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Pursuit of Joy, Fulfillment, and Purpose

Tag: note-taking

  • The Official Obsidian CLI: A Comprehensive Guide

    The Obsidian CLI allows you to control the Obsidian desktop application directly from your terminal. Whether you want to script daily backups, pipe system logs into your daily notes, or develop plugins faster, the CLI bridges the gap between your shell and your knowledge base.

    ⚠️ Early Access Warning: As of February 2026, the Obsidian CLI is in Early Access. You must be running Obsidian v1.12+ and hold a Catalyst license to use these features.

    1. Prerequisites & Installation

    Before you begin, ensure you meet the requirements:

    • Obsidian Version: v1.12.x or higher (Early Access).
    • License: Catalyst License (required for early access builds).
    • State: Obsidian must be running (the CLI connects to the active app instance).

    Setup Steps

    1. Update Obsidian: Go to Help → Check for updates. Ensure you are on the latest installer (v1.11.7+) and update to the v1.12.x early access build.
    2. Enable the CLI:
      • Open Settings → General.
      • Scroll to “Command line interface” and toggle it On.
      • Follow the prompt to “Register” the CLI. This sets up the necessary PATH variables.
    3. Restart Terminal: You must restart your terminal session for the new PATH variables to take effect.
    4. Verify: Run obsidian help. If you see a command list, you are ready.

    2. Core Concepts & Syntax

    The CLI operates in two modes: Single Command (for scripting) and Interactive TUI (for exploration).

    Interactive Mode (TUI)

    Simply type obsidian and hit enter.

    • Features: Autocomplete, command history (Up/Down arrows), and reverse search (Ctrl+R).
    • Usage: Type commands without the obsidian prefix (e.g., just daily).

    Command Structure

    The general syntax for single commands is:

    obsidian <command> [parameters] [flags]

    Parameters & Flags

    • Parameters (key=value): Quote values if they contain spaces.

      Example: obsidian create name="My Note" content="Hello World"

      Multiline: Use \n for newlines.

    • Flags: Boolean switches to change behavior.
      • --silent: Suppress output/window focusing.
      • --copy: Copy the output to the system clipboard.
      • --overwrite: Force an overwrite if a file exists.

    Targeting Vaults & Files

    • Vault Selection:
      • Default: Uses the vault in your current working directory. If not in a vault, uses the active Obsidian window.
      • Explicit: obsidian vault="My Vault" daily
    • File Selection:
      • Wikilink Style: file=Recipe (Resolves just like [[Recipe]]).
      • Exact Path: path="Folder/Subfolder/Note.md" (Relative to vault root).

    3. Essential Workflows

    Daily Notes Management

    The CLI excels at quick capture and logging without breaking your flow.

    Open Today’s Note:

    obsidian daily

    Quick Capture (Append):
    Adds text to the end of the note without opening the window.

    obsidian daily:append content="- [ ] Call Client regarding Project X" silent

    File Operations

    Create a Note:

    obsidian create name="Project Alpha" content="# Goals\n1. Launch"

    Search & Copy:
    Finds notes containing “TODO” and copies the list to your clipboard.

    obsidian search query="TODO" --copy

    Version Control

    Diff Versions:

    # Compare current file to previous version
obsidian diff file=Recipe from=1

    4. Automation & Scripting Patterns

    These patterns are ideal for shell scripts (.sh) or launchers like Alfred/Raycast.

    Pattern A: The “Inbox” Scraper

    Create a system-wide hotkey that runs this script to capture ideas instantly:

    # Appends to daily note with a timestamp
timestamp=$(date +%H:%M)
obsidian daily:append content="- $timestamp: $1" silent

    Pattern B: Automated Reporting

    Generate a file based on system data.

    # Create a note with directory listing
ls -la | obsidian create name="System Log" --stdin

    5. Troubleshooting by OS

    Windows

    Windows requires a specialized redirector because Obsidian is a GUI app.

