Obsidian CLI

Run obsidian <command> to control Obsidian from the terminal. The app must be running for most commands; the first command will launch Obsidian if not open.

Targeting vaults and files

• Vault: Add vault=<name> to target a specific vault. Default: uses cwd if it’s a vault folder, else the active vault.
• File: Use file=<name> (wikilink resolution, extension optional) or path=<path> (exact path from vault root).
• TUI: Run obsidian with no args for interactive mode; omit the obsidian prefix inside.

Parameters and flags

• Parameters: param=value. Quote values with spaces: content="Hello world".
• Flags: Boolean, no value: silent, overwrite, newtab.
• Multiline content: Use \n for newlines, \t for tabs in content=.

Common commands

Notes and content

obsidian create name="Note" content="Hello world"
obsidian create name="Note" template=Travel  # from Templates folder
obsidian create name="Note" content="# Title\n\nBody" overwrite silent
obsidian read [file=Note] [path=folder/note.md]
obsidian open [file=Note] [newtab]
obsidian append [file=Note] content="- [ ] Task"
obsidian prepend [file=Note] content="# Header\n"
obsidian delete [file=Note] [permanent]
obsidian move [file=Note] to=folder/newpath.md

Daily notes

Requires Daily notes plugin. Use daily:append / daily:prepend for content.

obsidian daily [paneType=tab|split|window] [silent]
obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Buy groceries" [inline] [silent]
obsidian daily:prepend content="- [ ] Morning routine" [inline]
obsidian daily:read

Search and navigation

obsidian search query="meeting notes" [path=folder] [limit=10] [format=text|json]
obsidian search:open query="tag:project"
obsidian files [folder=path] [ext=md] [total]
obsidian recents [total]
obsidian random [folder=path] [newtab] [silent]

Tasks and tags

obsidian tasks [daily] [file=Note] [todo] [done] [status="x"] [total] [verbose]
obsidian task ref=path:line [toggle] [done] [todo] [daily]
obsidian tags [all] [file=Note] [total] [counts] [sort=count]
obsidian tag name=project [total] [verbose]

Links and structure

obsidian links [file=Note] [total]
obsidian backlinks [file=Note] [counts] [total]
obsidian outline [file=Note] [format=tree|md]
obsidian orphans [total] [all]
obsidian deadends [total] [all]
obsidian unresolved [total] [counts] [verbose]

Properties and frontmatter

obsidian properties [all] [file=Note] [total] [counts] [format=yaml|tsv]
obsidian property:read name=status [file=Note]
obsidian property:set name=status value=done [file=Note]
obsidian property:remove name=status [file=Note]

Bases (Bases plugin)

obsidian bases
obsidian base:views [file=base.base]
obsidian base:query [file=base.base] [view=name] [format=json|csv|tsv|md|paths]
obsidian base:create name="Item" content="..." [silent] [newtab]

Plugins and themes

obsidian plugins [filter=core|community] [versions]
obsidian plugin:install id=plugin-id [enable]
obsidian plugin:enable id=plugin-id
obsidian plugin:disable id=plugin-id
obsidian plugin:reload id=plugin-id  # for development
obsidian themes [versions]
obsidian theme:install name=Theme [enable]
obsidian theme:set name=Theme

Publish

obsidian publish:status [total] [new] [changed] [deleted]
obsidian publish:add [file=Note] [changed]
obsidian publish:remove [file=Note]
obsidian publish:list [total]

History and diff

obsidian history [file=Note]
obsidian history:read [file=Note] version=2
obsidian history:restore [file=Note] version=2
obsidian diff [file=Note] [from=1] [to=3] [filter=local|sync]

Vault and workspace

obsidian vault [info=name|path|files|folders|size]
obsidian vaults [total] [verbose]
obsidian workspace:save [name=layout]
obsidian workspace:load name=layout
obsidian reload
obsidian restart

Execute Obsidian commands

obsidian commands [filter=prefix]
obsidian command id=app:open-settings
obsidian hotkey id=app:open-settings [verbose]

Developer commands

obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png
obsidian dev:dom selector=".cm-editor" [text] [attr=class]
obsidian dev:css selector=".cm-editor" [prop=color]
obsidian dev:console [clear] [limit=10] [level=log|warn|error]
obsidian dev:errors [clear]
obsidian devtools
obsidian eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"

Quick reference

Help

Run obsidian help (not --help) for the full command list.

References

For the most up-to-date CLI documentation: Obsidian CLI (Context7)