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 ""
• 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.