Obsidian Metadata Handler: a Python script

Share & showcase
1

:warning: This script is in early alpha! Backup and version control your Obsidian files before attempting to run this script. :warning:
(First time poster.)
I’ve made a nifty little script which automatically fills out the created_date field in YAML metadata.
The main goal is if all the folder’s metadata is wiped, you’ll still have it in the YAML.
Here’s the link.
Could I get some feedback?
I plan on adding file_name and modified_date[1] fields as well.

[1]: Edit: modified_date is being worked on. modified_date is in the mostly complete stage.

2 Likes
2

got error here.

❯ python3 obsidian-metadata-handler/created.py -p "./test-vault"
test-vault/A file.md
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "/Users/gaofeng/Code/opensource/obsidian-metadata-handler/obsidian-metadata-handler/created.py", line 30, in <module>
    if file["modified_date"] == True:
  File "/usr/local/lib/python3.9/site-packages/frontmatter/__init__.py", line 275, in __getitem__
    return self.metadata[name]
KeyError: 'modified_date'
3

Thanks for reporting the error, @lifesign!

I’ve gone ahead and logged the error on GitHub. Can we continue discussion there to avoid thread clutter?

4

Why not write it as a plugin?

5

A few reasons:

  • This is more to deal with a backlog of files without metadata.
  • I am highly incompetent when it comes to JavaScript and derivatives.
  • The script isn’t designed to be a replacement for Templater and co, which are better designed for doing things such as this, as far as retroactivity goes.
  • Sometimes people don’t want to open Obsidian just to update some metadata.
6

As of today, this script has been deprecated. Please find alternatives, as support and stability is no longer guaranteed.