vault

Obsidian Vault Skill

Interact with an Obsidian vault through the obsidian MCP server. The user's vault follows the PARA method. The server is pinned to one vault at startup via env, so never pass a vault parameter — it doesn't exist on any tool.

Step 0 — Always Do First

Before any action, get the current date/time with mcp__obsidian__date_time. Called with no arguments it returns a JSON object (iso, date, time, weekday, timezone, unix, utc); pass format for a single strftime string (e.g. "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S %A"). Keep the result handy — you need it for daily notes, timestamps, frontmatter, file naming, and contextual awareness ("today", "this week", "yesterday").

Step 1 — Read References As Needed

When classifying, organizing, or restructuring notes, read references/PARA_Method_Guide.md for the classification rules. You don't need to re-read it if you've already read it in this conversation.

Everything else you need about the tool surface is already in the mcp__obsidian__* tool list — each tool ships its input schema, so lean on that instead of guessing CLI-style parameter names.

Step 2 — Gotchas

The MCP server handles the historical Obsidian CLI silent-failure traps for you (it forces silent on creates, refuses overwrite=true with empty content, injects format=json where the CLI silently drops it, and parses stdout for Error:). A few residual caveats still apply:

1. Scope tags_list / properties_list / tasks_list. Without a file or path, these may return empty on some CLI versions because the underlying command scopes to the active file. Pass file= / path= when you need reliable results; for tasks you can also use daily: true.
2. property_set stale cache. If you just wrote a file externally, property_set can no-op for ~3 seconds. Wait briefly before setting properties on a freshly written file, or retry once.
3. file_create overwrite. The server refuses overwrite: true with empty content (it would truncate the file to 0 bytes). Always pass non-empty content when overwriting.

Step 3 — PARA-Aware Vault Structure

The user's vault follows this structure:

0-Inbox/          ← capture buffer, unprocessed items
1-Projects/       ← active, time-bound work with deadlines
2-Areas/          ← ongoing responsibilities (no end date)
3-Resources/      ← reference material, interests
4-Archives/       ← inactive items from 1–3

Classification Decision Tree

When creating or moving notes, classify by asking in order — stop at first "yes":

1. Does it belong to an active project with a deadline? → 1-Projects/
2. Does it relate to an ongoing area of responsibility? → 2-Areas/
3. Is it a topic of interest or reference? → 3-Resources/
4. None of the above / no longer active? → 4-Archives/

Project vs. Area — The Verb Test

• Project verbs: finalize, ship, deliver, publish, launch → has a deadline, has a finish line
• Area verbs: manage, maintain, ensure, oversee → ongoing, never "done"

If unsure, ask the user. Don't guess.

Common Workflows

Each workflow points at the right tool and calls out the non-obvious bits. The full input schema for every tool is already visible to you in the tool list — don't re-derive it.

Create a Note

Use mcp__obsidian__file_create with name (no extension — .md is auto-appended), path (the PARA-folder path inside the vault), and content including YAML frontmatter with at least created from date_time. The server adds silent automatically; you never need to. Place the note in the correct PARA folder — ask the user if classification is ambiguous.

Daily Journal

• mcp__obsidian__daily_read — read today's note.
• mcp__obsidian__daily_append / daily_prepend — add content. These auto-create today's note from the user's Daily Notes template if it doesn't exist yet.
• Use daily_append to add entries under a timestamped heading derived from date_time. Read first before appending if you need to avoid duplicating sections.

Search / Find Information

• mcp__obsidian__search with a query returns matching file paths.
• Pass context: true for grep-style line context instead of just file names.
• Combine with mcp__obsidian__file_read (by file for fuzzy wikilink match, or path for an exact vault-relative path) to fetch a full note.
• For tag-based searches, use mcp__obsidian__tag_info with name.

Restructure / Move Notes

• mcp__obsidian__file_move with to=<dest-folder> moves a note and updates all internal links automatically.
• When archiving a completed project, move the entire project folder content into 4-Archives/.
• When restructuring, briefly state your PARA classification reasoning to the user.

Read a Note

mcp__obsidian__file_read accepts either file (fuzzy wikilink match, no path or extension) or path (exact vault-relative path including .md).

List & Explore

• mcp__obsidian__file_list with folder, optional sort=modified, limit.
• mcp__obsidian__folder_list with folder.
• mcp__obsidian__tags_list with sort=count — scope with a file or path for reliable vault-wide output (see Gotchas).
• mcp__obsidian__tasks_list with todo: true and either file, path, or daily: true.
• mcp__obsidian__outline with file for the heading tree of a note.
• mcp__obsidian__wordcount, mcp__obsidian__backlinks, mcp__obsidian__links_outgoing for additional structure queries.

Properties / Metadata

• mcp__obsidian__properties_list with a path (scoping matters — see Gotchas). The server handles format=json for you.
• mcp__obsidian__property_read / property_set / property_remove for per-key reads and writes. property_set takes name, value, type (text / list / number / checkbox / date / datetime), and a file reference.

Response Style

• When showing note contents to the user, format them cleanly.
• When creating or modifying notes, confirm what you did with the file path.
• When classifying into PARA, briefly state your reasoning.
• Keep responses concise — the user is busy.