Shell script to add quick notes without changing context

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I wrote a small Bash script to add quick notes to the daily note really fast and without changing context, straight from a drop-down terminal. I tested it on Linux but I think should work on macOS (it may need adjustments for Windows, not sure).

:bulb: It relies on the Obsidian plugin GitHub - coddingtonbear/obsidian-local-rest-api: Unlock your automation needs by interacting with your notes in Obsidian over a secure REST API. so it needs to be enabled.

I have aliased the script obsidian-quick-note below, to q, and by using a drop-down terminal like dderm or Guake, I got a very efficient way to capture quick notes:

  • I just hit the terminal hotkey,
  • type q this is a quick note blahblah.....
  • and that’s it! I don’t even need to switch any window or touch the mouse to capture a note.

It takes care of starting Obsidian and creating the daily note in case it does not exist.

The script here: https://github.com/gerardbosch/dotfiles/blob/main/home/bin/obsidian-quick-note

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Result:

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This is the template I’m using to create my daily notes, which contains a “Quick notes” section/heading:

---
tags:
  - daily-note
---
# Quick notes

# What's up for today...

# Actionable tasks

I hope this helps someone!