Command Line Interface to open folders (and files) in Obsidian from the terminal

Bug graveyard
81

Okay I got a script to work. This will close the running Obsidian, then update the config to include the supplied folder and reopen passing the supplied folder.

Let’s save this script with the name open_as_obsidian_vault.sh. Once you’ve added this to the path, call as follows to open the current folder (or change to a path as you prefer):

open_as_obsidian_vault.sh `pwd`

open_as_obsidian_vault.sh code as follows:

#!/bin/bash

# Close Obsidian if it's running, because we need to update config file
osascript -e 'quit app "Obsidian"'
sleep 0.2  # Small delay to ensure it fully closes

# Get the Obsidian configuration path (default for macOS)
OBSIDIAN_CONFIG="$HOME/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json"

# Check if a folder is provided
if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    echo "Usage: $0 /path/to/folder"
    exit 1
fi

# Resolve absolute path of the vault folder
FOLDER_PATH=$(cd "$1" && pwd)

# Ensure the folder exists
mkdir -p "$FOLDER_PATH"

# Initialize as an Obsidian vault if not already
if [ ! -d "$FOLDER_PATH/.obsidian" ]; then
    mkdir "$FOLDER_PATH/.obsidian"
    echo "Initialized new Obsidian vault at: $FOLDER_PATH"
fi

# Ensure Obsidian configuration file exists
if [ ! -f "$OBSIDIAN_CONFIG" ]; then
    echo '{}' > "$OBSIDIAN_CONFIG"
fi

# Add the new vault to Obsidian's known vaults
python3 - <<EOF
import json
import os
import hashlib
import time

config_path = "$OBSIDIAN_CONFIG"
vault_path = "$FOLDER_PATH"

try:
    # Generate a unique ID for the vault (hash of the path)
    vault_id = hashlib.md5(vault_path.encode()).hexdigest()[:16]

    # Read existing config
    with open(config_path, "r+") as f:
        config = json.load(f)

        # Ensure "vaults" section exists
        config.setdefault("vaults", {})

        # Add new vault entry if it doesn't exist
        if vault_id not in config["vaults"]:
            config["vaults"][vault_id] = {
                "path": vault_path,
                "ts": int(time.time() * 1000),  # Current timestamp in milliseconds
                "open": True
            }

            # Write updated config back
            f.seek(0)
            json.dump(config, f, indent=2)
            f.truncate()

            print(f"Added vault '{vault_path}' to Obsidian configuration.")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error updating config: {e}")
EOF

# Open Obsidian with the new vault
open -a "Obsidian" "$FOLDER_PATH"

It goes without saying I have tested only in my Macbook, so use with care. Take a backup of the ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian/obsidian.json file before you run this too, just in case.

Here’s the Github, if there’re any updates you like to suggest: GitHub - madukan/obsidian_tools: Tools to help Obsidian

Enjoy!