    Fix: You may need the Obsidian.com file (available via the Catalyst Discord). Place this file alongside Obsidian.exe in your installation directory.

    macOS

    Registration usually handles this automatically. If it fails:

    Fix: Add the following to your ~/.zprofile or ~/.bash_profile:

    export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Obsidian.app/Contents/MacOS"

    Linux

    Fix: If the symlink is missing, create it manually:

    sudo ln -s /path/to/Obsidian-AppImage /usr/local/bin/obsidian

    Command Reference Cheat Sheet

    Category Command Example Usage
    General open, search obsidian open file="Project A"
    Daily daily, daily:append obsidian daily:prepend content="Urgent!"
    Files create, move obsidian create name="Log" overwrite
    Reading read, outline obsidian read file=Recipe

    Note: Commands and syntax are subject to change during Early Access. Always rely on obsidian help within your specific build.

  • Paper vs. Digital: Unveiling the Brain’s Response to Traditional Note-Taking

    Paper vs. Digital: Unveiling the Brain's Response to Traditional Note-Taking

    A groundbreaking study in the journal “Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience,” reveals fascinating insights into how the brain processes memory retrieval depending on whether information is recorded using traditional paper notebooks or digital devices like tablets and smartphones.

    Conducted by Keita Umejima, Takuya Ibaraki, Takahiro Yamazaki, and Kuniyoshi L. Sakai, the study explored how different mediums of note-taking affect the brain’s activation during memory retrieval. Participants were divided into groups where they used either paper notebooks, electronic tablets, or smartphones to note down scheduled appointments. Their memory recall was then tested, and their brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).

    Key findings of the study include:

    1. The duration of writing down schedules was significantly shorter for the paper notebook group, indicating more efficient encoding of information.
    2. The paper notebook group also showed higher accuracy in recalling straightforward questions.
    3. Brain activations during the memory retrieval phase were significantly higher in the paper notebook group, particularly in areas related to verbalized memory retrieval processes.

    These results suggest that using paper notebooks for note-taking may promote deeper cognitive processing and more solid memory encoding. The study also found that the physical and tactile interaction with paper might provide more effective retrieval cues, leading to increased brain activation in specific regions associated with memory.

    This study has profound implications for educational practices and the increasing reliance on digital devices for learning and note-taking. It opens up a conversation about the most effective ways to facilitate learning and memory retention in the digital age.

  • Revolutionize Your Note-Taking with AI

    Revolutionize Your Note-Taking with AI

    As technology continues to advance, it’s becoming increasingly clear that artificial intelligence (AI) will play a significant role in our lives. In fact, there are some tasks that AI may eventually be able to do better than humans. One such task is organizing notes.

    Many of us have struggled with the task of organizing our notes at one time or another. We create elaborate systems of tags, hierarchies, and links in an effort to make sure we can find the right notes at the right time. However, these systems can be brittle and often fail to deliver the desired results. We may build and abandon new systems frequently, and it’s rare that we go back to look at old notes. This can be frustrating, especially considering the value that is often locked up in the notes we’ve collected over the years.

    AI could potentially solve this problem by using natural language processing to understand the content of our notes and surface relevant ones based on the task at hand. This would make it much easier to find and understand old notes, as the AI would be able to provide context and relevance.

    But why is it so hard to organize notes in the first place? One reason is that it’s difficult to know how to categorize a piece of information when it could potentially be useful for many different purposes. For example, you might write down a quote from a book because you could eventually use it in a variety of ways – to make a decision, to write an essay, or to lift a friend’s spirits. Similarly, notes from a meeting or thoughts about a new person you’ve met could have numerous potential uses.

    Another reason organizing notes is challenging is that it can be cognitively taxing to try to understand old notes and determine their relevance. When you read an old note, you often have to try to recreate the context in which it was written and understand why it was written in the first place. This can be a time-consuming and often unrewarding task. For an old note to be truly helpful, it needs to be presented in a way that makes it easy to understand and use.

    This is where AI comes in. By using natural language processing to understand the content of our notes, an AI system could present old notes in a more digestible format. It could also surface relevant notes based on the task at hand, making it easier to find and use the information we need.

    Of course, there are some limitations to what AI can do. It may not be able to fully understand the nuances and subtleties of human thought and expression. However, as AI continues to improve and advance, it’s possible that it will eventually be able to take over the task of organizing notes for us.

    In the future, large language models like GPT-3 could potentially turn our notes into an “actual” second brain, taking over the task of organization and making it easier for us to find and use the information we need. This could be a game-changer for those of us who have struggled with the task of organizing our notes in the past.