obsidian-cli-uri-fallback

When to use this skill

• Cron jobs or CI-like runs that attempt

  obsidian-cli create/open/...

  .
• Desktop app availability is uncertain (headless, remote, or locked session).
• CLI output includes explicit failure signatures while exit code is still zero.
• You need a deterministic fallback path to preserve audit notes.

Instructions

1. Run the intended

   obsidian-cli

   command first.
2. Treat either non-zero exit or known failure-signature text as failure.
   • Minimum signature list:

     • Failed to execute Obsidian URI

     • Cannot find note in vault

3. On failure, write the note directly to markdown path (

   <vault>/.../*.md

   ) using deterministic naming.
4. Record fallback status in run artifacts:
   • attempted command
   • observed signature
   • fallback file path
5. Continue the workflow without retry loops unless user explicitly requested retries.

Examples

• obsidian-cli create "queries/hourly-2026-04-27.md" -c "..."

  prints

  Failed to execute Obsidian URI

  with exit code 0.
  • classify as failure
  • fallback: write

    queries/hourly-2026-04-27.md

    directly
  • record fallback path in survey/PR artifacts

Best practices

1. Prefer ASCII-only automation payloads in unattended shells.
2. Keep fallback filenames stable and timestamped.
3. Never claim Obsidian CLI success when failure-signature text is present.
4. Keep fallback evidence alongside run artifacts for reviewer traceability.

References

• .agent-skills/obsidian-cli/SKILL.md

• .agent-skills/survey/references/keyword-sweep-and-relevance-rescue.md