Obsidian

Overview

This skill provides comprehensive guidance for working with Obsidian, a powerful knowledge management and note-taking application. It covers vault structure, the Obsidian API for plugin development, URI scheme automation, markdown extensions, and integration with external tools via the Local REST API.

Quick Reference

Vault Structure

my-vault/
├── .obsidian/              # Configuration folder
│   ├── app.json            # App settings
│   ├── appearance.json     # Theme settings
│   ├── community-plugins.json  # Installed plugins list
│   ├── core-plugins.json   # Core plugin toggles
│   ├── hotkeys.json        # Custom keybindings
│   ├── plugins/            # Plugin data folders
│   │   └── <plugin-id>/
│   │       ├── main.js     # Compiled plugin code
│   │       ├── manifest.json
│   │       └── data.json   # Plugin settings
│   └── workspace.json      # Layout state
├── Notes/                  # User notes (any structure)
├── Attachments/            # Images, PDFs, etc.
└── Templates/              # Template files

Obsidian URI Scheme

Native Obsidian supports obsidian:// protocol for automation:

# Open a vault
obsidian://open?vault=MyVault

# Open a specific file
obsidian://open?vault=MyVault&file=Notes/MyNote

# Create a new note
obsidian://new?vault=MyVault&name=NewNote&content=Hello

# Search the vault
obsidian://search?vault=MyVault&query=keyword

# Open daily note
obsidian://daily?vault=MyVault

URI Parameters

Workflow Decision Tree

What do you need to do?
├── Automate Obsidian from external tools?
│   ├── Simple open/create operations?
│   │   └── Use: Native obsidian:// URI scheme
│   ├── Complex automation (append, prepend, commands)?
│   │   └── Use: Advanced URI plugin
│   └── Full programmatic access?
│       └── Use: Local REST API plugin
├── Build a plugin for Obsidian?
│   └── See: Plugin Development section
├── Work with vault files directly?
│   └── Use: obsidian-cli or direct file operations
├── Extend markdown syntax?
│   └── See: Markdown Extensions section
└── Query notes and metadata?
    └── Use: Local REST API or Dataview plugin

Plugin Development

Plugin Structure

my-plugin/
├── main.ts           # Plugin entry point
├── manifest.json     # Plugin metadata
├── package.json      # npm dependencies
├── styles.css        # Optional styles
├── tsconfig.json     # TypeScript config
└── esbuild.config.mjs # Build config

manifest.json

{
  "id": "my-plugin",
  "name": "My Plugin",
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "minAppVersion": "1.0.0",
  "description": "A sample plugin for Obsidian",
  "author": "Your Name",
  "authorUrl": "https://github.com/username",
  "isDesktopOnly": false
}

Basic Plugin Template

import { Plugin, Notice, MarkdownView } from 'obsidian';

export default class MyPlugin extends Plugin {
  async onload() {
    console.log('Loading plugin');

    // Register a command
    this.addCommand({
      id: 'my-command',
      name: 'My Command',
      callback: () => {
        new Notice('Hello from my plugin!');
      }
    });

    // Register editor command
    this.addCommand({
      id: 'my-editor-command',
      name: 'Insert Text',
      editorCallback: (editor, view: MarkdownView) => {
        editor.replaceSelection('Inserted text');
      }
    });

    // Register event listener
    this.registerEvent(
      this.app.workspace.on('file-open', (file) => {
        if (file) {
          console.log('Opened:', file.path);
        }
      })
    );
  }

  onunload() {
    console.log('Unloading plugin');
  }
}

Core API Classes

Plugin Lifecycle

// onload() - Called when plugin is enabled
async onload() {
  // Initialize UI components
  // Register event handlers
  // Set up commands
  // Load settings
}

// onunload() - Called when plugin is disabled
onunload() {
  // Cleanup is mostly automatic
  // Custom cleanup for external resources
}

Local REST API

The Local REST API plugin provides HTTP endpoints to interact with Obsidian programmatically.

Installation

1. Install “Local REST API” from Community Plugins
2. Enable the plugin
3. Configure API key in settings
4. Default endpoint: https://127.0.0.1:27124

Authentication

# Using API key header
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
     https://127.0.0.1:27124/vault/

Common Endpoints

# List all files
GET /vault/

# Get file content
GET /vault/{path-to-file}

# Create/Update file
PUT /vault/{path-to-file}
Content-Type: text/markdown
Body: File content here

# Delete file
DELETE /vault/{path-to-file}

# Search vault
POST /search/simple/
Content-Type: application/json
Body: {"query": "search term"}

# Execute command
POST /commands/{command-id}

# Get active file
GET /active/

# Open file in Obsidian
POST /open/{path-to-file}

Python Example

import requests

class ObsidianAPI:
    def __init__(self, api_key, base_url="https://127.0.0.1:27124"):
        self.base_url = base_url
        self.headers = {
            "Authorization": f"Bearer {api_key}",
            "Content-Type": "application/json"
        }
        self.session = requests.Session()
        self.session.verify = False  # Self-signed cert

    def list_files(self, path=""):
        response = self.session.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/vault/{path}",
            headers=self.headers
        )
        return response.json()

    def read_file(self, path):
        response = self.session.get(
            f"{self.base_url}/vault/{path}",
            headers=self.headers
        )
        return response.text

    def write_file(self, path, content):
        response = self.session.put(
            f"{self.base_url}/vault/{path}",
            headers={**self.headers, "Content-Type": "text/markdown"},
            data=content.encode('utf-8')
        )
        return response.status_code == 204

    def search(self, query):
        response = self.session.post(
            f"{self.base_url}/search/simple/",
            headers=self.headers,
            json={"query": query}
        )
        return response.json()

