Workspace Service

Manage workspaces, tabs, and recent files.

Service Overview

The Workspace service provides endpoints for managing Obsidian workspaces (saved layouts), open tabs, and recently opened files.

Base URL

/api/files/workspace
/api/files/tabs
/api/files/recents

Endpoints

GET /api/files/workspace

Get workspace information and settings.

CLI Command: obsidian workspace

Query Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`format`	string	No	Output format
`ids`	boolean	No	Include pane IDs
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

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

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "kv",
    "data": {
      "active": "default",
      "panes": "3"
    }
  }
}

GET /api/files/workspace/list

List all saved workspaces.

CLI Command: obsidian workspaces

Example Request:

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

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": {
    "type": "list",
    "data": [
      "default",
      "writing-mode",
      "research"
    ]
  }
}

POST /api/files/workspace/save

Save current workspace layout.

CLI Command: obsidian workspace:save

Request Body:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`name`	string	Yes	Workspace name
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/workspace/save?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "writing-mode"}'

Example Response:

{
  "success": true,
  "data": "Workspace saved: writing-mode"
}

POST /api/files/workspace/load

Load a saved workspace layout.

CLI Command: obsidian workspace:load

Request Body:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`name`	string	Yes	Workspace name
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/workspace/load?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "writing-mode"}'

Example Request:

curl -X DELETE "http://localhost:3000/api/files/workspace/old-workspace?vault=youtube"

Example Request:

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

Example Response:

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

POST /api/files/tabs/open

Open a file in a new tab.

CLI Command: obsidian tab:open

Request Body:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`file`	string	No	File to open
`path`	string	No	Full path
`view`	string	No	View type
`group`	number	No	Tab group number
`vault`	string	No	Target vault name

Example Request:

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

curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/tabs/open?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"file": "Notes.md", "group": 2}'

Example Request:

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

Example Response:

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

With limit:

curl "http://localhost:3000/api/files/recents?limit=10&vault=youtube"

Use Cases

Save Workspace Setup

# Save current workspace for a specific mode
curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/workspace/save?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "research-mode"}'

# Load when starting research
curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/workspace/load?vault=youtube" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"name": "research-mode"}'

Open Multiple Files as Tabs

# Open project files for review
FILES=("Projects/Overview.md" "Projects/Tasks.md" "Projects/Notes.md")
for file in "${FILES[@]}"; do
  curl -X POST "http://localhost:3000/api/files/tabs/open?vault=youtube" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d "{\"file\": \"$file\"}"
done

Error Handling

Workspace Not Found:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "Workspace not found: nonexistent"
}

File Not Open:

{
  "success": false,
  "error": "File not currently open"
}

File Service - File operations
Daily Service - Daily notes

Notes

Workspaces save layout, open files, and pane positions
Tabs are per-workspace in Obsidian
Recent files have configurable history length
Workspaces require the Workspaces plugin (community)

Workspace

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