidian://

URI protocol for cross-app automation.

When to use this skill

Enable and verify the official Obsidian CLI registration

Run one-shot commands such as

obsidian help

obsidian daily

obsidian read

, or

obsidian search

Open the interactive TUI with autocomplete and history
Target a specific vault with
```
vault=<name>
```
or
```
vault=<id>
```
Target a specific note with
```
file=<name>
```
or
```
path=<path>
```
Copy command output with
```
--copy
```
Use developer commands for plugin and theme work such as
```
devtools
```
,
```
plugin:reload
```
,
```
dev:screenshot
```
, and
```
eval
```
Launch or generate
```
obsidian://
```
URIs for open, new, daily, unique, search, and callback-based workflows

Instructions

Step 1: Enable and verify the CLI

Use the official app flow first:

Upgrade to the installer and early access versions required by the docs
In Obsidian, go to
```
Settings -> General
```
Enable
```
Command line interface
```
Follow the prompt to register the CLI

Run the local helper:

bash

bash scripts/install.sh

What to remember:

The docs currently say CLI usage requires the Obsidian
```
1.12
```
installer
The same page also says to upgrade to the latest installer
```
1.11.7
```
and the latest early access
```
1.12.x
```
The app must be running, or the first CLI command launches it
Linux packaging may need extra symlink or PATH work

Treat those version strings exactly as current official docs, not as inferred packaging logic.

Step 2: Choose single-command mode or the TUI

Run a single command:

bash

obsidian help

Open the terminal interface:

bash

obsidian
help

Use the TUI when the user wants autocomplete, command history, and reverse search. Use single-command mode for scripts, automation, and shell aliases.

Step 3: Target the right vault and file

Vault targeting rules:

If the current working directory is a vault, that vault is used by default
Otherwise, the active vault is used
```
vault=<name>
```
or
```
vault=<id>
```
must be the first parameter before the command

Examples:

bash

obsidian vault=Notes daily
obsidian vault="My Vault" search query="meeting notes"

File targeting rules:

```
file=<name>
```
uses wikilink-style resolution by file name
```
path=<path>
```
requires the exact path from the vault root
If neither is provided, many commands default to the active file

Examples:

bash

obsidian read file=Recipe
obsidian read path="Templates/Recipe.md"

Move the targeting details into references/vault-and-file-targeting.md.

Step 4: Use the command families that match the job

Start with the everyday commands:

```
daily
```
```
daily:append
```
```
search
```
```
read
```
```
create
```
```
tags
```
```
tasks
```
```
diff
```

General commands:

```
help
```
```
version
```
```
reload
```
```
restart
```

Developer-oriented commands:

```
devtools
```
```
plugin:reload
```
```
dev:screenshot
```
```
eval
```

These developer commands are especially useful for plugin and theme workflows because the docs explicitly position them for automatic testing and debugging.

See references/commands-and-developer-tools.md for a compact command map.

Step 5: Use flags and output features deliberately

Parameter rules:

Parameters use
```
name=value
```
Wrap values with spaces in quotes
Boolean switches are bare flags such as
```
open
```
or
```
overwrite
```
Use
```
\n
```
for newlines and
```
\t
```
for tabs in content strings

Examples:

bash

obsidian create
obsidian create name=Note content="Hello world"
obsidian create name=Note content="Hello" open overwrite
obsidian create name=Note content="# Title\n\nBody text"

Output helper:

bash

obsidian read --copy
obsidian search query="TODO" --copy

Many listing commands also expose

format=

parameters such as

json

tsv

csv

md

, or

paths

Step 6: Use

obsidian://

URI workflows for external automation

The official URI actions include:

```
open
```
```
new
```
```
daily
```
```
unique
```
```
search
```
```
choose-vault
```

Examples:

text

obsidian://open?vault=my%20vault&file=my%20note
obsidian://new?vault=my%20vault&name=my%20note
obsidian://daily?vault=my%20vault
obsidian://search?vault=my%20vault&query=Obsidian

Important URI rules:

Encode values properly, especially spaces and
```
/
```
```
path=
```
overrides
```
vault
```
and
```
file
```
```
paneType=tab|split|window
```
controls opening location
```
paneType=window
```
is desktop-only
```
x-success
```
and
```
x-error
```
support callback flows on supported endpoints

Use references/uri-and-callbacks.md for the URI-specific behavior and Hook integration notes.

Step 7: Respect the limitations

CLI automation is for the desktop app, not headless sync
```
daily
```
requires the Daily notes plugin to be enabled
```
unique
```
requires the Unique note creator plugin to be enabled
Linux registration may require manual symlinks, PATH updates, or packaging-specific fixes
Developer commands can change app or plugin state, so use them intentionally

Examples

Example 1: Verify CLI registration

bash

bash scripts/install.sh

Example 2: Open the TUI

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh

Example 3: Open today's daily note

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh daily

Example 4: Append a task to today's daily note

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh daily:append content="- [ ] Buy groceries"

Example 5: Search a specific vault

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh vault="My Vault" search query="meeting notes"

Example 6: Read a file by name or exact path

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh read file=Recipe
bash scripts/run-command.sh read path="Templates/Recipe.md" --copy

Example 7: Reload a plugin you are developing

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh plugin:reload id=my-plugin

Example 8: Take a screenshot from the app

bash

bash scripts/run-command.sh dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png

Example 9: Open a note via URI

bash

bash scripts/open-uri.sh 'obsidian://open?vault=my%20vault&file=my%20note'

Best practices

Start with
```
obsidian help
```
or the TUI before assuming a command family name.
Put
```
vault=
```
first when you need deterministic multi-vault automation.
Prefer
```
path=
```
when duplicate file names make wikilink-style
```
file=
```
resolution ambiguous.
Use
```
--copy
```
when the result needs to feed another tool or model without extra shell parsing.
Treat developer commands like
```
plugin:reload
```
,
```
eval
```
, and
```
dev:screenshot
```
as operational tools, not casual shortcuts.
Keep CLI automation separate from Headless Sync workflows; they solve different problems.
URI values must be encoded correctly or the action may be misinterpreted.
On Linux, check registration, symlinks, and
```
PATH
```
before assuming the CLI is broken.

References

references/installation-and-troubleshooting.md
references/vault-and-file-targeting.md
references/commands-and-developer-tools.md
references/uri-and-callbacks.md
scripts/install.sh
scripts/run-command.sh
scripts/open-uri.sh
Obsidian CLI
Obsidian URI

obsidian-cli

NPX Install

Tags

SKILL.md Content

obsidian-cli - Control Obsidian from the Terminal

When to use this skill

Instructions

Step 1: Enable and verify the CLI

Step 2: Choose single-command mode or the TUI

Step 3: Target the right vault and file

Step 4: Use the command families that match the job

Step 5: Use flags and output features deliberately

Step 6: Use
`obsidian://`
URI workflows for external automation

Step 7: Respect the limitations

Examples

Example 1: Verify CLI registration

Example 2: Open the TUI

Example 3: Open today's daily note

Example 4: Append a task to today's daily note

Example 5: Search a specific vault

Example 6: Read a file by name or exact path

Example 7: Reload a plugin you are developing

Example 8: Take a screenshot from the app

Example 9: Open a note via URI

Best practices

References