Obsidian Skill

Shared patterns for working with Bryan's Obsidian vaults via iCloud.

Vault Locations

Bryan's vaults are stored in iCloud Mobile Documents:

BASE_PATH="/Users/bryan/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents"

Wikilink Syntax

ALWAYS use Obsidian wikilinks for cross-referencing within a vault.

Link Patterns

Best Practices

1. •Prefer wikilinks over markdown links - [[Note]] not [Note](Note.md)
2. •Use display text for clarity - [[architecture#Signals\|signal patterns]] reads better
3. •Link to headers when specific - [[mechanics#Temperature]] not just [[mechanics]]
4. •Backlink when capturing ideas - Link new notes back to source docs

Common Patterns in Output

# Good examples
Per [[mechanics#Temperature System]], the range is...
See [[GDD#Core Loop]] for design rationale.
Related: [[roadmap]], [[architecture]]
- Bug affects [[mechanics#Flamethrower|flamethrower]] system

# Avoid
Per mechanics#Temperature System...  (no wikilink)
See [GDD](design/GDD.md)...           (markdown link)

Vault Structure Conventions

Standard Folders (adapt per vault)

Daily Note Naming

# Format: DDMonYYYY.md
27Jan2026.md
03Feb2026.md

Locate with:

DAY=$(date +%d)
MONTH=$(date +%b)
YEAR=$(date +%Y)
FILENAME="${DAY}${MONTH}${YEAR}.md"

Error Handling

Vault Inaccessible

iCloud vaults may be unavailable due to sync issues or path problems.

# Check if vault exists
VAULT_PATH="/Users/bryan/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/💙 Agile6"
if [[ ! -d "$VAULT_PATH" ]]; then
  echo "Vault not accessible"
fi

When vault is inaccessible:

1. •Report the specific error to user
2. •Check for path escaping issues (spaces, emoji)
3. •Try alternate path format:
   bash

   # Escaped version
   ~/Library/Mobile\ Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/💙\ Agile6
   

4. •If still failing, output content to chat instead of file
5. •Suggest user check iCloud sync status

File Write Failures

1. •Verify parent directory exists before writing
2. •Create directory structure if needed: mkdir -p "$(dirname "$FILE_PATH")"
3. •Check file permissions
4. •Report specific error, don't silently fail

Path with Emoji/Spaces

Always quote paths containing emoji or spaces:

# Good
cat "/Users/bryan/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/💙 Agile6/note.md"

# Bad - will fail
cat /Users/bryan/Library/Mobile Documents/iCloud~md~obsidian/Documents/💙 Agile6/note.md

Cross-Vault Considerations

Bryan has multiple vaults. Do not create links between vaults - wikilinks only work within a single vault.

If referencing content from another vault:

• •Quote the content inline
• •Note the source vault for context
• •Don't use [[link]] syntax for cross-vault references

Templates

When creating notes, check if the vault has templates:

1. •Look in templates/ folder
2. •Check for daily note template
3. •Use existing template structure if available
4. •Preserve YAML frontmatter if present

Frontmatter Pattern

---
created: {date}
tags: [tag1, tag2]
related: [[Note1]], [[Note2]]
---

# Note Title

Content...

Integration Notes

This skill provides shared patterns. Domain-specific skills should:

1. •Load this skill first for Obsidian fundamentals
2. •Define their own vault path and link targets
3. •Add domain-specific workflows
4. •Reference wikilink patterns from this skill

Example in domain skill:

## Prerequisites
Load the `obsidian` skill for wikilink patterns and vault handling.

## Vault Configuration
VAULT_PATH="${BASE_PATH}/🧊 Burnt Ice"