Obsidian Vault Operations Skill

Core operations for reading, writing, and managing files in an Obsidian vault.

Vault Structure

vault-root/
├── CLAUDE.md           # Main context (always read first)
├── Daily Notes/        # YYYY-MM-DD.md format
├── Goals/              # Goal cascade files
├── Projects/           # Project folders with CLAUDE.md
├── Templates/          # Reusable note structures
└── Archives/           # Completed/inactive content

File Operations

Reading Notes

• Use Glob to find files: *.md, Daily Notes/*.md
• Read CLAUDE.md first for vault context
• Check for wiki-links to related notes

Creating Notes

1. Check if note already exists
2. Use appropriate template if available
3. Add YAML frontmatter with date and tags
4. Insert wiki-links to related notes

Editing Notes

• Preserve YAML frontmatter structure
• Maintain existing wiki-links
• Use consistent heading hierarchy
• Apply standard tag format

Wiki-Link Format

[[Note Name]]                    # Simple link
[[Note Name|Display Text]]       # Link with alias
[[Note Name#Section]]            # Link to section

YAML Frontmatter

Standard frontmatter structure:

---
date: 2024-01-15
tags: [tag1, tag2]
status: active
---

Template Variables

When processing templates, replace:

• {{date}} – Today’s date (YYYY-MM-DD)
• {{date:format}} – Formatted date
• {{date-1}} – Yesterday
• {{date+1}} – Tomorrow
• {{time}} – Current time

Common Patterns

Daily Note Creation

1. Calculate today’s date in YYYY-MM-DD format
2. Check if Daily Notes/{date}.md exists
3. If not, read Templates/Daily Template.md
4. Replace template variables
5. Write to Daily Notes/{date}.md

Finding Related Notes

1. Extract key terms from current note
2. Search vault for matching content
3. Suggest wiki-links to related notes

Tag Operations

• Priority: #priority/high, #priority/medium, #priority/low
• Status: #active, #waiting, #completed, #archived
• Context: #work, #personal, #health, #learning

Best Practices

1. Always check CLAUDE.md for vault-specific conventions
2. Preserve existing structure when editing
3. Use relative paths for internal links
4. Add frontmatter to new notes
5. Link to relevant goals when creating tasks