Obsidian

Obsidian Vault

Use this skill for filesystem-first Obsidian vault work: reading notes, listing notes, searching note files, creating notes, appending content, and adding wikilinks.

Vault path

Use a known or resolved vault path before calling file tools.

The documented vault-path convention is the OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH environment variable, for example from ~/.hermes/.env. If it is unset, use ~/Documents/Obsidian Vault.

File tools do not expand shell variables. Do not pass paths containing $OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH to read_file, write_file, patch, or search_files; resolve the vault path first and pass a concrete absolute path. Vault paths may contain spaces, which is another reason to prefer file tools over shell commands.

If the vault path is unknown, terminal is acceptable for resolving OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH or checking whether the fallback path exists. Once the path is known, switch back to file tools.

Read a note

Use read_file with the resolved absolute path to the note. Prefer this over cat because it provides line numbers and pagination.

List notes

Use search_files with target: "files" and the resolved vault path. Prefer this over find or ls.

• To list all markdown notes, use pattern: "*.md" under the vault path.
• To list a subfolder, search under that subfolder's absolute path.

Search

Use search_files for both filename and content searches. Prefer this over grep, find, or ls.

• For filenames, use search_files with target: "files" and a filename pattern.
• For note contents, use search_files with target: "content", the content regex as pattern, and file_glob: "*.md" when you want to restrict matches to markdown notes.

Create a note

Use write_file with the resolved absolute path and the full markdown content. Prefer this over shell heredocs or echo because it avoids shell quoting issues and returns structured results.

Append to a note

Prefer a native file-tool workflow when it is not awkward:

• Read the target note with read_file.
• Use patch for an anchored append when there is stable context, such as adding a section after an existing heading or appending before a known trailing block.
• Use write_file when rewriting the whole note is clearer than constructing a fragile patch.

For an anchored append with patch, replace the anchor with the anchor plus the new content.

For a simple append with no stable context, terminal is acceptable if it is the clearest safe option.

Targeted edits

Use patch for focused note changes when the current content gives you stable context. Prefer this over shell text rewriting.

Wikilinks

Obsidian links notes with [[Note Name]] syntax. When creating notes, use these to link related content.

Daily wrap-up workflow

For evening wrap-up work, follow the exact note structure, carry-forward handling, Todoist integration, monthly index update, and verification pattern below.

When you are writing tomorrow's daily note:

• Treat the requested structure as a contract; preserve heading order exactly.
• Populate carry-forward items from today's incomplete work and Todoist overdue items.
• If the note is managed by another process or opens with template scaffolding, verify the on-disk file after writing and again after a brief pause before reporting success.
• Prefer an atomic temp-file write + rename when a whole-note rewrite is clearer than incremental edits.

When doing the wrap-up itself:

• Build tomorrow's note without overwriting today's note.
• Follow the requested section order exactly; daily notes are contracts, not freeform summaries.
• Pull the carry-forward list from incomplete work and overdue Todoist items, then sort them into the correct task section for tomorrow.
• On weekends, omit the entire ### [Work] section rather than leaving an empty placeholder.
• Update the monthly index under the correct ## Weekdays or ## Weekends section for tomorrow's actual day.
• If the monthly index contains a temporary placeholder or duplicate entry for tomorrow, replace it with the canonical link and remove the placeholder so the index stays clean.
• If a write tool warns that the file changed externally, re-read the file from disk before treating the edit as finished.
• If a note-tool snapshot still looks stale after a successful atomic rewrite, confirm with a direct filesystem read (Path.read_text() + stat()) before declaring failure.

• For exact-structure notes, prefer a whole-file rewrite over incremental patching when practical, then verify the final on-disk text line-by-line. If a rewrite is needed, use a temp file + atomic rename so the note cannot be left in a half-updated state.
• Verify the written note by reading it back before reporting success, and confirm there are no template leftovers such as placeholder bullets or stray - None (or ...) text.
• For macOS/BSD date math, use TZ=America/Chicago date -v+1d ... for tomorrow; GNU date -d tomorrow is not portable here.

Session logs and continuity

When a session spans multiple projects, keep a broad Daily Log as the top-level continuity note and place project-specific detail in nested notes.

• Use the Daily Log for the cross-project summary of what was accomplished, what was learned, and what remains open.
• Put each project under its own subheading in the broad log, then link to deeper project notes for detail.
• If a project already has its own journal, keep that as the detail layer and link it back to the Daily Log.

Source & license

This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code.

• Author: AtlasOmnia
• Source: AtlasOmnia/donna-starter
• License: MIT

Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above.