Vault Sidekick

Vault Sidekick is an Obsidian plugin that adds a chat to your sidebar, powered by Claude. It runs on the Claude Code installation on your computer and uses the account that you sign in to Claude Code with. Claude can read, search, create, and edit the notes in your vault, and the plugin opens each note that Claude edits so that you can watch the change happen.

The plugin doesn't ask for an API key and never reads Claude Code's credentials. Claude Code handles sign-in, and the plugin starts it for each message.

Note: Vault Sidekick is an independent project. It isn't made by, endorsed by, or affiliated with Anthropic. Claude and Claude Code are trademarks of Anthropic.

Features

• Chat in your sidebar. The chat opens below the File Explorer and works like a conversation in the Claude Desktop app. Replies stream in as Claude writes them.
• Works with your notes. Claude reads, searches, creates, and edits Markdown notes. Links to notes in Claude's replies are clickable.
• Asks before it edits. Before Claude changes a note, a card shows the change and asks you to allow it once, allow it for the rest of the chat, or deny it.
• Opens what Claude edits. The note that Claude is editing opens in a tab, and your cursor stays in the chat.
• Looks things up for you. Claude can use the connectors on your Claude account, such as Jira or Google Drive, and the skills and plugins that you use with Claude. Type / in the message box to pick a skill.
• Stays inside your vault. Claude can't read or change files outside the vault, and it can't change your Obsidian configuration folder, .git/, or .claude/.
• Matches your theme. The chat uses your Obsidian theme's colors and fonts.

How it works

When you send a message, the plugin starts Claude Code through the Claude Agent SDK, with your vault as the working folder. Claude Code sends your message, and the content of any notes that Claude reads, to Anthropic and returns Claude's reply. The plugin checks every file that Claude tries to use and blocks anything outside the vault.

Disclosures

Starting Claude Code from Obsidian needs access beyond the Obsidian plugin API:

• Account: requires a Claude plan or an Anthropic Console account. See Before you begin.
• Network use: the plugin makes no network requests of its own. Claude Code, which the plugin starts, sends your messages and the notes that Claude reads to Anthropic. When Claude uses a connector, Claude Code also sends that request to the connector's service.
• Runs another program: the plugin starts the Claude Code program (claude.exe) as a separate process for each message. If you turn on Allow shell commands, Claude can run shell commands after you approve each one.
• Files outside the vault: the plugin uses Node.js file access to find the Claude Code program, to read your vault's CLAUDE.md file, and to resolve shortcuts and symbolic links, so that it can block any path outside the vault. Claude Code reads its own settings and sign-in from ~/.claude/ and saves conversation transcripts there.
• System information: the plugin reads the location of your home folder to find Claude Code. The bundled Claude Agent SDK reads environment variables, such as your user name, to start Claude Code. Nothing is collected or sent by the plugin.
• Clipboard: the Copy button under a reply writes the reply to your clipboard. The plugin never reads your clipboard.
• No telemetry or ads: the plugin doesn't collect usage data or show ads.

Before you begin

To use Vault Sidekick, you need the following:

• Obsidian 1.13 or later, on desktop. The plugin doesn't run in Obsidian for mobile.
• A Claude Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise plan, or an Anthropic Console account. The free Claude plan doesn't include Claude Code. Messages that you send in the chat count toward your plan's usage limits.
• Claude Code, installed and signed in. The next section shows how.
• Optional: on Windows, Git for Windows, if you want to let Claude run shell commands.

Note: Vault Sidekick is developed and tested on Windows 11. It's built to work on macOS and Linux, but it hasn't been tested there yet.

Install Claude Code

If you already use Claude Code in a terminal, skip to Install the plugin.

1. Open a terminal:

   • Windows: open PowerShell.
   • macOS: open Terminal.
   • Linux: open your terminal app.

2. Run the installer for your operating system.

   On Windows, in PowerShell:

   irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
   

   On macOS, Linux, or WSL:

   curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
   

   For other ways to install Claude Code, such as Homebrew or WinGet, see Set up Claude Code.

3. Open a new terminal window, and then check that Claude Code is installed:

   claude --version
   

   The command prints a version number, such as 2.1.284 (Claude Code).

