CLI base:query includes a debug message at top of export
obsidian base:query file="05 Bases/Watches.base"
It adds a line at the top which is not compatible with the exported file format:
2026-02-10 21:58:49 Loading updated app package /Users/scott/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian-1.12.0.asar
Maybe this is just for testing purposes or perhaps there is a way to turn it off. For now I can do
obsidian base:query file=“05 Bases/Watches.base” | sed ‘1d’
We have a BR template, please try to use it.
I don’t get this error.
The cli functionality works once the app is running.
So the first call, runs the app (which is likely where you get the message). The subsequent runs, the cli works.
Right, the CLI works. It is just the extra debug message before displaying the JSON output. I was trying to send the output to a JSON processor (JQ) but it is invalid JSON with the message outputted in the first line.
This message appears if you ever updated Obsidian using its own mechanism instead of updating the installed package (which is probably a pretty common scenario if you have a Catalyst license). When Obsidian launches, instead of using the installed package version it will override it and use the newest version it knows of, resulting in this message.
Try deleting Obsidian and redownloading it from the website. This will not only reinstall Obsidian but it will update the installer.
I had the same debug message on my CLI, but after I updated the whole thing the debug message was no longer there. (There were also some other bug fixes for the CLI that required an installer update as well.)