CLI AI Chat

Your AI coding assistant, right inside Obsidian.

CLI AI Chat brings Claude Code's agentic workflow directly into your vault. Ask Claude to read your notes, create files, organize your vault, and build custom automations—all without leaving Obsidian.

Features

• @ Mentions - Reference any file with fuzzy search
• Tool Transparency - Watch Claude read, write, and edit in real-time
• Model Selector - Switch between Haiku, Sonnet, and Opus
• Slash Commands - /clear, /export, /context, /help
• Streaming Responses - Real-time markdown rendering
• WSL Support - Run CLI tools through Windows Subsystem for Linux

Installation

From Community Plugins

1. Open Settings → Community Plugins
2. Click Browse and search for "CLI AI Chat"
3. Click Install, then Enable
4. Configure your Claude Code binary path in plugin settings

Beta Installation (BRAT)

1. Install BRAT from Community Plugins
2. Open BRAT settings → Add Beta Plugin
3. Enter kngzzz/cli-ai-chat
4. Enable the plugin in Community Plugins settings

Requirements

• Claude Code CLI installed and authenticated
• Obsidian v1.4.0+ (desktop only)

Quick Start

1. Click the bot icon in the left ribbon to open the chat panel
2. Type a message and press Enter to send
3. Use @ to mention files from your vault
4. Watch Claude work with your notes in real-time

Example Prompts

Summarize @daily/2025-11-26.md and suggest priorities

Set up this vault with a PARA structure

Create a weekly review template based on my existing notes

Configuration

Access settings via Settings → CLI AI Chat

Setting	Description
Binary path	Path to Claude Code CLI (auto-detected if empty)
Execution mode	Native or WSL
Working directory	Vault folder or custom path
Tool display	Full or compact view
CLI timeout	Max execution time (default: 45s)

Slash Commands

Command	Action
/context on|off	Toggle file context
/export	Export chat to markdown
/clear	Clear conversation
/mention	Insert current note
/help	Show commands

Troubleshooting

Claude CLI not found

Verify Claude is installed and working:

claude --version

If this fails, install Claude Code CLI following the official instructions.

Common causes:

Platform	Issue	Solution
Windows	npm global path not in PATH	Set full path: C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Roaming\npm\claude.cmd
Windows	Using nvm/fnm	Check npm config get prefix and use that path
macOS	Homebrew path missing	Add /opt/homebrew/bin to PATH or set full path
Linux	Local install not in PATH	Set path: ~/.local/bin/claude or /usr/local/bin/claude

Finding the binary location:

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Command claude | Select-Object Source

# Windows (cmd)
where claude

# macOS/Linux
which claude

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WSL mode issues (Windows)

WSL mode runs the Claude CLI inside Windows Subsystem for Linux. This is useful when Claude is installed in WSL but not on Windows.

Claude must be installed inside WSL, not just on Windows:

# Open WSL terminal and install
wsl
npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code
claude --version

Check your default WSL distro:

wsl --list --verbose

The distro marked with * is the default. Claude must be installed in that distro.

PATH not working in WSL:

WSL runs commands non-interactively, so your .bashrc/.zshrc may not load. Ensure Claude is in a standard PATH location:

# Inside WSL, check where claude is installed
which claude

# If it's in ~/.local/bin, ensure that's in your PATH
# Add to ~/.profile (loads for non-interactive shells):
echo 'export PATH="$HOME/.local/bin:$PATH"' >> ~/.profile

Wrong binary name:

In settings, try just claude (not claude.cmd or full path). The plugin will search WSL's PATH.

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Authentication errors

Claude CLI requires authentication before first use:

claude auth login

If you see "unauthorized" or "API key" errors, re-authenticate.

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Timeout errors

For complex tasks (large file operations, many tool calls), increase CLI timeout in settings. Default is 45 seconds; try 120000ms (2 minutes) or higher.

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Plugin can't find files in vault

• Ensure Working directory is set correctly in settings
• For WSL mode, paths auto-convert (C:\vault → /mnt/c/vault)
• Check that Claude has read permissions for your vault folder

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Nothing happens when sending a message

1. Open Developer Tools (Ctrl+Shift+I / Cmd+Option+I)
2. Check the Console for errors
3. Enable Debug logging in plugin settings for detailed logs
4. Verify the CLI works manually: claude -p "hello"

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Tool calls fail in WSL

If Claude runs but tool calls (file reads, bash commands) fail:

1. Ensure common tools are installed in WSL: git, node, python, etc.
2. Check that your WSL PATH includes /usr/bin and /bin
3. Test manually: wsl which git

License

MIT License

Links

• GitHub Repository
• Claude Code
• Report Issues

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Built for the Obsidian community.