ObsidianLocalRestApi

PowerShell module for the Obsidian Local REST API plugin. Wraps every REST endpoint with proper authentication, self-signed certificate handling, and consistent error reporting. You can automate your Obsidian vault from any PowerShell script or pipeline.

Features

• Single connection command stores credentials for the session, no token plumbing in every call
• Full coverage: System, Commands, Active File, Vault Files, Vault Directories, Periodic Notes, Search, and Open endpoints
• Three response formats for file reads: raw Markdown, structured JSON (with frontmatter, tags, stat), and DocumentMap (headings and blocks)
• Surgical PATCH operations. Append, prepend, or replace content at a specific heading, block reference, or frontmatter field
• ShouldProcess / -WhatIf / -Confirm support on all destructive and write commands
• Self-signed certificate bypass enabled automatically for localhost connections
• Windows backslash paths accepted everywhere. Normalized to forward slashes internally

Requirements

• PowerShell 7.0 or higher
• Obsidian desktop application with the Local REST API plugin installed and enabled

Platform Support

Platform	Status
Windows	Supported
Linux	Supported
macOS	Supported

Installation

From PowerShell Gallery (when published)

# Issues with accessing PowershellGallery User Account at this moment. I will Publish soon...
Install-Module -Name ObsidianLocalRestApi -Scope CurrentUser

Manual Installation

# Determine a suitable module directory (first entry in PSModulePath)
$modulesRoot = ($env:PSModulePath -split [IO.Path]::PathSeparator)[0]
$destination = Join-Path -Path $modulesRoot -ChildPath 'ObsidianLocalRestApi'

Copy-Item -Path '.\ObsidianLocalRestApi' -Destination $destination -Recurse

# Verify
Get-Module -Name ObsidianLocalRestApi -ListAvailable

Import Directly (no install required)

Import-Module '.\ObsidianLocalRestApi'

Quick Start

Step 1 — Enable the plugin. In Obsidian: Settings > Community plugins > Local REST API. Copy the API key shown there.

Step 2 — Connect.

Import-Module ObsidianLocalRestApi

Connect-ObsidianApi -ApiKey 'your-api-key-here'

Step 3 — Use the vault.

# Read the currently open file
Get-ObsidianActiveFile

# List vault root
Get-ObsidianVaultDirectory

# Write a new note
Set-ObsidianVaultFile -Path 'Inbox/quick-thought.md' -Content "# Quick Thought`n`nCapture this idea."

# Append to today's daily note
Add-ObsidianPeriodicNoteContent -Period daily -Content "`n- Finished the PowerShell module docs"

# Search
Search-ObsidianVaultSimple -Query 'project alpha'

Step 4 — Disconnect when done.

Disconnect-ObsidianApi

Functions

Function	Description
Connect-ObsidianApi	Authenticate and store credentials for the session
Disconnect-ObsidianApi	Clear stored credentials
Get-ObsidianServerStatus	Server version and authentication state
Get-ObsidianApiCertificate	Download the self-signed TLS certificate
Get-ObsidianApiSpec	Download the OpenAPI YAML specification
Get-ObsidianCommand	List available Obsidian commands (supports wildcard filter)
Invoke-ObsidianCommand	Execute a command by ID; accepts pipeline from Get-ObsidianCommand
Get-ObsidianActiveFile	Read the currently open file (Markdown / Json / DocumentMap)
Set-ObsidianActiveFile	Replace the active file's content
Add-ObsidianActiveFileContent	Append content to the active file
Update-ObsidianActiveFileContent	PATCH the active file at a heading, block, or frontmatter field
Remove-ObsidianActiveFile	Delete the active file
Get-ObsidianVaultFile	Read any vault file by path
Set-ObsidianVaultFile	Create or replace a vault file
Add-ObsidianVaultFileContent	Append content to a vault file
Update-ObsidianVaultFileContent	PATCH a vault file at a heading, block, or frontmatter field
Remove-ObsidianVaultFile	Delete a vault file
Get-ObsidianVaultDirectory	List files and subdirectories in a vault directory
Get-ObsidianPeriodicNote	Read a periodic note (daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/yearly)
Set-ObsidianPeriodicNote	Replace a periodic note's content
Add-ObsidianPeriodicNoteContent	Append content to a periodic note
Update-ObsidianPeriodicNoteContent	PATCH a periodic note at a heading, block, or frontmatter field
Remove-ObsidianPeriodicNote	Delete a periodic note
Search-ObsidianVault	Search with JsonLogic or Dataview DQL
Search-ObsidianVaultSimple	Full-text search with surrounding context
Open-ObsidianFile	Open a file in the Obsidian UI

Examples

Securely store and reuse the API key

# Save (one time)
Read-Host -Prompt 'Obsidian API key' -AsSecureString |
    Export-Clixml -Path (Join-Path $HOME '.obsidian-key.xml')

# Load in future sessions
$key = Import-Clixml -Path (Join-Path $HOME '.obsidian-key.xml') |
    ConvertFrom-SecureString -AsPlainText
Connect-ObsidianApi -ApiKey $key

Bulk-create notes from a CSV

Import-Csv -Path (Join-Path $PSScriptRoot 'notes.csv') | ForEach-Object {
    Set-ObsidianVaultFile -Path "Projects/$($_.Name).md" -Content "# $($_.Name)`n`n$($_.Body)"
}

Update a frontmatter field

Update-ObsidianVaultFileContent `
    -Path 'Projects/alpha.md' `
    -Operation replace `
    -TargetType frontmatter `
    -Target 'status' `
    -Content '"complete"' `
    -ContentType 'application/json' `
    -CreateTargetIfMissing

Run a command from the palette

Get-ObsidianCommand -Name '*graph*' | Invoke-ObsidianCommand

License

(c) 2026. All rights reserved.