4. Start Claude Code:

   claude
   

5. Follow the prompts in your browser to sign in with your Claude account. After you sign in, you can close the terminal.

Install the plugin

You can install Vault Sidekick from Obsidian's community plugin directory, or with the BRAT plugin.

Install from the community plugin directory

1. In Obsidian, open Settings > Community plugins.
2. If you see Turn on community plugins, click it.
3. Click Browse, and then search for Vault Sidekick.
4. Click Vault Sidekick, and then click Install.
5. Click Enable.

Obsidian notifies you when an update is available. To update the plugin, open Settings > Community plugins, and then click Check for updates.

If Vault Sidekick doesn't appear in the directory, install it with BRAT instead.

Install with BRAT

BRAT installs plugins directly from their GitHub repository and keeps them up to date.

1. In Obsidian, open Settings > Community plugins.
2. If you see Turn on community plugins, click it.
3. Click Browse, search for BRAT, and then install and enable it.
4. Open the command palette (Ctrl+P, or Cmd+P on macOS), and run BRAT: Add a beta plugin for testing.
5. Enter FlyxHub/obsidian-vault-sidekick, and then click Add Plugin.
6. In Settings > Community plugins, turn on Vault Sidekick.

Set up the plugin

After you turn on the plugin, the Vault Sidekick pane appears in the left sidebar, below the File Explorer.

1. Open Settings > Vault Sidekick.

2. Click Test connection.

   If the plugin finds Claude Code and you're signed in, the result looks like the following:

   ✓ 2.1.284 (Claude Code) · logged in with Claude Pro
   

   The test doesn't send a message to Claude, so it doesn't use any of your plan's usage.

3. Optional: in Model, select the Claude model to use. Default uses the model that Claude Code chooses for your account.

If the test reports that Claude Code isn't found, see Troubleshooting.

Use the chat

Send a message

1. Click the message box at the bottom of the Vault Sidekick pane.

2. Enter your message. For example:

   Summarize [[Project plan]] in three bullet points
   

3. Press Enter to send. To add a line break instead, press Shift+Enter.

While Claude works, the send button changes to a stop button. To stop the reply, click the stop button. The chat keeps the conversation, so you can send another message after you stop a reply.

Each message continues the same conversation until you start a new chat. To start a new chat, click the pen icon at the top of the pane.

Note: A conversation lasts until you start a new chat or restart Obsidian. The plugin doesn't restore a conversation after Obsidian restarts.

Approve edits

Before Claude creates or changes a note, a card appears in the chat. For edits to existing notes, the card shows the old text in red and the new text in green. Choose one of the following:

• Allow once: allows this change.
• Allow for this chat: allows this kind of change, such as editing notes, until you start a new chat.
• Deny: blocks the change. Claude sees that you denied it and continues.

To let Claude edit without asking, open the menu on the left side below the message box, and then select Auto-approve edits. Auto-approve applies only to notes inside your vault. Claude still can't change files outside the vault or in protected folders.

Choose a model

To change the model for your next message, open the menu on the right side below the message box, and then select a model. The first time that you open the menu, select Load available models to load the models that your account can use.

Watch Claude's edits

When Claude edits a note, the note opens in a tab in the main area of Obsidian. Your cursor stays in the chat, so you can keep typing. To change this behavior, see Settings.

To have the File Explorer expand folders and scroll to the note that Claude opened, click Auto-reveal current file at the top of the File Explorer.

Arrange the pane

• To collapse the pane to its title bar, click the arrow at the top left of the pane. To expand the pane, click the arrow again.
• To give the chat more room, open the command palette and run Vault Sidekick: Move chat to right sidebar.
• To bring the pane back after you close it, click the Vault Sidekick icon in the left ribbon, or run Vault Sidekick: Open or focus chat.

Use connectors

Connectors let Claude look things up in other services, such as Jira, Google Drive, or Gmail, while it works on your notes. The plugin can use the connectors on your Claude account and the MCP servers that you added to Claude Code.

1. Add the connector to your Claude account at claude.ai/settings/connectors, and sign in to the service there.

2. Ask Claude to use the service. For example:

   Find the open Jira issues about onboarding and list them in [[Onboarding]]
   

Connectors are on by default. To stop Claude from using any of them, turn off Connectors in Settings > Vault Sidekick.

