obsidian-core-workflow-a
Execute Obsidian primary workflow: note manipulation and vault operations. Use when implementing file operations, frontmatter handling, or programmatic note creation and modification. Trigger with phrases like "obsidian vault operations", "obsidian file manipulation", "obsidian note management". allowed-tools: Read, Write, Edit, Bash(npm:*), Grep version: 1.0.0 license: MIT author: Jeremy Longshore <jeremy@intentsolutions.io>
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Provided by Plugin
obsidian-pack
Claude Code skill pack for Obsidian plugin development and vault management (24 skills)
Installation
This skill is included in the obsidian-pack plugin:
/plugin install obsidian-pack@claude-code-plugins-plusClick to copy
Instructions
# Obsidian Core Workflow A: Vault Operations
## Overview
Primary workflow for Obsidian plugin development: manipulating notes, handling frontmatter, and working with the vault file system.
## Prerequisites
- Completed `obsidian-install-auth` setup
- Understanding of Obsidian's file structure
- Valid development vault configured
## Instructions
### Step 1: Working with Files (TFile)
```typescript
import { TFile, TFolder, TAbstractFile, Vault } from 'obsidian';
export class FileOperations {
constructor(private vault: Vault) {}
// Get all markdown files
getAllNotes(): TFile[] {
return this.vault.getMarkdownFiles();
}
// Get file by path
getNote(path: string): TFile | null {
const file = this.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(path);
return file instanceof TFile ? file : null;
}
// Read file content
async readNote(file: TFile): Promise {
return this.vault.read(file);
}
// Read file content as cached (faster, may be stale)
readNoteCached(file: TFile): string | null {
return this.vault.cachedRead(file);
}
// Modify file content
async writeNote(file: TFile, content: string): Promise {
await this.vault.modify(file, content);
}
// Create new note
async createNote(path: string, content: string): Promise {
// Ensure parent folder exists
const folderPath = path.substring(0, path.lastIndexOf('/'));
if (folderPath) {
await this.ensureFolder(folderPath);
}
return this.vault.create(path, content);
}
// Delete note
async deleteNote(file: TFile, trash: boolean = true): Promise {
if (trash) {
await this.vault.trash(file, false); // Move to system trash
} else {
await this.vault.delete(file);
}
}
// Rename/move note
async renameNote(file: TFile, newPath: string): Promise {
await this.vault.rename(file, newPath);
}
// Ensure folder exists
private async ensureFolder(path: string): Promise {
const folder = this.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(path);
if (!folder) {
await this.vault.createFolder(path);
}
}
}
```
### Step 2: Frontmatter Operations
```typescript
import { App, TFile, parseYaml, stringifyYaml } from 'obsidian';
export class FrontmatterService {
constructor(private app: App) {}
// Extract frontmatter from note
getFrontmatter(file: TFile): Record | null {
const cache = this.app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
return cache?.frontmatter || null;
}
// Parse frontmatter from content
parseFrontmatter(content: string): { frontmatter: Record | null; body: string } {
const match = content.match(/^---\n([\s\S]*?)\n---\n([\s\S]*)$/);
if (!match) {
return { frontmatter: null, body: content };
}
try {
const frontmatter = parseYaml(match[1]);
return { frontmatter, body: match[2] };
} catch {
return { frontmatter: null, body: content };
}
}
// Update frontmatter in file
async updateFrontmatter(
file: TFile,
updates: Record
): Promise {
const content = await this.app.vault.read(file);
const { frontmatter, body } = this.parseFrontmatter(content);
const newFrontmatter = { ...frontmatter, ...updates };
const yamlContent = stringifyYaml(newFrontmatter);
const newContent = `---\n${yamlContent}---\n${body}`;
await this.app.vault.modify(file, newContent);
}
// Remove frontmatter property
async removeFrontmatterProperty(file: TFile, key: string): Promise {
const content = await this.app.vault.read(file);
const { frontmatter, body } = this.parseFrontmatter(content);
if (frontmatter && key in frontmatter) {
delete frontmatter[key];
const yamlContent = stringifyYaml(frontmatter);
const newContent = `---\n${yamlContent}---\n${body}`;
await this.app.vault.modify(file, newContent);
}
}
// Get all files with specific frontmatter property
getFilesWithProperty(property: string, value?: any): TFile[] {
return this.app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().filter(file => {
const fm = this.getFrontmatter(file);
if (!fm || !(property in fm)) return false;
if (value !== undefined) return fm[property] === value;
return true;
});
}
}
```
### Step 3: Link and Tag Operations
```typescript
import { App, TFile, CachedMetadata } from 'obsidian';
export class LinkService {
constructor(private app: App) {}
// Get all links from a file
getOutgoingLinks(file: TFile): string[] {
const cache = this.app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
const links: string[] = [];
// Wiki-style links [[link]]
cache?.links?.forEach(link => {
links.push(link.link);
});
// Embeds ![[embed]]
cache?.embeds?.forEach(embed => {
links.push(embed.link);
});
return [...new Set(links)];
