Nitride CLI

An independent, Obsidian-compatible headless CLI for local Markdown vaults.

Nitride executes a read-only subset of saved Base queries on macOS and Linux without the Obsidian desktop app. Vault notes and .base definitions remain the source of truth.

Run

Requires Node.js 22+. The checked-in executable bundles its dependencies:

node skills/nitride/scripts/nitride.mjs --help
node skills/nitride/scripts/nitride.mjs --vault-path /path/to/vault bases
node skills/nitride/scripts/nitride.mjs --vault-path /path/to/vault base:views path="Queries/Tasks.base"
node skills/nitride/scripts/nitride.mjs --vault-path /path/to/vault --timezone America/Denver base:query path="Queries/Tasks.base" view="Due Today" format=json

Choose your own timezone; the default is UTC. --date YYYY-MM-DD sets an explicit as-of date for reproducible queries. JSON cells preserve native rendered values (strings/nulls). CSV, TSV, Markdown, and path-only output are also supported.

base:views accepts explicit file selection instead of requiring UI state. Unknown functions, unsupported configuration, invalid metadata, and incomplete reads fail with exit 1 and stderr; they never become successful empty results. See the supported contract.

Install the skill

From a checkout containing the implementation:

npx skills@latest add . --skill nitride

After this implementation is merged into the repository's default branch:

npx skills@latest add EmberAGI/nitride-cli --skill nitride

The skill can also be installed by copying skills/nitride into your agent's skill directory. It includes the same bundled executable. Installing the skill does not provision Node in a separate remote agent environment.

The npm package structure uses @emberagi/nitride-cli and the nitride binary. npm pack creates an installable tarball; the package is currently private in its manifest to prevent accidental registry publication. No npm release is claimed or required to run the bundled skill.

Develop and verify

npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run check

The gate checks formatting and types, builds the executable, runs public CLI tests, and exercises a copied skill outside the checkout with no node_modules. Runtime dependencies are bundled from development dependencies. Commit updated bundle/source map and third-party notices with source changes; CI checks drift.

• Compatibility evidence and native capture
• Official command inventory
• Product contract
• Implementation status and follow-ups
• Validation report

This is a tested Base subset, not complete Obsidian parity. Mutations, formulas, arbitrary linked-file operations, desktop automation, plugins, and sync are not implemented. Linked-period queries using list(...).filter(file(value).properties...).length are supported within the documented subset, including Exo's weekly/sprint views. Nitride is independent and is not affiliated with Obsidian. Licensed under MIT.