Obsidian Workspaces, Tabs & Recents

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when...	Use the alternative instead when...
Inspecting the current workspace tree, tabs, or recently opened files	Reading or writing note content — use `vault-files`
Saving / loading layouts via the Workspaces core plugin	Switching between vaults — use `vault-management`
Opening a file into a specific tab group	Triggering a generic UI command — use `command-palette`

The Workspaces core plugin must be enabled for workspace:save / :load / :delete and the workspaces list to return data. tabs, tab:open, recents, and the bare workspace tree command work without it.

Prerequisites

Obsidian desktop 1.12.7+ installer with CLI enabled
Obsidian must be running
For saved-layout commands: enable the Workspaces core plugin

Inspect the Current Workspace

# Tree of the active workspace (groups, splits, leaves)
obsidian workspace

# Include item IDs (needed for tab:open group=)
obsidian workspace ids

Tabs

# Open tabs in the active window
obsidian tabs

# Include tab IDs
obsidian tabs ids

# Open a file into a new tab (defaults to active group)
obsidian tab:open file="Notes/Recipe"

# Open into a specific group (use ids from `obsidian workspace ids` or `obsidian tabs ids`)
obsidian tab:open group=<group-id> file="Notes/Recipe"

# Open a non-file view (graph, file explorer, etc.)
obsidian tab:open view=graph
obsidian tab:open view=file-explorer

Recent Files

# Recently opened files (tab history)
obsidian recents

# Just the count
obsidian recents total

Saved Workspaces (core plugin)

# All saved layouts
obsidian workspaces
obsidian workspaces total

# Save the current layout
obsidian workspace:save name="Writing"

# Switch to a saved layout
obsidian workspace:load name="Writing"

# Delete a saved layout
obsidian workspace:delete name="Writing"

Common Patterns

"What is the user looking at right now?"

obsidian workspace
obsidian tabs
obsidian recents

"Open these three notes side-by-side, then save the layout"

obsidian open file="Brief"
obsidian command id=workspace:split-vertical
obsidian tab:open file="Spec"
obsidian command id=workspace:split-vertical
obsidian tab:open file="Notes"
obsidian workspace:save name="Triage"

"Restore the writing layout for a focused session"

obsidian workspace:load name="Writing"

"Open the graph view in a new tab"

obsidian tab:open view=graph

Agentic Optimizations

Context	Command
Workspace tree	`obsidian workspace`
Workspace with IDs	`obsidian workspace ids`
Open tabs	`obsidian tabs`
Recently opened	`obsidian recents`
Open file in new tab	`obsidian tab:open file=X`
Open view (graph, etc.)	`obsidian tab:open view=Y`
List saved layouts	`obsidian workspaces`
Switch layout	`obsidian workspace:load name=X`
Save layout	`obsidian workspace:save name=X`

Related Skills

vault-files — Read or write the file you just opened
command-palette — workspace:split-vertical, workspace:split-horizontal, etc.
vault-management — Switch vaults before inspecting their workspace