Obsidian Any AI Code

Obsidian desktop plugin that opens your local Claude Code CLI in a right sidebar panel.

Goal

Use Claude Code directly inside your active Obsidian vault without leaving Obsidian.

Features

• Dedicated Claude Code view in the right sidebar
• Embedded terminal (xterm)
• Quick actions: Start, Stop, Restart, Clear
• Launches Claude in the current active vault folder
• Visible UI status (Status: ...)
• Explicit runtime error messages in the panel
• Runtime fallbacks for macOS / Linux / Windows

Requirements

• Obsidian Desktop (isDesktopOnly plugin)
• Node.js installed on the machine
• Claude Code CLI installed (claude available)
• For advanced macOS/Linux fallback: python3 recommended

Install in a Vault

1. Create the plugin folder:

mkdir -p "/PATH/TO/VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-any-ai-code"

2. Copy the repository content into this folder (or use a symlink).

3. In that plugin folder, install runtime dependencies:

npm install --omit=dev

4. Verify at least these files exist:

• manifest.json
• main.js
• styles.css
• versions.json
• pty-proxy.js
• pty-bridge.py
• node_modules/node-pty/...

5. Enable the plugin in Obsidian:

• Settings -> Community plugins

Usage

• Click the terminal ribbon icon, or run command:
  • Open Claude Code panel
• The panel opens on the right.
• Click Start to launch Claude.

Plugin Settings

• Command: command to run (default: claude)
• Auto-start: starts automatically when panel opens
• Node executable:
  • auto (recommended): automatic detection
  • or explicit path (/opt/homebrew/bin/node, C:\Program Files\nodejs\node.exe, etc.)

Runtime Architecture (Fallback Chain)

The plugin tries multiple strategies to maximize startup success:

1. PTY via node-pty
2. Python PTY bridge fallback (pty-bridge.py) on macOS/Linux
3. Direct pipe fallback (child_process)
4. script fallback (last resort on Unix)

Status and logs clearly show the active strategy (proxy-warn, proxy-info, etc.).

Troubleshooting

command not found: claude

Claude binary is not in Obsidian process PATH.

• Set Command to an absolute path, for example:
  • /Users/<you>/.local/bin/claude
• Or adjust your shell/Obsidian environment.

Cannot find module 'node-pty'

node-pty is not installed in the active vault plugin folder.

cd "/PATH/TO/VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/obsidian-any-ai-code"
npm install --omit=dev

posix_spawnp failed

Native PTY failed in the current runtime environment.

• Plugin should automatically fallback to Python/pipe mode.
• Ensure python3 is installed for Python PTY fallback.

Empty panel

• Ensure main.js and styles.css are up to date
• Reload plugin (disable/enable)
• Open Obsidian developer console if needed

Local Development

npm install
npm run test
npm run build

• npm run dev: esbuild watch mode
• npm run build: compile main.ts -> main.js

Test Stack

• Framework: Vitest
• Tests: tests/**/*.test.ts
• Commands:
  • npm run test
  • npm run test:watch

CI

GitHub Actions workflow: .github/workflows/ci.yml

Triggers:

• push
• pull_request

Steps:

1. npm ci
2. npm run test
3. npm run build

Main Files

• main.ts: Obsidian plugin logic
• main.js: built distribution file
• styles.css: terminal panel styling
• manifest.json: Obsidian plugin metadata
• pty-proxy.js: runtime proxy (Node)
• pty-bridge.py: Python PTY fallback
• runtime-utils.ts: testable shared utilities
• tests/runtime-utils.test.ts: unit tests

Platform Notes

• macOS/Linux: full support with Python PTY fallback
• Windows: support via node-pty or pipe fallback
• Obsidian Mobile: not supported (isDesktopOnly)

License

MIT