Archive Obsidian Vault

Overview

This skill automates the archival process for monthly work items in an Obsidian vault. It moves completed work from Area/ and Projects/ directories to Archive/ following a consistent naming pattern, handles attachments properly, and optionally processes journal files.

Vault Structure

The Obsidian vault follows this structure:

• Area/ - Active work areas (Discussions, Drawings, Journal, People)
• Projects/ - Active projects
• Archive/ - Archived work organized by YYYY-MM [Category] pattern

Quick Start

To archive work for a specific month:

1. Request month to archive - Ask user for the month in YYYY-MM format (e.g., 2025-10)
2. Identify items to archive - Search for all files and folders matching the date pattern
3. Process journal cleanup - Run delete_empty_journals.py if requested
4. Create archive directories - Set up destination folders
5. Move files with attachments - Transfer files and their associated attachments
6. Verify completion - Confirm all items were archived successfully

Archival Process

Step 1: Request Month to Archive

Ask the user for the month:

• Request the month in YYYY-MM format (e.g., "2025-10")
• Validate the format matches YYYY-MM pattern
• Store this as the $MONTH variable for the rest of the process

Ask about journal processing preferences:

• Should empty journals be deleted before archiving?
• Should journals be combined into monthly files?
• Should bookmarks be extracted from journals?
• Or should journals be moved as-is?

Step 2: Identify Items to Archive

Search for items in Area/ directories:

Navigate to the vault location:

/Users/paul/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-paul@meandu.com/My Drive/Obsidian/meandu/

Find items matching the month pattern:

• Area/Discussions/$MONTH *.md files
• Area/Drawings/$MONTH-*.md files
• Area/Journal/$MONTH-*.md files
• Projects/$MONTH */ folders

Identify attachment references:

For each Drawings file found:

• Extract attachment references using pattern: ![[*-tldrawFile.*]]
• Build list of attachment files that need to be moved
• Attachments are typically in previous months' Archive/*/attachments/ folders or Projects/attachments/

Step 3: Process Journal Cleanup (Optional)

If user requested empty journal deletion:

cd 'Area/Journal'
python ~/bin/obsidian/delete_empty_journals.py --dry-run . $MONTH
# Review output, then run without --dry-run
python ~/bin/obsidian/delete_empty_journals.py . $MONTH

Available journal processing scripts in ~/bin/obsidian/:

• delete_empty_journals.py - Removes journal files containing only whitespace
• combine_journals.py - Merges daily YYYY-MM-DD.md files into monthly YYYY-MM Journal.md
• extract_bookmarks.py - Extracts links into separate YYYY-MM Links.md files

Step 4: Create Archive Directories

Create destination directories following the established pattern:

cd Archive
mkdir -p "$MONTH Discussions"
mkdir -p "$MONTH Drawings/attachments"
mkdir -p "$MONTH Journals"
# Create project-specific folders as needed
mkdir -p "$MONTH [Project Name]"

Step 5: Move Files with Attachments

Move Discussion files:

mv Area/Discussions/$MONTH*.md Archive/$MONTH\ Discussions/

Move Drawing files and attachments:

1. Move markdown files:

mv Area/Drawings/$MONTH-*.md Archive/$MONTH\ Drawings/

2. Extract list of referenced attachments from moved files
3. Find and copy/move attachments from their current locations to Archive/$MONTH Drawings/attachments/
4. Verify all referenced attachments are present

Move Journal files:

mv Area/Journal/$MONTH-*.md Archive/$MONTH\ Journals/

Move Project folders:

mv Projects/$MONTH\ [Project\ Name] Archive/

Step 6: Verify Completion

Count and verify:

• Count files in each archive directory
• Verify attachment references match available files
• Report final counts to user

Summary format:

Archived for $MONTH:
- X discussion files → Archive/$MONTH Discussions/
- X drawing files → Archive/$MONTH Drawings/
- X attachment files → Archive/$MONTH Drawings/attachments/
- X journal files → Archive/$MONTH Journals/
- X project folders

Total: X items archived

File Paths Reference

Vault base path:

/Users/paul/Library/CloudStorage/GoogleDrive-paul@meandu.com/My Drive/Obsidian/meandu/

Key directories:

• Area/Discussions/ - Discussion files
• Area/Drawings/ - Drawing files with tldraw attachments
• Area/Journal/ - Daily journal entries
• Projects/ - Project folders
• Archive/ - Archived work

Journal processing scripts:

~/bin/obsidian/delete_empty_journals.py
~/bin/obsidian/combine_journals.py
~/bin/obsidian/extract_bookmarks.py

Archive Naming Pattern

All archive folders follow this pattern:

YYYY-MM [Category]

Examples:

• 2025-10 Discussions - For discussion files
• 2025-10 Drawings - For drawing files (includes attachments/ subdirectory)
• 2025-10 Journals - For journal entries
• 2025-10 On-call training - For specific projects

Attachment Handling

Attachment reference format:

![[uuid-tldrawFile.webp]]
![[uuid-tldrawFile.png]]

Finding attachments:

• Check Archive/YYYY-MM Drawings/attachments/ directories from previous months
• Check Projects/attachments/ directory
• Use find command to locate specific files by UUID

Organizing attachments:

• All attachments for a month go in Archive/YYYY-MM Drawings/attachments/
• Maintain flat structure (no nested directories)
• Preserve original filenames

Error Handling

Common issues:

1. Nested attachments directory - If attachments end up in attachments/attachments/, flatten:

   cd Archive/$MONTH\ Drawings/attachments
   mv attachments/* .
   rmdir attachments
   

2. Shared attachments - If files reference attachments from previous months, copy (don't move) them:

   cp Archive/YYYY-MM\ Drawings/attachments/uuid.png Archive/YYYY-MM\ Drawings/attachments/
   

3. Google Drive sync - If files aren't visible in Obsidian after archiving:

   • Wait for Google Drive to complete sync
   • Tell user to reload vault in Obsidian (Cmd+R)

Best Practices

1. Always run journal cleanup scripts with --dry-run first to preview changes
2. Verify attachment counts before and after moving to ensure nothing is lost
3. Use comm or similar tools to verify all referenced attachments are present
4. Report detailed summaries to user showing what was archived
5. Check for empty directories after moving files to keep vault clean