obsave

obsave is a command-line utility that allows you to pipe text content into an Obsidian vault, adding YAML front matter in the process. It offers features like front matter customization, debug mode, and options to control how existing files are handled.

Changelog

Latest Changes

• Enhanced debug logging with detailed configuration and operation reporting
• Added extended help system:
  • -h shows concise usage information
  • --help displays detailed help with examples
• Added short form options:
  • -n for --name
  • -t for --tags
  • -p for --properties
  • -v for --verbose
  • -ob for --vault
  • -c for --config
• Improved configuration handling:
  • Changed config from positional argument to flag option (-c or --config)
  • Implemented clear configuration precedence
  • Better handling of default and specified config files

Features

• Front Matter Generation: Automatically adds YAML front matter to your notes, including fields such as title, tags, and custom properties.
• Custom Properties: Add custom key-value pairs to the front matter.
• Multiple Configuration Files: Support for multiple YAML configuration files, allowing for different setups for various projects or use cases.
• Flexible Tag and Property Handling: Options to replace, add, or merge tags and properties.
• Overwrite Modes: Control how to handle existing files.
• Dry Run Mode: Simulate operations without writing files.
• Debug Mode: Enable detailed logging.
• Verbose Mode: Print the full path of saved files.

[!IMPORTANT]

Changelog

• 04-Feb-2025: Added --passthrough options to allow saving and pipeing to stdout
• 19-Oct-2024: Added --verbose option to output final filename and path
• 17-Oct-2024:
  • Switched to YAML for configuration
  • Implemented separate configuration files
• 16-Oct-2024:
  • Implemented --debug option for verbose output
  • Added --dry-run option and support for custom properties
• 15-Oct-2024: Initial commit of Obsave project

Installation

To install obsave, you need to have Go installed on your machine. You can install the utility with:

go install github.com/mattjoyce/obsave@latest

This will install the utility to your $GOPATH/bin directory.

Command Line Options

Core Options

• -n, --name: Note name/title (required if not in config)
• -ob, --vault: Path to Obsidian vault (required if not in config)
• -t, --tags: Comma-separated list of tags
• -p, --properties: Custom frontmatter properties (format: key=value;key2=value2)

Configuration

• -c, --config: Specify a config file to use (default: ~/.config/obsave/config)

Control Options

• --overwrite-mode: How to handle existing files ("overwrite", "serialize", or "fail")
• --tags-handling: How to handle tags ("replace", "add", or "merge")
• --properties-handling: How to handle properties ("replace", "add", or "merge")

Output Control

• -v, --verbose: Print the full path of the saved file
• --debug: Enable detailed debug logging
• --dry-run: Simulate the operation without writing files

Help and Documentation

• -h: Display concise usage information
• --help: Display detailed help with examples

Usage

Basic Example

You can pipe text content into obsave and save it to your Obsidian vault:

echo "This is my note content." | obsave -n "MyNote" -t "project,example" -p "author=John Doe;status=Draft" -ob "~/Documents/ObsidianVault"

Additional Options

• Debug Mode: Enable detailed logging to troubleshoot or inspect the internal operations of obsave:

  echo "Test content" | obsave -n "DebugTest" -ob "~/vault" --debug
  

• Dry Run: Use the --dry-run option to simulate the operation without writing the file:

  echo "Test content" | obsave -n "TestNote" -ob "~/vault" --dry-run
  

• Overwrite Mode: Specify how to handle existing files:

  echo "New content" | obsave -n "ExistingNote" -ob "~/vault" --overwrite-mode "overwrite"
  

Configuration

Configuration files use YAML format and are stored in ~/.config/obsave/. The configuration system follows a clear precedence order:

1. Start with empty configuration
2. Load default config file (~/.config/obsave/config) if it exists
3. Load specified config file (if -c/--config provided)
4. Apply command line options (these always override config file settings)

[!IMPORTANT] Windows users should use %USERPROFILE% instead of ~/ for the config directory. Which might be C:\Users\<username>\

