cognitive/docs/tools/obsidian_usage.md

Obsidian Usage Guide

Overview

Obsidian serves as our knowledge management system, providing powerful linking and visualization capabilities for cognitive modeling networks.

Vault Structure

Core Directories

📁 knowledge_base/          # Main knowledge repository
├── agents/                # Agent definitions
├── beliefs/              # Belief networks
├── goals/               # Goal hierarchies
├── actions/             # Action repertoires
├── observations/        # Observation patterns
└── relationships/       # Node relationships

📁 templates/              # Template definitions
└── node_templates/      # Node type templates

📁 docs/                  # Documentation

Node Types and Templates

Core Node Types

• agent_template - Agent definitions
• belief_template - Belief structures
• goal_template - Goal definitions
• action_template - Action patterns
• observation_template - Observation models
• relationship_template - Node relationships

See node_types for detailed specifications.

Linking Patterns

Internal Links

• Use [[filename]] for direct links
• Use [[filename|alias]] for custom link text
• Reference linking_patterns for conventions

Backlinks

• Automatically tracked by Obsidian
• View in right sidebar
• Essential for network_analysis

Knowledge Organization

Tags

Common tags:

• #agent
• #belief
• #goal
• #action
• #observation
• #relationship

See tagging_guide for conventions.

YAML Frontmatter

---
type: agent
id: "agent_001"
created: 2024-02-05
modified: 2024-02-05
tags: [agent, cognitive-model]
aliases: []
---

Visualization

Graph View

• Access via Graph View button
• Shows knowledge network structure
• Color-coded by node_types
• Configurable layouts

Filters

• Filter by node type
• Filter by tags
• Filter by relationships
• See visualization_guide

Integration Features

With Cursor

• Markdown preview
• Code block syntax highlighting
• Integration with cursor_integration

With Git

• Version control integration
• Collaboration features
• See git_workflow

Workflows

Creating New Nodes

1. Use template hotkeys
2. Fill in frontmatter
3. Add content
4. Establish links See workflow_guides for details.

Maintaining Networks

• Regular updates
• Link verification
• Network analysis
• See maintenance_guide

Plugins and Extensions

Core Plugins

• Graph View
• Backlinks
• Tags
• Templates

Community Plugins

• Dataview (for queries)
• Calendar (for temporal tracking)
• Mind Map (for hierarchies)

Best Practices

Organization

• Use consistent naming
• Maintain clean hierarchy
• Follow template_guide
• Regular maintenance_guide

Linking

• Be specific with links
• Use bidirectional linking
• Maintain link context
• Follow linking_patterns

Documentation

• Keep notes updated
• Use templates consistently
• Follow documentation_guide

Tips and Tricks

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + O - Quick switcher
• Ctrl/Cmd + E - Toggle edit/preview
• [[ - Create link
• See shortcuts_guide

Search

• Use tags for categorization
• Use frontmatter for metadata
• Full-text search available
• See search_guide

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

• Broken links
• Template issues
• Plugin conflicts See troubleshooting for solutions.

Related Guides

• getting_started
• template_guide
• network_analysis
• maintenance_guide

References

• Obsidian Documentation
• code_organization
• contribution_guide