n8n-nodes-obsidian-rest-local

This is an n8n community node that enables you to interact with Obsidian via the Local REST API plugin. Automate your note-taking workflows by creating, reading, updating, and managing your Obsidian vault from n8n.

n8n is a fair-code licensed workflow automation platform.

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Credentials
• Operations
• Compatibility
• Usage
• Testing
• Resources

Installation

Follow the installation guide in the n8n community nodes documentation.

npm install n8n-nodes-obsidian-rest-local

Credentials

To use this node, you need to install and configure the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian.

Setup Steps

1. Install the plugin:

   • Open Obsidian Settings → Community Plugins
   • Search for "Local REST API" by Adam Coddington
   • Install and enable the plugin

2. Configure the API:

   • Go to Settings → Local REST API
   • Enable the HTTP server (or HTTPS if you have certificates)
   • Copy the API Key displayed in the settings
   • Note the port number (default: 27123 for HTTP, 27124 for HTTPS)

3. Create n8n credentials:

   • In n8n, go to Settings → Credentials
   • Click "Add Credential" and search for "Obsidian API"
   • Fill in the fields:
     • API Key: The key from step 2
     • Base URL: http://localhost:27123 (HTTP) or https://localhost:27124 (HTTPS)
     • Ignore SSL Issues: Enable if using the default self-signed certificate

SSL Certificate Handling

The Local REST API plugin uses a self-signed certificate by default. You have two options:

1. Ignore SSL issues (recommended for local use): Enable the "Ignore SSL Issues" option in credentials
2. Install the certificate: Download the certificate from the plugin settings and add it to your system trust store

Operations

This node organizes functionality into Resources and Operations. First select a resource type, then choose the specific operation:

| Resource | Operations | Description | |----------|-----------|-------------| | Note | Get, Create, Update, Delete, Copy, Append | Work with individual notes | | Vault | List Notes | Vault-wide operations | | Periodic | Get, Create | Work with periodic notes (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) | | Command | List Commands, Execute | Control Obsidian application |

Note Operations

| Operation | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Get | Retrieve the content of a note by path | | Create | Create a new note. Supports overwrite option to replace existing notes | | Update | Replace the entire content of an existing note | | Delete | Delete a note from the vault | | Copy | Copy a note from one location to another | | Append | Append content to the end of an existing note (creates if not exists) |

Vault Operations

| Operation | Description | |-----------|-------------| | List Notes | List all notes in the vault, optionally filtered by folder |

Periodic Operations

| Operation | Description | |-----------|-------------| | Get | Retrieve a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly note | | Create | Create or update a periodic note |

Command Operations

| Operation | Description | |-----------|-------------| | List Commands | Get all available Obsidian commands with their IDs | | Execute | Execute an Obsidian command by ID |

Compatibility

• Minimum n8n version: Not specified (uses n8n-workflow peer dependency)
• Obsidian: Compatible with Obsidian v1.0+
• Local REST API plugin: v1.0+
• Node.js: v22+ (for development)

Usage

Basic Example: Create a Note

1. Add the Obsidian node to your workflow
2. Select Resource: Note
3. Select Operation: Create
4. Set the path: Projects/My Project.md
5. Set the content:

   # My Project
   
   - Task 1: Setup environment
   - Task 2: Configure API

Working with Periodic Notes

Periodic notes are automatically organized by date:

• Daily: 2024-01-15 format
• Weekly: 2024-W03 format
• Monthly: 2024-01 format
• Quarterly: 2024-Q1 format
• Yearly: 2024 format

Leave the date field empty to use the current date.

Executing Commands

To execute an Obsidian command:

1. Add an Obsidian node and select Resource: Command
2. Select Operation: List Commands to get available commands
3. Find the command ID you need
4. Add another Obsidian node with Resource: Command, Operation: Execute
5. Paste the command ID

Example command IDs:

• app:reload: Reload the app
• workspace:close: Close current tab
• editor:save-file: Save current file

Testing

Unit Tests

npm test

Integration Tests

Integration tests require a running Obsidian instance with the Local REST API plugin configured.

Prerequisites:

1. Install Obsidian and the Local REST API plugin
2. Enable HTTP server on port 27123
3. Create a vault named "test" (all test operations use test/ prefix)
4. Set the API key as an environment variable:

   export OBSIDIAN_TEST_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"

   Optional: Set a custom base URL (defaults to http://127.0.0.1:27123):

   export OBSIDIAN_TEST_BASE_URL="http://localhost:27123"

Run integration tests:

# With environment variable
OBSIDIAN_TEST_API_KEY=your-api-key npm run test:integration

# Or if already exported
npm run test:integration

Note: Integration tests will create, modify, and delete files in the test vault. Ensure the test vault doesn't contain important data.

Resources

• n8n community nodes documentation
• Obsidian Local REST API Documentation
• Obsidian Local REST API GitHub
• Obsidian

Version History

0.3.0

• Breaking Change: Standardized output format across all operations
  • All operations now return unified response envelope with data, meta, and optional error fields
  • Query operations return data in data field with metadata
  • Mutation operations return data: null with confirmation metadata
  • Error responses include structured error object with message, code, and statusCode
  • Metadata includes resource, operation, timestamp, statusCode, success

0.2.0

• Breaking Change: Reorganized UI with Resource-Operation pattern
  • Resources: Note, Vault, Periodic, Command
  • Operations grouped under each resource
  • Backward compatibility maintained for existing workflows

0.1.0

• Initial release
• Support for note CRUD operations
• Vault listing operations
• Periodic notes support
• Command execution