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Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

help.obsidian.md

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Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#141
post #122

I have probably searched "Obsidian CLI" once a month since I started playing around with AI over a year ago. This is pretty exciting.

I use Obsidian with my Claude (and Codex) but not sure what additional value the CLI would provide since it's just markdown files. What am I missing that a CLI provides for AI? And not sure how the sync fits into it unless there's a copy of the vault that the AI is working with over CLI? Can use a tip.

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#142
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If that were true Obsidian would not allow third-party sync plugins in the official directory, and wouldn't mention third-party options in the official docs: https://help.obsidian.md/sync-notes The goal for Obsidian Sync is to be the best option, not the only option.

I just tried just to see if something changed, and I get this message when selecting Other: ############### Other Syncing Methods: Obsidian officially supports two syncing methods: Obsidian Sync and iCloud. However, because obsidian gives you control over your data there are other sync options you can use. These options include third-party plugins and other tools which may require more advanced setup. To use an alter…

There are several community plugins for Google Drive. Did you try those?

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#143
post #123
post #36

Oh! I worked on this project. If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

Do you have a good starting point or explanation to share about using obsidian for a team, where we all change/sync files?

Depends on the size of the team and your requirements. The Obsidian team uses a shared Sync vault, which works well for us:

https://help.obsidian.md/teams/sync

If your team is more technical Git is an option. If you want completely control over permissions and configuration then a shared drive is probably better.

https://help.obsidian.md/teams/deploy

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#144
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just tried just to see if something changed, and I get this message when selecting Other: ############### Other Syncing Methods: Obsidian officially supports two syncing methods: Obsidian Sync and iCloud. However, because obsidian gives you control over your data there are other sync options you can use. These options include third-party plugins and other tools which may require more advanced setup. To use an alter…

There are several community plugins for Google Drive. Did you try those?

Yeah, I figured as much. They don't work natively on iOS. And honestly, I get it. Sync is a key part of the revenue model, and a simple "select your vault from files" option, while it would solve the problem completely, isn't something that makes business sense to just give away. No judgment there. If I'd built something as great as Obsidian, I'd probably make the same call.

Since my only ask was really for a workaround or a link to a solution, I'm guessing there isn't one available, and the suggestion is more about exploring community plugins?

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#145
post #134
post #36

Oh! I worked on this project. If anyone has questions, I'll do my best to answer them!

Thank you for making Obsidian! I am wondering if you have any plans to package the headless sync client up for container use in Docker or Podman? Also, is the Obsidian CLI available when obsidian-headless is installed? Or is obsidian-headless only a sync client at this time?

Obsidian Headless and Obsidian CLI are two separate things. CLI requires running the full app, and lets you do anything Obsidian can do. Headless doesn't require the app but for now it is just a Sync client.

https://help.obsidian.md/headless

https://help.obsidian.md/cli

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#146

How’s their mobile all these days? Along with sync that was the other blocker for me always.

Mobile app is pretty good, my biggest complaint is it won't sync in the background. It only syncs when you open it up. But it's well designed and fully functional.

No promises but I hope we can solve that this year. I agree it would be a much better experience.

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#147
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using iCloud to sync Obsidian, and have consistently run into the problem that iCloud file container access needs full disk permissions that I don't want to give the agent (or Ghostty). Does everybody use Obsidian's paid sync instead or what? Or SyncThing?

I gave up on iCloud sync. After the tenth time iCloud absolutely destroyed my vault’s file layout and scattered copies of my files all over my iCloud Drive, I just gave up and shell out for paid sync now. It’s fine. I don’t mind paying for things I get actual value from.

Same. I lost data this way. It wasn't worth it. Happy to support Obsidian

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#148
post #43

Also new: Obsidian joins the CLI gang https://help.obsidian.md/cli I’ve been having a lot of fun recently using AI CLIs with Obsidian. No plugins necessary because it’s just a directory tree of markdown files.

It's not super useful yet- you can't really view notes in the CLI but you can can trigger features like search.

I've used it with Claude Code for refactoring and helping write a really in depth D&D campaign. Using frontmatter, I can keep metadata about NPCs and characters synced across all files.

Fixes all the problems I've had about "In what order do I put this data" and flipping back and forth in a huge stack of papers.

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#149
post #17

Also new: Obsidian joins the CLI gang https://help.obsidian.md/cli I’ve been having a lot of fun recently using AI CLIs with Obsidian. No plugins necessary because it’s just a directory tree of markdown files.

I've been using iCloud to sync Obsidian, and have consistently run into the problem that iCloud file container access needs full disk permissions that I don't want to give the agent (or Ghostty). Does everybody use Obsidian's paid sync instead or what? Or SyncThing?

I've had no trouble with syncthing on Android. It just has access to the sync folders, as far as I can tell. Seems to work great, even if I've got the same file open simultaneously on several devices. I use a tablet in my kitchen to show my TODO at all times.

Re: Obsidian Sync now has a headless client

#150
post #122

I have probably searched "Obsidian CLI" once a month since I started playing around with AI over a year ago. This is pretty exciting.

I use Obsidian with my Claude (and Codex) but not sure what additional value the CLI would provide since it's just markdown files. What am I missing that a CLI provides for AI? And not sure how the sync fits into it unless there's a copy of the vault that the AI is working with over CLI? Can use a tip.

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