# Claudian

> An Obsidian plugin that turns your vault into a coding agent's working directory

- Category: AI Coding / Coding-Agent Harnesses & Runtimes
- Language: TypeScript
- Licence: MIT
- Repository: https://github.com/YishenTu/claudian
- Canonical page: https://ai-tldr.dev/tools/claudian/

## In short

Claudian is an Obsidian plugin that embeds command-line coding agents in a notes vault. It sits in the Coding-Agent Harnesses & Runtimes category of the AI Coding tools and is open-source, written in TypeScript and licensed MIT. To get started: install a harness.

## Overview

Claudian is an Obsidian plugin that embeds command-line coding agents in a notes vault. It does not ship its own model or agent loop: it drives a harness you already have installed — Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Pi or DeepSeek Harness — and points it at the vault, so the vault becomes the agent's working directory. Reading and writing notes, searching, running bash commands and multi-step workflows then work the same way they would in a terminal, but next to the note you are looking at.

The plugin adds the parts a terminal session lacks inside a writing tool. Inline Edit lets you select text, or start at the cursor, and have the agent rewrite it with a word-level diff preview before anything changes. Sessions open in tabs, either one at a time or beside a persistent session manager, and a Zen mode collapses the sidebar into a compact composer at the bottom of the note. @mentions pull in vault files, folders and other Claudian sessions, and `/` or `$` brings up slash commands and Skills stored at user or vault level.

Sessions can also work together. Projects group sessions toward a shared goal with common instructions and a memory file the agents keep up to date, and cross-session messaging lets one agent read, message, steer or interrupt another session or start a new one on any provider. MCP servers are connected through each harness's own CLI-managed configuration, and an experimental plugin API lets other Obsidian plugins send prompts to sessions and read the replies. Claudian is desktop-only (macOS, Linux, Windows), needs Obsidian 1.13 or later, sends no telemetry, and is licensed MIT.

## What it does

- Runs Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build, OpenCode, Pi or DeepSeek Harness with the vault as the working directory — file read/write, search, bash and multi-step workflows
- Inline Edit: select text or start at the cursor and get a word-level diff preview before the change lands in the note
- Tabs in single-pane mode or beside a persistent session manager in dual-pane mode, plus a Zen mode composer at the bottom of the note
- @mentions for vault files, folders and other sessions; `/` and `$` for prompt templates and Skills at user and vault scope
- Projects with shared instructions and a memory file, and cross-session messaging that lets agents message, steer or interrupt each other
- MCP servers through each harness's native configuration, and an experimental API for other Obsidian plugins to drive sessions

## Getting started

Claudian needs Obsidian 1.13 or later on desktop, at least one supported harness installed (Claude Code, Codex, DeepSeek Harness, Grok Build, OpenCode V2 or Pi) and a subscription or API provider for it.

1. Install a harness

   Install and sign in to one of the supported coding agents on the same machine; Claudian discovers its CLI and runs it for you.

2. Install the plugin from Community plugins

   Open Obsidian → Settings → Community plugins → Browse, search for "Claudian", click Install and enable it. The plugin is also listed at community.obsidian.md/plugins/realclaudian.

3. Or build it from source

   Clone the repository into the vault's plugins folder, build it, then enable "Claudian" under Settings → Community plugins.

```bash
cd /path/to/vault/.obsidian/plugins
git clone https://github.com/YishenTu/claudian.git realclaudian
cd realclaudian
npm install
npm run build
```

4. Open it and talk to the agent

   Open Claudian from the ribbon icon or the command palette. Type `@` to reference notes or folders, `/` or `$` for commands and Skills, or select text in a note and use the Inline Edit hotkey to rewrite it with a diff preview.

5. Hack on it

   For plugin development, the watch build rebuilds on every change.

```bash
npm run dev
```

## When to use it

- Letting Claude Code or Codex reorganise, summarise or cross-link notes in a vault without leaving Obsidian
- Rewriting a paragraph in place with a diff preview instead of copying text into a chat window
- Running several agent sessions on one research project that share instructions and a memory file
- Keeping a long writing or research task next to the notes it produces, with every session saved in the vault