Obsidian Claude skills: five-pack tested, CLI limits explained

Tested and written by Fred at SkillsTested · Published 2026-10-09 · Updated 2026-10-10

The kepano/obsidian-skills repository contains five different skills for notes, Bases, canvases, web clipping, and the live Obsidian CLI. We installed and inspected all five in July 2026. That verifies the package structure, not a complete live-vault workflow.

What you actually get: five skills, not one

That split matters more than any listing conveys: four of the five are pure format knowledge that works anywhere — an agent on a server can write valid Bases views and canvases into your synced vault without Obsidian existing on that machine. Only obsidian-cli requires the app, and it says so in its first line.

Choose the Obsidian skill for your task

• Write notes with wikilinks or properties: start with obsidian-markdown. It describes the file format and does not require a running desktop app.
• Create Bases or canvases: use obsidian-bases or json-canvas for those formats. Inspect the generated file in your own vault.
• Search or change a live vault through Claude Code: use obsidian-cli only where the Obsidian app and its CLI are available. The upstream CLI skill explicitly requires the app to be open.

These are task routes from the package's documented scope. Our July test did not verify that any of them completed a whole vault migration or a live desktop task.

The install, as it actually happened

npx skills add https://github.com/kepano/obsidian-skills -a claude-code -s '*' -y

2.0 seconds, all five skills landed. One trap worth flagging: the upstream README lists the SSH form first (git@github.com:kepano/obsidian-skills.git), which fails on any machine without GitHub SSH keys — if the install errors on authentication, use the https URL above. The Claude Code plugin-marketplace route (/plugin marketplace add kepano/obsidian-skills) also works if you prefer managed updates.

What broke

No failures were recorded within the verification scope above. This does not extend the claim beyond that published scope.

If the Obsidian CLI skill cannot find your vault

First confirm you are using obsidian-cli for a live-app task rather than obsidian-markdown for file formatting. Open Obsidian on the machine where the CLI runs, then run obsidian help to inspect the commands supported by your installed version. The upstream skill says commands use the most recently focused vault unless you pass an explicit vault= parameter. On a remote or sandboxed machine, a running desktop app may still be inaccessible; in that case use the file-format skills or move the live task to a machine with vault access. This is upstream guidance, not a problem we reproduced in the July install test.

Who it's for

Anyone whose notes live in Obsidian and whose agent sessions keep producing content that belongs there. The honest framing: this pack's value is highest on your own machine, where obsidian-cli unlocks live vault search and plugin development. On a remote box you still get the four format skills — which is precisely what most "agent writes to my vault" workflows need. It is also, at 43,034 stars (as of 2026-07-23), the most adopted item in our entire first batch.

FAQ

Does this replace an Obsidian MCP server?

Different layer. MCP servers expose vault operations as tools; these skills teach the agent Obsidian's formats and CLI. They compose — and for plain "write me a proper note with wikilinks and frontmatter" work, the skills alone are enough.

Which one should I install if I only want one?

obsidian-markdown, for vault-formatted writing anywhere. Add obsidian-cli when the agent runs on the same machine as your vault. The installer's -s flag takes individual names.