Search an Obsidian vault for old research files

A developer set up Claude Code to find and sort research material inside an Obsidian vault on macOS.

Done with Claude Code· Intermediate

What they did
Mauricio Gomes runs Claude Code inside his Obsidian vault, with a CLAUDE.md file that loads at the start of each session. That file explains the vault layout and points the agent to a folder of items tied to his interests. Claude Code then searches notes and PDFs through macOS Spotlight, pulls text from documents with textutil, and places daily notes into dated folders, creating those folders when needed. Research findings are saved in a research folder.
How it went
It turns up older scanned PDFs and papers and files notes in the right place. It also keeps the search focused on the interests he listed. The writeup does not give accuracy stats or specific mistakes; the screenshots are the evidence.
Tips
This took about an hour to set up. It depends on Spotlight indexing, so it only works the same way on Macs.

Try it yourself with Claude Code

You are helping me search an Obsidian vault on my Mac. Read the instructions in [CLAUDE.md path] first, then use [search method or Spotlight] to find notes, PDFs, and scanned documents about [topic] in [vault or folder path]. Extract the relevant passages, list the source file name and page number when available, and draft a summary note for [date] in the correct dated folder. If the note will need any irreversible action, such as moving, deleting, or submitting files, stop and ask for my approval before doing it. Do not change or move my original files unless I explicitly approve it.

Fill in the [brackets]. Agents can make mistakes, so review anything before it is sent, paid or deleted.

Read the original on mauriciogomes.com ↗

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