Obsidian CLI — Agent Reference

When to Use CLI vs File Tools

Use CLI when you need Obsidian's index or app features: search, backlinks, links, tags, tasks, properties, bases, templates, outline, orphans, unresolved links

Use file tools (Read/Write/Edit/Grep/Glob) for: simple file read/write, bulk text replacement, grep across files — no app dependency

Rule of thumb: if Obsidian's index adds value, use CLI. If it's plain text manipulation, use file tools.

Syntax Basics

obsidian <command> [param=value ...] [flag ...]