Obsidian Actions

Obsidian Actions is a lightweight Obsidian plugin for small automations. Each action has three parts:

• a trigger
• an execution type
• a code body

Use it to run commands, call scripts, show notices, or respond to Obsidian events without building a full plugin. See documentation here.

Install

Community Plugin

Since this plugin isn't officially released in the Community Plugins store yet, the easiest way to install it is with Obsidian BRAT, which lets you install plugins directly from GitHub.

After BRAT is enabled:

• Open Settings
• Go to BRAT
• Click Add Beta Plugin
  • You'll be asked for the plugin's GitHub repository URL. (https://github.com/mcmanussliam/obsidian-actions)
• Install it

Manual Install

Copy the plugin files into:

<vault>/.obsidian/plugins/actions

Required files:

• main.js
• styles.css
• manifest.json

Quick Start

1. Open Settings -> Actions.
2. Create a new action.
3. Choose a trigger.
4. Choose js or shell.
5. Write the code.
6. Restart Obsidian to register commands and hooks.

Start with a manual JavaScript action:

new Notice("Action ran");

Suggested fields:

• hook: manual
• type: js
• enabled: true

Triggers

Hook	Behavior
manual	Runs when you trigger it from Obsidian
startup	Runs when the plugin loads
interval	Runs on a cron schedule
createFile	Runs when a file is created
modifyFile	Runs when a file is modified
deleteFile	Runs when a file is deleted
renameFile	Runs when a file is renamed

Execution Types

Type	Use It For
js	Obsidian-aware automations that need app APIs, notices, or editor context
shell	Existing scripts, CLI tools, or system workflows

Available JavaScript helpers include:

• app
• vault
• workspace
• metadataCache
• fileManager
• Notice
• Modal
• Setting
• FuzzySuggestModal
• exec

Runtime Variables

Before an action runs, the plugin renders its code with Mustache templates such as {{file_name}} or {{path}}.

Available variables include:

• path
• relative_path
• extension
• selected
• word_count
• vault_name
• file_name
• file_name_with_ext
• content
• timestamp
• date
• time

Example:

echo "Processing {{{file_name_with_ext}}} at {{time}}"

Compatibility

Type	Desktop	Mobile
js	Supported	Depends on the APIs and code you use
shell	Supported where Obsidian can execute local shell commands	Not reliable on mobile

shell actions are best suited to desktop environments with access to local scripts, binaries, and a usable shell environment.

Examples

Open the current file in VS Code:

/path/to/code "{{{path}}}"

Show the current file in a notice:

new Notice(`Current file: {{{file_name_with_ext}}}`);

Run a backup script on a schedule:

/absolute/path/to/backup-vault.sh