Wiki orchestration
Treat the installed product as code and the selected user vault as data. Never use the plugin/product root as a vault, even when the current directory happens to be the product checkout.
Resolve the portable core from this skill's installation and invoke it by absolute path:
bashCORE=/absolute/product/root/scripts/claude-obsidian.py python3 "$CORE" --help
Resolve a vault in this order: explicit --vault,
CLAUDE_OBSIDIAN_VAULT, the nearest .claude-obsidian.json, then an
unambiguous initialized vault at or above the current directory. Fail closed when
selection is missing or ambiguous.
Baseline setup requires no network egress. Do not fetch templates, plugins, or remote content unless the user separately approves the destinations and budget.
Set up a vault
Use the deterministic setup commands. Both are dry-run by default.
For a new, separate vault:
bashpython3 "$CORE" init /absolute/path/to/vault \ --generated-at <ISO-UTC> --operation-id init-reviewed python3 "$CORE" init /absolute/path/to/vault \ --generated-at <ISO-UTC> --operation-id init-reviewed \ --approved-plan-sha256 <reviewed-sha256> --apply
For an existing Obsidian vault:
bashpython3 "$CORE" adopt /absolute/path/to/vault \ --generated-at <ISO-UTC> --operation-id adopt-reviewed python3 "$CORE" adopt /absolute/path/to/vault \ --generated-at <ISO-UTC> --operation-id adopt-reviewed \ --approved-plan-sha256 <reviewed-sha256> --apply
Before --apply, show the selected path and changed-path preview, then pass
the emitted approved_plan_sha256 unchanged. Do not use
--force unless the user has reviewed the conflicts and explicitly approved
replacement. Setup is non-destructive by default and creates no upstream Git
remote.
If the user asks for a domain-specific scaffold, establish the baseline first, then read modes.md. Draft the additional pages and configuration as one operation-level transaction. Never mutate vault files with host Write/Edit tools or an Obsidian transport.
Route operations
Route the user's intent without silently broadening it:
| Intent | Skill |
|---|---|
| Ingest supplied sources | wiki-ingest |
| Answer from existing vault knowledge | wiki-query |
| Save a specific conversation result | save |
| Research the public web under a budget | autoresearch |
| Check vault health | wiki-lint |
| Roll up log entries | wiki-fold |
| Work with a canvas | canvas |
Query is read-only. Persistence from a query must be an explicit, separately scoped Save operation. Never capture a transcript or update the hot cache merely because a session ended.
Mutation contract
Read operation-transactions.md before
any custom scaffold or mutation. One logical operation must produce one inspected
and recoverable claude-obsidian.transaction.v1 bundle. Parallel agents may
return drafts and evidence only; the orchestrator merges them and applies once.
Every canonical page create or removal includes an active index or MOC update
in that bundle; update the overview only when the stable high-level picture
changed. Raw source payloads are create-only. There are no automatic commits.
Use provenance.md when initializing or changing source and claim ledgers. Unsupported evidence stays unsupported; never invent a source, quote, date, locator, or confidence.
After a successful apply, report the operation ID and exact changed paths. If the user explicitly wants a Git checkpoint, run it separately:
bashpython3 "$CORE" checkpoint OPERATION_ID --vault /absolute/path/to/vault
On a conflict, re-read and rebuild. On interruption, use transaction recover.
Reuse an operation ID only with the identical bundle.
Installation context
Read install-modes.md when installation or host behavior matters. Hooks are optional adapters; portable behavior lives in the core and skills.
Conditional references
Read only the reference needed for the current request:
- frontmatter.md when defining or adopting a property schema;
- css-snippets.md for requested Obsidian visual customization;
- git-setup.md for explicit local Git or checkpoint setup;
- plugins.md when evaluating optional Obsidian integrations;
- mcp-setup.md when the user asks to evaluate an external read transport;
- rest-api.md only when the user explicitly has or requests the Local REST API adapter.
Think, verify, grow
Before applying, pause once: observe existing state, verify the vault selection and evidence, then choose the smallest reversible operation that satisfies the request. Afterward, report uncertainty and the next useful improvement without performing it automatically.
