claude-obsidian — Cheat Sheet

Version installed: 1.4.3 · Source: AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian · License: MIT

The plugin turns Claude into a persistent wiki maintainer. You feed it sources, questions, or conversations — it files, cross-references, and maintains the knowledge base. Knowledge compounds across sessions instead of evaporating.

The 10 Skills at a Glance

#	Skill	Say / type	One-line purpose
1	`wiki`	`/wiki`, “set up wiki”, “scaffold vault”	Setup check + router. Use first after install.
2	`wiki-ingest`	`ingest [file]`, `ingest this url`, `batch ingest`	Read source → create 8-15 cross-referenced wiki pages
3	`wiki-query`	`what do you know about X?`, `query: X`, `based on the wiki`	Answer a question using only the wiki, with page citations
4	`wiki-lint`	`lint the wiki`, `wiki audit`, `find orphans`	Health check: orphans, dead links, stale claims, frontmatter gaps
5	`save`	`/save`, `save this`, `file this`	File the current chat as a structured wiki page
6	`autoresearch`	`/autoresearch [topic]`, `deep dive into [topic]`	Autonomous research loop: web → synthesize → file
7	`canvas`	`/canvas`, `canvas add image`, `canvas zone`	Build Obsidian visual canvases (images, PDFs, notes)
8	`defuddle`	`defuddle`, `clean this page`, `strip this url`	Strip ads/navigation from web pages before ingest (saves 40-60% tokens)
9	`obsidian-markdown`	Auto — reference for other skills	Correct Obsidian Flavored Markdown (wikilinks, callouts, embeds, properties)
10	`obsidian-bases`	`create a base`, `add a base file`, `database view`	Native Obsidian `.base` files: dynamic tables, filters, formulas

What Each Skill Reads and Writes

This is the part most docs skip. If you want to know what a skill will actually do to your vault, read this table.

Skill	Reads	Writes / Modifies	Typical scale
`wiki-ingest`	source file/URL, `.raw/.manifest.json`, `wiki/index.md`	`wiki/sources/{slug}.md`, multiple `wiki/entities/` + `wiki/concepts/` pages, updates `wiki/index.md` + `wiki/log.md`, creates/updates `.raw/.manifest.json`	1 source → 8-15 pages touched
`wiki-query`	`wiki/hot.md`, `wiki/index.md`, relevant wiki pages	Nothing by default. If you say “file this answer”, also writes a `wiki/questions/` page and logs it	Read-only unless you ask to save
`wiki-lint`	Whole `wiki/` tree, wikilinks graph	Creates/updates Dataview dashboards in `wiki/meta/`, may update frontmatter gaps, generates canvas health maps	Can touch dozens of pages if there’s cleanup to do
`save`	The current conversation	One new page in `wiki/concepts/`, `wiki/questions/`, `wiki/sources/`, or `wiki/meta/` depending on content type. Updates `wiki/index.md` + `wiki/log.md` + `wiki/hot.md`	1 page + 3 updates
`autoresearch`	`program.md` config you write, web search results	Many pages — sources, entities, concepts, the driving question, a synthesis. Updates index + log + hot	Highest impact. A single topic can create 20+ pages
`canvas`	Images, PDFs, wiki pages	`.canvas` files (JSON-based) in Obsidian vault	No markdown pages affected — only canvases
`defuddle`	A URL	Nothing in your vault — emits cleaned markdown to be piped into `wiki-ingest`	Staging step; no writes on its own
`obsidian-bases`	Wiki pages with frontmatter	New `.base` files (Obsidian database definitions)	1 base file per view
`obsidian-markdown`	Nothing	Nothing — pure reference skill	N/A
`wiki`	Vault state	Scaffolds missing dirs/files on first run; otherwise reports status	First run: touches scaffold. Subsequent: read-only.

What Changes in Your Vault the First Time You Use Each

Run this as a mental checklist. These files/dirs appear as a side effect of using the plugin — they’re normal and expected.

First use of	New on disk
any skill	(already done — `WIKI.md`, `wiki/{entities,sources,domains,comparisons,questions,meta}/`, `hot.md`, `overview.md` exist)
`wiki-ingest`	`.raw/.manifest.json` (tracks hashes so re-ingesting a file is idempotent)
`wiki-lint`	Dataview dashboards in `wiki/meta/`, possibly a `wiki/meta/orphans.md`
`canvas`	`.canvas` files (Obsidian’s native JSON format) at the vault root or wherever you specify
`obsidian-bases`	`*.base` files — require Obsidian v1.9.10+ to render natively
`autoresearch`	A `program.md` config file at whatever path you specify

Legacy content (wiki/concepts/, wiki/connections/, wiki/courses/, wiki/summaries/ — 140+ files) is never auto-migrated. Plugin skills read them fine but write new content into the new-schema dirs.

Frontmatter Every New Page Needs

When plugin skills create a page, they use this schema. If you hand-write a page in the new dirs, match it.

---
type: source | entity | concept | domain | comparison | question | overview | meta
title: Human-Readable Title
status: seed | developing | mature | evergreen
created: YYYY-MM-DD
updated: YYYY-MM-DD
tags: [tag1, tag2]
related: [[Other Page]]
sources: [[.raw/file.md]]  # only for derived content
---

Status ladder:

seed — created but barely filled in
developing — being actively built up across sessions
mature — substantially complete, stable
evergreen — reference material, only updated when facts change

Common Recipes (I want X → Do Y)

Ingest a PDF or textbook chapter

ingest raw/ADMN201/ch14-money-banking.pdf

Creates wiki/sources/ch14-money-banking.md + entity/concept pages for every named thing. Log entry appended.

