Obsidian

Obsidian vault = a normal folder on disk.

Vault structure (typical) - Notes: *.md (plain text Markdown; edit with any editor) - Config: .obsidian/ (workspace + plugin settings; usually don’t touch from scripts) - Canvases: *.canvas (JSON) - Attachments: whatever folder you chose in Obsidian settings (images/PDFs/etc.)

Find the active vault(s)

Obsidian desktop tracks vaults here (source of truth): - ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json

obsidian-cli resolves vaults from that file; vault name is typically the folder name (path suffix).

Fast “what vault is active / where are the notes?” - If you’ve already set a default: obsidian-cli print-default --path-only - Otherwise, read ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json and use the vault entry with "open": true.

Notes - Multiple vaults common (iCloud vs ~/Documents, work/personal, etc.). Don’t guess; read config. - Avoid writing hardcoded vault paths into scripts; prefer reading the config or using print-default.

obsidian-cli quick start

Pick a default vault (once): - obsidian-cli set-default "<vault-folder-name>" - obsidian-cli print-default / obsidian-cli print-default --path-only

Search - obsidian-cli search "query" (note names) - obsidian-cli search-content "query" (inside notes; shows snippets + lines)

Create - obsidian-cli create "Folder/New note" --content "..." --open - Requires Obsidian URI handler (obsidian://…) working (Obsidian installed). - Avoid creating notes under “hidden” dot-folders (e.g. .something/...) via URI; Obsidian may refuse.

Move/rename (safe refactor) - obsidian-cli move "old/path/note" "new/path/note" - Updates [[wikilinks]] and common Markdown links across the vault (this is the main win vs mv).

Delete - obsidian-cli delete "path/note"

Prefer direct edits when appropriate: open the .md file and change it; Obsidian will pick it up.