Obsidian CLI is a newly released command-line interface tool designed to enable programmatic control and interaction with the Obsidian knowledge base application. Its core methodology allows users to script, automate workflows, and integrate Obsidian with external tools directly from the terminal.

The tool provides extensive control over nearly all Obsidian functionalities. Users can perform common tasks such as:

• Note Management: Create new notes (e.g., $obsidian create name="Trip to Paris" template=Travel$), open existing notes (e.g., obsidian daily to open the daily note), read note content (e.g., obsidian read for the current file), and append content to notes (e.g., $obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Buy groceries"$).
• Information Retrieval: Search for specific notes based on queries (e.g., $obsidian search query="meeting notes"$).
• Task Management: View all accumulated tasks (e.g., obsidian tasks daily).
• Version Control: Compare different versions of a file (e.g., $obsidian diff file=README from=1 to=3$).
• Tagging and Synchronization: While not explicitly detailed with command examples, the article states these are also controllable via CLI.

Beyond standard user operations, Obsidian CLI includes specialized commands for developers, facilitating deeper interaction and debugging:

• Developer Tools Access: Open the developer console (e.g., obsidian dev:open).
• Plugin Management: Reload specific plugins (e.g., $obsidian plugin:reload id=my-plugin$).
• Screenshot Capture: Take screenshots (e.g., $obsidian dev:screenshot path=screenshot.png$).
• JavaScript Execution: Execute arbitrary JavaScript code within the Obsidian application context, providing direct access to its internal Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) (e.g., $obsidian dev:eval code="app.vault.getFiles().length"$).

The CLI can be utilized in two primary modes:

1. Single Command Execution: Users can run individual commands directly in the terminal.
2. Terminal User Interface (TUI): This interactive mode provides an enhanced user experience within the terminal, featuring auto-completion for commands via the Tab key and the ability to navigate through command history using the ↑ arrow key, accelerating command selection and execution.

Obsidian CLI offers cross-platform compatibility, supporting Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. However, its current availability is restricted to users of Obsidian version 1.12 or higher within the Early Access program, and it requires an active Catalyst license for access.

Community reception has been highly positive, with users expressing enthusiasm for the new capabilities, particularly its potential to integrate Obsidian more deeply into personal "Life OS" workflows and enhance automation possibilities.