Features Agent Mode
Agent Mode transforms Claude into an intelligent assistant that can execute actions on your Obsidian vault through natural language commands.
With Agent Mode enabled, you can:
- Create, move, rename, and delete notes and folders
- Copy notes to new locations (preserving exact content)
- Read and modify note content
- Translate or transform content on request
- Search notes by title, content, or tags
- Update frontmatter (YAML metadata)
- Real-time editor manipulation (insert, select, navigate)
- Execute Obsidian commands programmatically
- Daily Notes, Templates, and Bookmarks management
- Canvas manipulation (nodes, edges, groups)
- Advanced search (by heading, block ID, tags)
- Workspace control (open files, split views)
All through simple, conversational requests.
See also: Agent Actions Reference for the complete list of 52 available actions.
When Agent Mode executes actions, you'll see real-time progress indicators showing each action as it completes. This provides immediate feedback on what's happening in your vault.
Click the agent mode toggle in the chat header to enable/disable:
You can start all new chats with Agent Mode enabled:
- Go to Settings > Claudian
- Enable "Enable agent mode by default"
| Action | Example Command |
|---|---|
| Create folder | "Create a folder called Projects" |
| Create nested folders | "Create Projects/2024/Q1 folder structure" |
| Delete empty folder | "Delete the old-drafts folder" |
| List folder contents | "What's in my Projects folder?" |
| Action | Example Command |
|---|---|
| Create note | "Create a note about meeting notes in Meetings/" |
| Read note | "Show me the contents of my todo list" |
| Copy note | "Copy my meeting notes to Archive/2024/" |
| Rename note | "Rename 'draft.md' to 'final-report.md'" |
| Move note | "Move all Python notes to Programming/" |
| Delete note | "Delete the empty notes in Drafts/" |
| Action | Example Command |
|---|---|
| Append content | "Add a new section to my project plan" |
| Prepend content | "Add a summary at the top of this note" |
| Replace content | "Rewrite the introduction of my essay" |
| Translate content | "Translate this note to English" |
| Update frontmatter | "Add the tag 'important' to this note" |
| Action | Example Command |
|---|---|
| Search notes | "Find all notes about JavaScript" |
| Get note info | "What tags does my project note have?" |
| Find links | "Which notes link to 'Python basics'?" |
- You send a request in natural language
- Claude interprets your intention
- Actions are generated as structured commands
- Confirmation is requested for destructive actions
- Actions execute on your vault
- Results are reported in the chat
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ User: "Create a Projects folder with Docs and Code" │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Claude analyzes and generates actions: │
│ 1. create-folder: Projects │
│ 2. create-folder: Projects/Docs │
│ 3. create-folder: Projects/Code │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│
▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Plugin executes actions and reports: │
│ "Created Projects folder with Docs and Code" │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Agent Mode distinguishes between two types of requests:
When you ask to copy, move, backup, duplicate, or clone a note, the content is preserved exactly as-is, byte-by-byte. No summarization or modification occurs.
Examples:
- "Copy my meeting notes to Archive/"
- "Backup all notes in Projects/ to Backups/"
- "Duplicate the template note"
When you explicitly request to translate, summarize, rewrite, or transform content, Claude will modify the content as requested.
Examples:
- "Translate this note to Spanish"
- "Summarize the key points from my research notes"
- "Rewrite the introduction to be more concise"
Note: Ambiguous requests are treated as file operations by default. If you want content modified, be explicit about the transformation you need.
Destructive actions require your confirmation before executing:
- Deleting notes
- Deleting folders
- Overwriting existing files
- Replacing entire note content
- Any modification to protected folders
The dialog shows:
- List of pending actions
- Warning icons for destructive operations
- Cancel and Confirm buttons
You can disable confirmations in settings (not recommended).
Some folders are protected from modification by default:
-
.obsidian- Obsidian configuration -
templates- Note templates -
_templates- Alternative templates folder
- Go to Settings > Claudian
- Edit Protected folders (comma-separated list)
- Add or remove folder paths as needed
Warning: Removing .obsidian from protection could cause vault corruption.
Maximum actions per message is configurable (default: 20). This prevents runaway operations from a single request.
All file paths are validated to prevent:
- Path traversal attacks
- Access outside the vault
- Invalid file names
Note: Actions are not automatically reversible. Be careful with delete operations. Consider keeping backups of important notes.
"Create a project structure for my new app:
- AppProject/
- Documentation/
- Source/
- Tests/
And create a README note in the main folder"
"Find all empty notes in my Drafts folder and list them"
Then:
"Delete all those empty notes"
"Add the tag 'review-needed' to all notes in the Drafts folder"
"In my daily-notes folder, add a 'Reviewed' section at the end of today's note"
"Copy all notes from Projects/Active to Backups/2024/"
"Translate my README note to Spanish and save it as README-ES"
- Start small: Test with simple actions before complex operations
- Be specific: "Move note.md to Archive/" is clearer than "archive that note"
- Verify first: Ask Claude to list or read before modifying
- Keep backups: Especially before bulk operations
- Use protected folders: Keep important folders safe
- Cannot execute arbitrary code
- Cannot access files outside the vault
- Cannot modify protected folders
- Limited to configured max actions per message
- Some complex operations may need multiple requests
- Verify Agent Mode is enabled (toggle in header)
- Check that your request is actionable
- Try rephrasing your command
- Check if the target is in a protected folder
- Verify the file/folder exists
- Check for permission issues on your filesystem
See Troubleshooting for more solutions.
- Agent Actions Reference - Complete action catalog (52 actions)
- Chat Interface - Basic chat usage
- Configuration - Agent Mode settings