Markdown Extensions

Obsidian extends standard Markdown with special syntax:

Internal Links (Wikilinks)

[[Note Name]]                    # Link to note
[[Note Name|Display Text]]       # Link with alias
[[Note Name#Heading]]            # Link to heading
[[Note Name#^block-id]]          # Link to block
[[Note Name#^block-id|alias]]    # Block link with alias

Embeds (Transclusion)

![[Note Name]]                   # Embed entire note
![[Note Name#Heading]]           # Embed section
![[Note Name#^block-id]]         # Embed block
![[image.png]]                   # Embed image
![[image.png|300]]               # Embed with width
![[image.png|300x200]]           # Embed with dimensions
![[audio.mp3]]                   # Embed audio
![[video.mp4]]                   # Embed video
![[document.pdf]]                # Embed PDF

Callouts

> [!note] Title
> Content here

> [!warning] Caution
> Important warning message

> [!tip]+ Expandable (default open)
> Click to collapse

> [!info]- Collapsed (default closed)
> Click to expand

# Available types:
# note, abstract, summary, tldr, info, todo, tip, hint,
# important, success, check, done, question, help, faq,
# warning, caution, attention, failure, fail, missing,
# danger, error, bug, example, quote, cite

Block References

This is a paragraph. ^block-id

# Reference this block from another note:
[[Note#^block-id]]

Tags

#tag
#nested/tag
#tag-with-dashes

Frontmatter (YAML)

---
title: My Note
date: 2024-01-15
tags:
  - tag1
  - tag2
aliases:
  - alternate name
cssclass: custom-class
---

# Note content starts here

Comments

%%This is a comment that won't render%%

%%
Multi-line
comment
%%

Math (LaTeX)

Inline: $E = mc^2$

Block:
$$
\frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}
$$

Mermaid Diagrams

```mermaid
graph TD
    A[Start] --> B{Decision}
    B -->|Yes| C[Action 1]
    B -->|No| D[Action 2]
```

CLI Tools

obsidian-cli (Yakitrak)

# Install
go install github.com/Yakitrak/obsidian-cli@latest

# Commands
obsidian-cli open "Note Name"         # Open note
obsidian-cli search "query"           # Fuzzy search
obsidian-cli create "New Note"        # Create note
obsidian-cli daily                    # Open daily note
obsidian-cli list                     # List notes

obsidian-cli (Python)

# Install
pip install obsidian-cli

# Commands
obs vault list                        # List vaults
obs vault create <name>               # Create vault
obs note search <query>               # Search notes
obs settings export                   # Export settings

Best Practices

1. Use separate dev vault: Never develop plugins in your main vault
2. Hot reload plugin: Install for faster development iteration
3. Use registerEvent(): Ensures proper cleanup on unload
4. Prefer UIDs over paths: File paths can change; use unique identifiers
5. Handle async properly: Use await for vault operations
6. Test with Obsidian sandbox: Use BRAT plugin for beta testing
7. Follow manifest conventions: Keep id matching folder name
8. Version carefully: Update versions.json for compatibility

Troubleshooting

Plugin Not Loading

# Check console for errors
Ctrl+Shift+I (or Cmd+Option+I on Mac)

# Verify manifest.json is valid JSON
jq . manifest.json

# Check minAppVersion compatibility
# Ensure main.js exists in plugin folder

URI Not Working

# URL encode special characters
# Spaces: %20
# Slashes: %2F
# Ampersands: %26

# Test with simple vault name first
obsidian://open?vault=test

REST API Connection Failed

# Verify plugin is enabled
# Check API key is correct
# Confirm HTTPS and self-signed cert handling
# Default port: 27124

Resources

References

• references/uri-scheme.md – Complete URI scheme documentation
• references/plugin-development.md – Plugin development guide
• references/vault-structure.md – Vault and config structure
• references/markdown-extensions.md – Obsidian markdown syntax
• references/api-reference.md – TypeScript API reference

Scripts

• scripts/obsidian-vault.sh – Vault management utilities
• scripts/obsidian-api.py – Local REST API Python client

External Documentation

• Obsidian Developer Documentation
• Obsidian API Types
• Sample Plugin Template
• Local REST API Plugin
• Advanced URI Plugin
• Obsidian Help