File Service

Create, read, update, move, rename, and delete files in your Obsidian vault.

Service Overview

The File service provides comprehensive file operations including reading note content, creating new files, appending/prepending content, moving and renaming files, and deleting files.

Base URL

/api/files/files/file
/api/files/files

Endpoints

GET /api/files/file

Get information about the currently active file.

CLI Command: obsidian file

Example Request:

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file?vault=youtube"

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "message",
    "data": "No active file"
  }
}

GET /api/files/file/info

Get information about a specific file.

CLI Command: obsidian file

Query Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`file`	string	No	File name or path
`path`	string	No	Full path to the file
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/info?file=Notes.md&vault=youtube"

Example Request:

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/files?vault=youtube"

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/files?folder=Projects&vault=youtube"

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/files?ext=md&vault=youtube"

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "list",
    "data": [
      "Projects/Notes.md",
      "Daily/2026-05-09.md",
      "Templates/daily.md"
    ]
  }
}

GET /api/files/file/read

Read the content of a specific file.

CLI Command: obsidian read

Query Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`file`	string	No	File name or path
`path`	string	No	Full path to the file
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/read?file=Notes.md&vault=youtube"

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": "# My Notes\n\nThis is the content of my notes file."
}

POST /api/files/file/open

Open a file in the Obsidian editor.

CLI Command: obsidian open

Request Body:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`file`	string	No	File name or path
`path`	string	No	Full path to the file
`newtab`	boolean	No	Open in new tab
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/open" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "Notes.md", "vault": "youtube"}'

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/create?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "name": "NewNote.md",
    "path": "Projects",
    "content": "# New Note\n\nCreated via API"
  }'

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/create?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "DailyNote.md", "template": "daily"}'

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "message",
    "data": "Created: Projects/NewNote.md"
  }
}

POST /api/files/file/append

Append content to an existing file.

CLI Command: obsidian append

Request Body:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`file`	string	No	File name or path
`path`	string	No	Full path to the file
`content`	string	Yes	Content to append
`inline`	boolean	No	Append inline (no newlines)
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/append?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "Notes.md", "content": "\n\n## Added via API"}'

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/prepend?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "Notes.md", "content": "# Updated Notes\n"}'

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/move?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "OldName.md", "to": "Archive/OldName.md"}'

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file/rename?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "Notes.md", "name": "MyNotes.md"}'

Example Request:

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "OldNotes.md"}'

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:3000/api/files/file?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "OldNotes.md", "permanent": true}'

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