Claude asks before each connector action, such as a search. To let Claude repeat an action without asking, click Allow for this chat.

To turn a single connector off or on, click the plug button below the message box, and then select the connector. The number on the button shows how many connectors are on. If a connector shows sign in, you need to sign in to that service:

• For a connector from your Claude account, click it to open your connector settings on claude.ai.
• For an MCP server that you added to Claude Code, run claude in a terminal, and then use /mcp.

After you add or remove a connector, click the plug button, and then select Refresh.

Use skills and plugins

Skills give Claude instructions and tools for specific tasks, such as creating a Word document. The plugin can use the skills that you turned on at claude.ai, and the skills and plugins that you installed in Claude Code.

1. In the message box, type / at the start of your message or after a space. A list of your skills appears.

2. To choose a skill, click it, or select it with the arrow keys and press Enter.

3. Finish your message, and then send it. The skill can go anywhere in the message. For example:

   Turn [[Project plan]] into a Word document with /docx
   

Claude can also choose a skill on its own when your request matches what the skill does.

Skills and plugins are on by default. To turn them off, turn off Skills and plugins in Settings > Vault Sidekick.

Skills use the same tools and approvals as the rest of the chat. A skill that runs scripts needs Allow shell commands, and Claude asks before each command.

Give Claude instructions for your vault

To give Claude standing instructions for a vault, create a note named CLAUDE.md in the vault's top folder. For example, you can describe how you organize notes, which tags you use, or how you like notes to be formatted. Claude reads CLAUDE.md when a chat starts. To apply changes to the file, start a new chat.

Settings

To change these settings, open Settings > Vault Sidekick.

Security and privacy

What Claude can access

• Your vault, and nothing else. The plugin checks every file that Claude tries to read, search, or change. It follows shortcuts and symbolic links to their real location, and it blocks any path outside the vault.
• Protected folders. Claude can read but never change your Obsidian configuration folder (.obsidian/ by default), .git/, and .claude/.
• Edits need your approval. By default, Claude asks before it creates or changes a note.
• Shell commands and web access are off. When you turn them on, Claude asks before each use.
• Connectors ask first. Claude asks before each connector action.

Caution: Shell commands aren't limited to your vault. A shell command can read or change any file that your user account can access. Turn on Allow shell commands only if you need it, and review each command before you allow it.

Shared and downloaded vaults

The plugin doesn't load Claude Code settings from a vault's .claude/settings.json file, or MCP servers from its .mcp.json file. These files can run commands and change where Claude Code connects, so loading them from a vault that someone else made would be unsafe. The plugin reads only the vault's CLAUDE.md file, as plain text instructions.

A CLAUDE.md file can still ask Claude to do things. If you open a vault that someone else made, read its CLAUDE.md file before you chat in that vault, and keep Approval mode set to Ask before edits.

Your Claude Code configuration

Two settings, both on by default, let the chat use your own Claude Code setup:

• Connectors loads the connectors on your Claude account, the MCP servers that you added to Claude Code, and the MCP servers that come with your Claude Code plugins. You sign in to each service through claude.ai or Claude Code. The plugin never sees those sign-ins.
• Skills and plugins loads your user-level Claude Code configuration (~/.claude/), including your settings, skills, plugins, and your plugins' hooks. Hooks run commands on your computer, as they do when you use Claude Code in a terminal, and they aren't limited to your vault. If you don't trust a plugin that you installed in Claude Code, turn off this setting.

With both settings off, the plugin uses none of your personal Claude Code configuration, and each chat uses only the tools that the plugin turns on.

Either way, the plugin's own rules apply:

• Every tool call goes through the vault check and your approval settings.
• Permission rules and hooks in your Claude Code settings, plugins, or skills can't skip the approval cards.
• Skills can't run shell commands automatically when they load.
• A vault's own .claude/ folder and .mcp.json file are never loaded.