Required Settings

The following settings must be provided either through a config file or command line options:

• name (via -n/--name)
• vault_path (via -ob/--vault)

Example Configuration File

vault_path: "~/Documents/ObsidianVault"
overwrite_mode: "fail"
tags:
  - default
  - obsave
properties:
  tool: obsave
  version: "1.0"
debug: false
dry_run: false
tags_handling: "merge"
properties_handling: "merge"
name: "Default Note Name"  # optional
verbose: false

Configuration Scenarios

1. No Config File:

   • Must provide --name and --vault options
   • Other options use program defaults

   echo "Content" | obsave -n "Note" -ob "~/vault"
   

2. Default Config Exists:

   • Settings from ~/.config/obsave/config are used
   • Can override any setting via command line

   # Use config but override name
   echo "Content" | obsave -n "Custom Name"
   

3. Specified Config:

   • Loads specified config instead of default
   • Can still override via command line

   echo "Content" | obsave -c custom-config -n "Override Name"
   

Tag and Property Handling Options

obsave provides flexible options for managing tags and properties. These options control how the command-line inputs interact with existing configuration or content.

Tags Handling

Use the --tags-handling option to specify how tags should be managed. Available modes are:

• Replace: Completely replaces existing tags with the ones provided in the CLI.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "TaggedNote" -t "example,notes,project" --tags-handling "replace"
  

  • If config had: ["existing", "tags"]
  • CLI tags: "example,notes,project"
  • Result: ["example", "notes", "project"]

• Add: Adds new tags from the CLI, avoiding duplicates.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "TaggedNote" -t "example,notes,project" --tags-handling "add"
  

  • If config had: ["project", "important"]
  • CLI tags: "example,notes,project"
  • Result: ["project", "important", "example", "notes"]

• Merge: Adds all tags from the CLI, allowing duplicates.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "TaggedNote" -t "example,notes,project" --tags-handling "merge"
  

  • If config had: ["project", "important"]
  • CLI tags: "example,notes,project"
  • Result: ["project", "important", "example", "notes", "project"]

Properties Handling

Use the --properties-handling option to specify how properties should be managed. Available modes are:

• Replace: Completely replaces existing properties with the ones provided in the CLI.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "PropertyNote" -p "status=Review;author=John" --properties-handling "replace"
  

  • If config had: {"category": "Work", "priority": "High"}
  • CLI properties: "status=Review;author=John"
  • Result: {"status": "Review", "author": "John"}

• Add: Adds new properties from the CLI, without overwriting existing ones.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "PropertyNote" -p "status=Review;author=John" --properties-handling "add"
  

  • If config had: {"category": "Work", "priority": "High"}
  • CLI properties: "status=Review;author=John"
  • Result: {"category": "Work", "priority": "High", "status": "Review", "author": "John"}

• Merge: Adds all properties from the CLI, overwriting existing ones with the same key.

  echo "Content" | obsave -n "PropertyNote" -p "status=Review;priority=Medium" --properties-handling "merge"
  

  • If config had: {"category": "Work", "priority": "High"}
  • CLI properties: "status=Review;priority=Medium"
  • Result: {"category": "Work", "priority": "Medium", "status": "Review"}

Cloning and Building from Source

Prerequisites

Make sure you have Go installed on your system. You can install Go from here.

Steps to Clone and Build:

1. Clone the Repository:

   git clone https://github.com/mattjoyce/obsave.git
   cd obsave
   

2. Build the Project: To build the project into an executable binary, run:

   go build -o obsave
   

   This will generate the obsave executable in the current directory.

3. Run the Utility: You can now run obsave directly:

   ./obsave -n "TestNote" -t "example" -ob "~/Documents/ObsidianVault"
   

4. Install Locally (Optional): If you want to install obsave to your system's $GOPATH/bin directory for global usage, run:

   go install
   

   After installation, you can use obsave from anywhere in your terminal:

   obsave -n "NewNote" -ob "~/ObsidianVault"