Obsidian Vault File Operations
Comprehensive guidance for managing files, folders, and daily notes in Obsidian vaults using the official Obsidian CLI.
Prerequisites
- Obsidian desktop v1.12.4+ installed
- CLI enabled in Settings → General → Command line interface
- Obsidian must be running (CLI communicates with the running instance)
When to Use
Use this skill automatically when:
- User requests reading, creating, or editing Obsidian notes
- User mentions listing files or folders in a vault
- User wants to move or delete notes
- User needs daily note operations (open, read, append, prepend)
- User wants vault statistics or file counts
Path Conventions
- All paths are vault-relative — use
folder/note.md, not absolute filesystem paths createomits.mdextension (added automatically)moverequires full target path including.mdextension- Quote values containing spaces:
file="My Note Title" - Newlines:
\n, tabs:\t
Core File Operations
List Files
# All files in vault
obsidian files
# Files in specific folder
obsidian files folder=Projects/Active
# Total note count
obsidian files total
# JSON output for parsing
obsidian files format=jsonList Folders
# All directories
obsidian folders
# Tree view
obsidian folders format=treeRead a Note
# Read by name (wikilink resolution)
obsidian read file="Note Name"
# Read by path
obsidian read path="Projects/spec.md"Create a Note
# Basic create (no .md needed)
obsidian create name="New Note"
# Create in folder with content
obsidian create name="Projects/Feature Spec" content="# Feature Spec\n\nDescription here."
# Create from template
obsidian create name="Meeting Notes" template="Templates/Meeting"
# Overwrite existing
obsidian create name="Draft" content="Fresh start" --overwriteAppend / Prepend
# Add to end of note
obsidian append file="Daily Log" content="\n## New Section\nContent here."
# Add to beginning of note
obsidian prepend file="Inbox" content="- [ ] New task\n"Move a Note
# Move to folder (requires .md extension on target)
obsidian move file="Draft" to=Archive/Draft.md
# Rename in place
obsidian move file="Old Name" to="New Name.md"Delete a Note
# Move to Obsidian trash
obsidian delete file="Old Note"
# Permanent deletion (irreversible)
obsidian delete file="Old Note" --permanentDaily Notes
# Open today's daily note (creates if needed)
obsidian daily
# Read today's content
obsidian daily:read
# Append to today's note
obsidian daily:append content="- Met with team about roadmap"
# Prepend to today's note
obsidian daily:prepend content="## Morning Goals\n- Review PRs"
# Open specific date
obsidian daily:open date=2026-02-15Common Flags
| Flag | Description | |
|---|---|---|
format=json | JSON output for machine parsing | |
format=csv | CSV output | |
format=tree | Tree view for folders | |
--silent | Suppress output | |
--overwrite | Replace existing note on create | |
--permanent | Irreversible delete (skip trash) | |
--copy | Copy result to clipboard | |
limit=N | Limit result count | |
| `sort=name\ | date` | Sort order |
Agentic Optimizations
| Context | Command |
|---|---|
| List files (structured) | obsidian files format=json |
| File count | obsidian files total |
| Folder listing (structured) | obsidian folders format=json |
| Read note content | obsidian read file="Name" |
| Quick capture to daily | obsidian daily:append content="text" |
| Batch file listing | obsidian files folder=X format=json |
Related Skills
- search-discovery — Find notes by content, tags, or links
- properties — Manage YAML frontmatter on notes
- tasks — Task management across the vault