Create symbolic links from source Obsidian vault config to target vaults.

obsidian-config-copy.py

#!/usr/bin/env -S uv run
# /// script
# dependencies = []
# ///
"""Sync shared Obsidian configuration from main vault to other vaults.

Copies appearance, plugins, and settings while preserving vault-specific
workspace and cache files.
"""

import argparse
from pathlib import Path
from shutil import copy2, copytree, rmtree


def sync_config(main_vault: Path, other_vault: Path, dry_run: bool = False) -> None:
    """Sync shared config files from main vault to another vault.

    Copies files/directories that should be shared across vaults while
    excluding vault-specific files like workspaces and caches.

    Args:
        main_vault: Root of main vault
        other_vault: Root of other vault
        dry_run: If True, only show what would be done

    """
    # Files to copy - str for vault root, tuple for (subfolder, filename)
    shared_files = [
        (".obsidian", "app.json"),
        (".obsidian", "appearance.json"),
        (".obsidian", "community-plugins.json"),
        (".obsidian", "core-plugins.json"),
        (".obsidian", "hotkeys.json"),
        (".obsidian", "types.json"),
        ".export-ignore",
    ]

    # Directories to copy (subfolder, dirname)
    shared_dirs = [
        (".obsidian", "plugins"),
        (".obsidian", "snippets"),
        (".obsidian", "themes"),
    ]

    # Copy individual files
    for file_spec in shared_files:
        if isinstance(file_spec, tuple):
            subfolder, filename = file_spec
            src = main_vault / subfolder / filename
            dst = other_vault / subfolder / filename
            display_name = f"{subfolder}/{filename}"
        else:
            src = main_vault / file_spec
            dst = other_vault / file_spec
            display_name = file_spec

        if src.exists():
            if dry_run:
                print(f"  would copy {display_name}")
            else:
                dst.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
                copy2(src, dst)
                # print(f"  copied {display_name}")

    # Copy directories
    for subfolder, dirname in shared_dirs:
        src = main_vault / subfolder / dirname
        dst = other_vault / subfolder / dirname
        display_name = f"{subfolder}/{dirname}/"

        if src.exists():
            if dst.exists():
                if dry_run:
                    print(f"  would replace {display_name}")
                else:
                    rmtree(dst)
                    copytree(src, dst)
                    # print(f"  replaced {display_name}")
            elif dry_run:
                print(f"  would copy {display_name}")
            else:
                dst.parent.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
                copytree(src, dst)
                # print(f"  copied {display_name}")


def process_args(argv: list[str] | None = None) -> argparse.Namespace:
    """Process command line arguments."""
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(
        description="Sync Obsidian config from main vault to others"
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "--main",
        type=Path,
        default=Path("~/data/2web/reagle.org/joseph/plan/ob-plan"),
        help="Main vault directory",
    )
    parser.add_argument(
        "--dry-run",
        action="store_true",
        help="Show what would be done without making changes",
    )
    return parser.parse_args(argv)


def sync_templates(main_vault: Path, other_vault: Path, dry_run: bool = False) -> None:
    """Sync template files between vaults."""
    templates_dir = "_templates"
    src = main_vault / templates_dir
    dst = other_vault / templates_dir

    if src.exists():
        if dst.exists():
            if dry_run:
                print(f"  would sync {templates_dir}/")
            else:
                rmtree(dst)
                copytree(src, dst)
        elif dry_run:
            print(f"  would copy {templates_dir}/")
        else:
            copytree(src, dst)


def main() -> None:
    """Sync Obsidian configuration across vaults."""
    args = process_args()

    main_vault = args.main.expanduser()

    others = [
        Path(t).expanduser()
        for t in [
            "~/data/2web/reagle.org/joseph/ob-codex",
            "~/data/2web/reagle.org/joseph/bl-codex",
            "~/data/2web/goatee.net/bl-goatee",
            "~/data/2misc/ob-misc",
            "~/data/mom/ob-mom",
        ]
    ]

    if not main_vault.exists():
        print(f"Error: Main vault not found: {main_vault}")
        return

    print(f"Main vault: {main_vault}")
    if args.dry_run:
        print("DRY RUN - no changes will be made")

    for other in others:
        print(f"Syncing to {other.name}")
        sync_config(main_vault, other, args.dry_run)
        sync_templates(main_vault, other, args.dry_run)


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Thanks ☕️, super handy.

dope

@mikeschlottig I just posted the current version of that script.