}
// Get backlinks (files linking to this file)
getBacklinks(file: TFile): TFile[] {
const backlinks: TFile[] = [];
const resolvedLinks = this.app.metadataCache.resolvedLinks;
for (const [sourcePath, links] of Object.entries(resolvedLinks)) {
if (file.path in links) {
const sourceFile = this.app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(sourcePath);
if (sourceFile instanceof TFile) {
backlinks.push(sourceFile);
}
}
}
return backlinks;
}
// Get all tags from a file
getTags(file: TFile): string[] {
const cache = this.app.metadataCache.getFileCache(file);
const tags: string[] = [];
// Tags in content
cache?.tags?.forEach(tag => {
tags.push(tag.tag);
});
// Tags in frontmatter
const fmTags = cache?.frontmatter?.tags;
if (Array.isArray(fmTags)) {
fmTags.forEach(tag => {
tags.push(tag.startsWith('#') ? tag : `#${tag}`);
});
}
return [...new Set(tags)];
}
// Get all files with specific tag
getFilesWithTag(tag: string): TFile[] {
const normalizedTag = tag.startsWith('#') ? tag : `#${tag}`;
return this.app.vault.getMarkdownFiles().filter(file => {
const tags = this.getTags(file);
return tags.includes(normalizedTag);
});
}
// Update link in file (when target is renamed)
async updateLink(
file: TFile,
oldLink: string,
newLink: string
): Promise {
let content = await this.app.vault.read(file);
// Update wiki links
content = content.replace(
new RegExp(`\\[\\[${this.escapeRegex(oldLink)}(\\|[^\\]]*)?\\]\\]`, 'g'),
(match, alias) => `[[${newLink}${alias || ''}]]`
);
await this.app.vault.modify(file, content);
}
private escapeRegex(str: string): string {
return str.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, '\\$&');
}
}
```
### Step 4: Search and Query
```typescript
import { App, TFile, prepareFuzzySearch, prepareSimpleSearch } from 'obsidian';
export class SearchService {
constructor(private app: App) {}
// Fuzzy search file names
searchFileNames(query: string): TFile[] {
const search = prepareFuzzySearch(query);
const results: { file: TFile; score: number }[] = [];
for (const file of this.app.vault.getMarkdownFiles()) {
const match = search(file.basename);
if (match) {
results.push({ file, score: match.score });
}
}
return results
.sort((a, b) => b.score - a.score)
.map(r => r.file);
}
// Simple text search in content
async searchContent(query: string): Promise<{ file: TFile; matches: number }[]> {
const search = prepareSimpleSearch(query);
const results: { file: TFile; matches: number }[] = [];
for (const file of this.app.vault.getMarkdownFiles()) {
const content = await this.app.vault.cachedRead(file);
const match = search(content);
if (match) {
results.push({ file, matches: match.matches.length });
}
}
return results.sort((a, b) => b.matches - a.matches);
}
// Search by multiple criteria
async advancedSearch(criteria: {
folder?: string;
tags?: string[];
frontmatter?: Record;
content?: string;
}): Promise {
let files = this.app.vault.getMarkdownFiles();
// Filter by folder
if (criteria.folder) {
files = files.filter(f => f.path.startsWith(criteria.folder!));
}
// Filter by tags
if (criteria.tags?.length) {
const linkService = new LinkService(this.app);
files = files.filter(f => {
const fileTags = linkService.getTags(f);
return criteria.tags!.every(tag =>
fileTags.includes(tag.startsWith('#') ? tag : `#${tag}`)
);
});
}
// Filter by frontmatter
if (criteria.frontmatter) {
const fmService = new FrontmatterService(this.app);
files = files.filter(f => {
const fm = fmService.getFrontmatter(f);
if (!fm) return false;
return Object.entries(criteria.frontmatter!).every(
([key, value]) => fm[key] === value
);
});
}
// Filter by content
if (criteria.content) {
const search = prepareSimpleSearch(criteria.content);
const contentMatches: TFile[] = [];
for (const file of files) {
const content = await this.app.vault.cachedRead(file);
if (search(content)) {
contentMatches.push(file);
}
}
files = contentMatches;
}
return files;
}
}
```
## Output
- File operations for create, read, update, delete
- Frontmatter parsing and modification
- Link and tag traversal
- Search and query capabilities
## Error Handling
| Error | Cause | Solution |
|-------|-------|----------|
| File not found | Path incorrect | Verify with `getAbstractFileByPath` |
| Permission denied | File locked | Check if file is open in editor |
| YAML parse error | Invalid frontmatter | Validate YAML syntax |
| Circular links | Recursive backlinks | Track visited files |
## Examples
### Complete Note Template
```typescript
async function createNoteFromTemplate(
app: App,
templatePath: string,
newPath: string,
variables: Record
): Promise {
const template = app.vault.getAbstractFileByPath(templatePath);
if (!(template instanceof TFile)) {
throw new Error('Template not found');
}
let content = await app.vault.read(template);
// Replace variables
for (const [key, value] of Object.entries(variables)) {
content = content.replace(new RegExp(`{{${key}}}`, 'g'), value);
}
return app.vault.create(newPath, content);
}
```
## Resources
- [Obsidian Developer Docs - Vault](https://docs.obsidian.md/Reference/TypeScript+API/Vault)
- [Obsidian MetadataCache](https://docs.obsidian.md/Reference/TypeScript+API/MetadataCache)
## Next Steps
For UI components, see `obsidian-core-workflow-b`.