AGENTS.md

1# claude-obsidian: Agent Instructions
2 
3claude-obsidian is a local-first Agent Skills package for building source-cited,
4compounding Obsidian knowledge bases. It also ships a Claude Code plugin adapter.
5The portable workflow is implemented in `skills/` and the standard-library
6`claude_obsidian/` core; host hooks never define knowledge behavior.
7 
8## Product and vault boundaries
9 
10- This repository is the product source. It is not the default user vault.
11- A user vault is the directory containing `.claude-obsidian.json`, `wiki/`,
12  and `.raw/`. Mutable state always belongs there.
13- `templates/vault/` is the distributable seed. Root `wiki/`, `.raw/`, and
14  `.vault-meta/` are contributor state and are excluded from public artifacts.
15- Never derive a user vault from the plugin cache or `${CLAUDE_PLUGIN_ROOT}`.
16- A checkout containing contributor-vault state has no marketplace catalog.
17  `config/public-marketplace.json` is injected as
18  `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` only inside the audited release artifact.
19  An extracted distribution-clean artifact may retain that exact manifest and
20  rebuild idempotently. A public default branch must be populated from the clean
21  artifact, never by pushing contributor-vault state.
22 
23Resolve a vault in this order: explicit `--vault`,
24`CLAUDE_OBSIDIAN_VAULT`, nearest `.claude-obsidian.json`, then an unambiguous
25vault at or above the current directory. Fail closed when no vault is selected.
26 
27## Bootstrap
28 
291. Read this file. In a development checkout, also read the host-only root
30   `CLAUDE.md` when present; release artifacts intentionally omit it.
312. Read the selected skill completely.
323. Read only the references that skill routes to.
334. Resolve the user vault. If `wiki/hot.md` exists, read it silently.
345. For a new vault, run `python3 scripts/claude-obsidian.py init PATH` first;
35   apply only after reviewing the dry run. Use `adopt` for an existing vault.
36 
37## Canonical skills
38 
39All 15 skills live at `skills/<name>/SKILL.md`. They use the portable Agent
40Skills frontmatter subset: exactly `name` and `description`. Do not add mirrored
41files under `commands/`; Claude invokes plugin skills by namespaced names such
42as `/claude-obsidian:wiki`.
43 
44Core workflows are `wiki`, `save`, `wiki-ingest`, `wiki-query`, and
45`wiki-lint`. Extensions are `autoresearch`, `canvas`, `defuddle`, `wiki-fold`,
46`wiki-mode`, `wiki-retrieve`, and `wiki-cli`. Reference skills are
47`obsidian-markdown`, `obsidian-bases`, and `think`.
48 
49## Mutation protocol
50 
51One logical knowledge operation is one recoverable transaction:
52 
531. Read targets and record expected SHA-256 values.
542. Let parallel workers return drafts and evidence only.
553. Merge drafts into one `claude-obsidian.transaction.v1` bundle.
564. Inspect the bundle, then apply it once through `scripts/claude-obsidian.py`.
575. Report the operation ID and exact changed paths.
58 
59Do not use direct shared writes, the deprecated `wiki-lock.sh` helper, or
60generic lifecycle auto-commits. Git checkpointing is separate and explicit.
61Raw source payloads are create-only; `.raw/.manifest.json` is the only mutable
62legacy raw metadata file. Destructive repairs, remote egress, and canonical
63research merges require explicit consent.
64 
65## Vault conventions
66 
67- `inbox/`: visible capture intake; never deleted automatically.
68- `.raw/`: immutable source payloads and legacy delta manifest.
69- `wiki/`: generated knowledge pages.
70- `wiki/meta/ledgers/`: source and claim provenance.
71- `wiki/hot.md`: bounded recent context, never a transcript.
72- `wiki/log.md`: operation history, newest first.
73- `.vault-meta/`: ignored runtime locks, journals, indexes, queues, and config.
74 
75Use Obsidian Flavored Markdown: flat YAML properties, `YYYY-MM-DD` dates,
76wikilinks, embeds, and valid callouts. Never fabricate evidence locators,
77quotations, page numbers, or confidence.
78 
79## Verification
80 
81Run `make test` after behavioral changes. It executes every Python and shell
82suite plus the product, capability, package, hook, and manifest contracts.
83Public artifacts are built locally with `release build` and audited without
84publishing. No agent may push, tag, open or mutate issues, or publish a release
85without explicit owner approval.
86 
87Claude SessionStart context injection is disabled by default. Treat
88`CLAUDE_OBSIDIAN_SESSION_CONTEXT=1` as explicit user consent to place bounded
89`wiki/hot.md` data in the model context; never set it automatically. A
90workspace-configured vault outside the project also requires an exact
91`CLAUDE_OBSIDIAN_SESSION_CONTEXT_VAULT` path.
92 
93## Reference
94 
95- Public canonical repository: https://github.com/AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian
96- LLM Wiki pattern: https://gist.github.com/karpathy/442a6bf555914893e9891c11519de94f
97- Obsidian primitives: https://github.com/kepano/obsidian-skills
98