Obsidian Vault Context

Vault Location

• Detection: Run obsidian-cli print-default to get the vault path

• Use direct file operations (Read, Write, Edit) — the vault is just a folder of markdown files

• Only use obsidian-cli for UI operations or link updates

Folder Structure

$VAULT_PATH/ ├── Daily/ # Daily notes (YYYY-MM-DD.md) ├── AI/ # AI/LLM research ├── Software Development/ ├── Technologies/ ├── Work/ ├── assets/ # Images and attachments └── .obsidian/ # Internal config - don't modify

Daily Notes

• Format: YYYY-MM-DD.md (e.g., 2025-10-18.md )

• Location: /Daily/ folder

• No frontmatter - clean markdown

• Path: $VAULT_PATH/Daily/{YYYY-MM-DD}.md

Research Format

Steve captures research in daily notes using this template:

[Tool/Topic Name]

Link: [URL]

What it is: [Brief description]

Key Features:

• Feature 1
• Feature 2

Why it's interesting: [Relevance]

Use case: [When to use it]

Links & Formatting

• Internal links: [[Note Name]] (wikilinks)

• External links: Text (markdown)

• Images: ![[image.png]] (stored in /assets/)

Common Operations

Read daily note: Use the Read tool with path $VAULT_PATH/Daily/2025-10-18.md

Append to daily note: Read the existing file first, then use the Edit tool to append new content at the end. Add \n\n spacing before the new section.

Create new note: Use the Write tool to create $VAULT_PATH/Topic/Note.md with the desired content.

obsidian-cli (Use Sparingly)

• obsidian-cli print-default

• Get vault path

• obsidian-cli open "Note"

• Open in Obsidian UI

• obsidian-cli move "Old" "New"

• Rename with link updates

Prefer direct file operations over obsidian-cli for reading/writing.

Best Practices

• Check if file exists before appending

• Add \n\n spacing between sections

• Use YYYY-MM-DD format for daily notes

• Don't modify .obsidian/ folder

• Preserve existing frontmatter if present