Data and storage

• What's sent to Anthropic: your messages, the content of notes that Claude reads or edits, and your vault's CLAUDE.md file. Claude Code sends this data under the terms of your Claude account.
• What's sent to connected services: when Claude uses a connector, the request goes to that service, and it can include text from your notes. Check each request before you allow it.
• What's stored on your computer: Claude Code saves a transcript of each conversation in your Claude Code configuration folder (~/.claude/projects/). The plugin stores its settings in your vault, in .obsidian/plugins/vault-sidekick/data.json. The settings don't include any credentials.
• What the plugin collects: nothing. The plugin doesn't make network requests of its own and doesn't collect usage data.

Troubleshooting

When a message fails, the chat explains what went wrong. To see Claude Code's own output, click Details. To go to the plugin settings, click Open settings.

Claude Code was not found. Obsidian doesn't always find the same programs as your terminal. In Settings > Vault Sidekick > Executable, enter the full path to Claude Code. To find the path, run one of the following commands in a terminal:

• Windows (PowerShell): (Get-Command claude).Source
• macOS and Linux: which claude

On Windows, enter the path to claude.exe. Paths that end in .cmd or .ps1 don't work.

Claude Code is not logged in. In a terminal, run claude and follow the prompts to sign in. Then send your message again.

You've reached your Claude usage limit. The message shows when your limit resets. For details about your limits, see your plan on claude.ai.

The selected model isn't available. Open the model menu below the message box, and select another model or Default.

Shell commands need Git for Windows. Install Git for Windows, or turn off Allow shell commands.

Typing / doesn't show any skills. Turn on Skills and plugins in the settings. The plugin loads your skills in the background after Obsidian starts, which can take a few seconds. To load them again, click Test connection in the settings.

A connector is missing from the plug menu. Check that the connector is on your Claude account at claude.ai/settings/connectors. Then click the plug button and select Refresh.

The Vault Sidekick pane is missing. Click the Vault Sidekick icon in the left ribbon, or open the command palette and run Vault Sidekick: Open or focus chat.

Uninstall the plugin

1. In Obsidian, open Settings > Community plugins.
2. Next to Vault Sidekick, click Uninstall.

Claude Code keeps the conversation transcripts in ~/.claude/projects/. To remove them, delete the folder for your vault in that location.

Develop the plugin

Build from source

To build the plugin, you need Node.js 24 or later.

1. Clone the repository and install its dependencies:

   git clone https://github.com/FlyxHub/obsidian-vault-sidekick.git
   cd obsidian-vault-sidekick
   npm install
   

2. Build the plugin:

   npm run build
   

   The build checks the TypeScript types and writes main.js to the repository folder.

The repository has the following scripts:

Test in a separate vault

To avoid changing your own notes while you develop, use a separate test vault. Link the vault's plugin folder to your repository folder so that each build is available in the vault.

On Windows, in PowerShell:

New-Item -ItemType Junction -Path "TEST_VAULT\.obsidian\plugins\vault-sidekick" -Target "REPO_FOLDER"

On macOS and Linux:

ln -s "REPO_FOLDER" "TEST_VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/vault-sidekick"

Replace the following:

• TEST_VAULT: the path to your test vault.
• REPO_FOLDER: the path to your clone of this repository.

After each build, turn the plugin off and on in Obsidian to load the new version.

Project structure

The Claude Agent SDK is built for Node.js, and three parts of it don't work in Obsidian's app window. esbuild.config.mjs changes those parts when it builds the plugin. It also stops the SDK's bundled validation library from generating code at runtime, so the plugin never uses eval. If an SDK update moves any of these, the build fails with a message that names the change, so that a broken plugin isn't released.

Release a new version

1. Update the version number in manifest.json and package.json, and add the new version to versions.json with the minimum Obsidian version that it supports.

2. Commit the change, and then create and push a tag with the same version number:

   git tag 1.0.1
   git push origin 1.0.1
   

   The tag must match the version in manifest.json exactly, without a v prefix.

3. On GitHub, open the release draft that the Release workflow created, review it, and then publish it.

The workflow also creates a build provenance attestation for main.js and styles.css. To check that a downloaded file was built from this repository, run:

gh attestation verify main.js -R FlyxHub/obsidian-vault-sidekick

License

For license terms, see the LICENSE file.

The main.js file in each release includes the Claude Agent SDK, which is © Anthropic PBC. The SDK isn't covered by this project's license. Its use is subject to Anthropic's legal agreements.