Ingest a bunch of sources at once

ingest all the files in raw/PHIL252/

Batch mode. One at a time with cross-referencing.

Ingest a web article (clean it first)

defuddle https://example.com/article
ingest the cleaned output

Or just say ingest https://... and it’ll defuddle automatically.

Ask the wiki a question

what do you know about Open Market Operations?

Reads hot cache → index → relevant pages → answers with See [[concepts/OpenMarketOperations]] citations.

Save the current conversation as a note

/save

Or save this as "Key takeaways from Ch14".

Run a health check

lint the wiki

Returns prioritized list: orphans, dead links, frontmatter gaps, stale claims, empty sections. You pick which to fix.

Kick off autonomous research

/autoresearch Canadian monetary policy 2024

Runs web search, fetches sources, synthesizes, files. Can produce 20+ pages. Configure depth/scope via program.md.

Make a visual map

/canvas
canvas add note [[concepts/Business/InvestmentVehicles]]
canvas add note [[concepts/Business/RiskManagement]]
canvas zone "Portfolio fundamentals"

Build a dynamic table

create a base file showing all concepts with status=developing

Produces an Obsidian .base — queries update live as pages change.

How It Interacts With Your Existing Skills

graph LR
    subgraph Sources
        PDF[PDF / Chapter]
        URL[Web article]
        Convo[Chat insight]
    end

    subgraph Plugin [claude-obsidian]
        INGEST[wiki-ingest]
        SAVE[save]
        QUERY[wiki-query]
        LINT[wiki-lint]
    end

    subgraph Personal
        TS[tutor-setup]
        TUT[tutor]
        LES[lesson-tutor]
    end

    subgraph Vault[wiki/]
        CONC[concepts/]
        SRC[sources/]
        ENT[entities/]
        TRACK[tutor/concepts/]
        DASH[ADMN201-dashboard.md]
    end

    PDF --> INGEST
    PDF --> TS
    URL --> INGEST
    Convo --> SAVE

    INGEST --> SRC
    INGEST --> ENT
    INGEST --> CONC
    SAVE --> CONC
    TS --> CONC
    TS -->|practice Qs| TRACK

    TUT -->|reads| CONC
    TUT -->|reads| TRACK
    TUT -->|writes| DASH
    LES -->|reads| CONC
    LES -->|reads| DASH
    LES -->|appends "In Your Own Words"| CONC
    LES -->|writes| TRACK

    QUERY -->|reads| CONC
    QUERY -->|reads| SRC
    LINT -->|audits| Vault

When to pick which

Goal	Use
Read a textbook chapter and get concept notes	`wiki-ingest`
Read a textbook chapter and get concept notes + practice quiz questions	`tutor-setup`
Quick answer grounded in your notes	`wiki-query`
Drill yourself with a quiz	`/tutor`
Get taught a concept interactively	`/lesson-tutor`
Preserve a good chat answer	`/save`
Research a topic end-to-end from scratch	`/autoresearch`
Vault-level hygiene	`wiki-lint`

What’s NOT Touched

.obsidian/ — your theme, plugins, hotkeys, workspace layout. Untouched. (You specifically declined to run setup-vault.sh.)
Existing 140+ files under wiki/{concepts,connections,courses,summaries,tutor}/ — read, not rewritten.
wiki/index.md, wiki/log.md, wiki/study-plan.md, wiki/ADMN201-dashboard.md — appended to, never overwritten.
Auto-memory at ~/.claude/projects/.../memory/ — separate system, plugin ignores it.
The three personal skills (tutor, lesson-tutor, tutor-setup) — live alongside the plugin’s 10 skills.

Gotchas

Re-ingesting is free. .raw/.manifest.json hashes sources, so running ingest on an unchanged file short-circuits. If you want to force re-ingest, delete the entry in .manifest.json.
URLs get defuddled by default. wiki-ingest calls defuddle under the hood for URLs. Token savings are real (40-60%), but if you need the raw HTML, call wiki-ingest with a --raw hint.
Autoresearch writes a LOT. Budget 20+ new pages per invocation. Review with wiki-lint after.
.base files need Obsidian 1.9.10+. Older versions render them as raw JSON. Check your Obsidian version before using obsidian-bases.
Hot cache rewrites on every session. wiki/hot.md is a rolling ~500-word summary — don’t put anything permanent there. It’ll be overwritten.

Quartz deploy is still manual. The plugin doesn’t touch ~/Documents/quartz/. After a session, if you want jrnolet.org updated, still run:

cp -r ~/Documents/StudyWiki/wiki/* ~/Documents/quartz/content/
cd ~/Documents/quartz && git add . && git commit -m "update wiki" && git push origin v4:main

Quickest Value: Three Things To Try First

lint the wiki — baseline health check. Shows what’s already broken in the existing 140+ files (orphans, dead links, etc.) so you know what cleanup is worth doing.
ingest raw/ADMN201/[any chapter].pdf — see how a source turns into 8-15 linked pages. Compare the output to your legacy summaries/ format and decide how you like the new schema.
/autoresearch [an exam topic you feel shaky on] — the compounding effect shows up here. Twenty cross-linked pages on, say, “money supply mechanics” that you can then drill with /tutor.

One-Sentence Test for “Should I Save This?”

If it took you more than a minute to produce and you’d be annoyed to re-derive it, say /save. Let the wiki compound.

Josh's StudyWiki

Explorer

claude-obsidian Cheat Sheet