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.