Agent skill

Search Vault

Quick search across Obsidian vault using keywords or semantic similarity

MITAuto-check: notesKnowledge Management

Install Search Vault

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a claude-code

Project install by default; add -g for ~/.claude/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault --agent claude-code

Project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .claude/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .claude/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.claude/skills/ instead of .claude/skills for a personal install. The folder must contain SKILL.md.

Claude Code skills documentation · loads skills from .claude/skills/

Paste into Claude Code

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .claude/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

Claude Code copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

$skill-installer

$skill-installer install https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault

Type this inside Codex. $skill-installer <name> installs a curated skill from openai/skills. The installer writes to $CODEX_HOME/skills (default ~/.codex/skills). Restart Codex if the skill does not show up.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a codex

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.codex/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault --agent codex

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .agents/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .agents/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.agents/skills/ instead of .agents/skills for a personal install.

Codex skills documentation · loads skills from .agents/skills/

Paste into Codex

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .agents/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

Codex copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a cursor

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.cursor/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault --agent cursor

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .cursor/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .cursor/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.cursor/skills/ instead of .cursor/skills for a personal install.

Cursor skills documentation · loads skills from .cursor/skills/, .agents/skills/, .claude/skills/, .codex/skills/

Paste into Cursor

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .cursor/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

Cursor copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

gemini skills install

$ gemini skills install https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git --path .claude/skills/search-vault

--scope user (default) or --scope workspace; --path is the subfolder of the repo that holds the skill; --consent skips the security confirmation prompt.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a gemini-cli

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.gemini/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault --agent gemini-cli

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .gemini/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .gemini/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.gemini/skills/ instead of .gemini/skills for a personal install, then run /skills reload.

Gemini CLI skills documentation · loads skills from .gemini/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into Gemini CLI

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .gemini/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

Gemini CLI copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault

Installs for Copilot at project scope by default; add --scope user for a personal install. Preview a skill first with gh skill preview. Needs GitHub CLI 2.90.0 or later (public preview).

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a github-copilot

Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.copilot/skills/.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .github/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .github/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.copilot/skills/ instead of .github/skills for a personal install. Commit .github/skills so cloud agent and code review can use it.

GitHub Copilot skills documentation · loads skills from .github/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into GitHub Copilot

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .github/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

GitHub Copilot copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

skills CLI

$ npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a opencode

OpenCode documents no install command of its own. Project install goes to .agents/skills/; add -g for ~/.config/opencode/skills/.

GitHub CLI

$ gh skill install Abilityai/cornelius search-vault --agent opencode

Project scope by default (.agents/skills/); add --scope user for a personal install.

Manual copy

$ git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius.git skills-src && mkdir -p .opencode/skills && cp -r skills-src/.claude/skills/search-vault .opencode/skills/search-vault && rm -rf skills-src

Use ~/.config/opencode/skills/ instead of .opencode/skills for a personal install.

OpenCode skills documentation · loads skills from .opencode/skills/, .claude/skills/, .agents/skills/

Paste into OpenCode

Install the "search-vault" agent skill from https://github.com/Abilityai/cornelius/tree/main/.claude/skills/search-vault into .opencode/skills/search-vault/ in this project. Copy the whole folder (SKILL.md and every file beside it), keep the folder name "search-vault", then confirm the skill loads.

OpenCode copies the folder itself, the same result as the manual copy. Check what it changed before you commit it.

Facts

Skill name: search-vault
GitHub stars: 109
Token cost: ~657 tokens
SKILL.md length: 216 words
Files: 1
Skills in repo: 54
Repo updated: Oct 8, 2026
First seen: Oct 7, 2026
Licence: MIT

At a glance

Quick search across Obsidian vault using keywords or semantic similarity

Works in 3 steps: Semantic Search - Use Local Brain Search → Keyword Search - Use Grep → Retrieve Content - For the top result…
Knowledge Management work in your project
SKILL.md covers Local Brain Search, Query, Instructions and Output Format, plus 2 more sections
Instructions only: no scripts, shell commands, URLs or credentials in SKILL.md

What it does

Search Vault is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius. Quick search across Obsidian vault using keywords or semantic similarity

Its SKILL.md is about 660 tokens, which your agent loads only when the skill is triggered. It is a single SKILL.md file with no bundled scripts.

It sits in Knowledge Management. It works with Obsidian. The repository describes itself as: AI-powered second brain template for Claude Code + Obsidian. The licence is MIT.

When your agent uses it

Knowledge Management work in your project

Example prompts

“/search-vault”

Requirements

Pre-approved tools (allowed-tools): Read, Grep, Bash

Workflow steps

3 steps, taken from the first numbered list in SKILL.md.

Semantic Search - Use Local Brain Search
Keyword Search - Use Grep
Retrieve Content - For the top result from semantic search

What it can do on your machine

Read from SKILL.md and the folder at commit b9bea90. It shows what the files ask for, not the result of running them.

Tool permissions
Pre-approves these tools, so the agent can use them without asking each time:
- Read
- Grep
- Bash
From allowed-tools in the SKILL.md frontmatter.
Runs code
No scripts in the folder and no shell commands in SKILL.md (its code samples are bash and markdown).
From the folder's file list and the shell code blocks in SKILL.md.
Network
No URLs in SKILL.md.
From URLs in SKILL.md, links to its own repository left out.
Credentials
Names no API keys, tokens, secrets or passwords.
From names ending in _API_KEY, _TOKEN, _SECRET, _KEY or _PASSWORD in SKILL.md.

Context cost

Search Vault loads about 657 tokens when it runs. Until then it costs about 21 tokens; SKILL.md has 216 words of instructions outside code blocks.

Always · name and description, kept in context so the agent knows when to use it: ~21
When it runs · the whole SKILL.md, loaded when a task matches: ~657

Estimates: characters ÷ 4, the usual rule of thumb; real counts depend on the model's tokenizer. Scripts and assets cost tokens only if the agent reads them.

Safety

Auto-check: notes

The automated check noted patterns worth knowing about, such as sudo or a known installer.

NotePre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: Bash)SKILL.md
```
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Bash
```

Automated static check — not a guarantee. Review scripts before installing. It scans the text of SKILL.md for risky patterns (piping downloads into a shell, reading credential files, hidden Unicode, destructive commands); files beside SKILL.md are not scanned.

SKILL.md

The full file from Abilityai/cornelius at commit b9bea90, republished under its MIT licence (© Abilityai). 216 words, ~657 tokens.

Download SKILL.mdSave it as .claude/skills/search-vault/SKILL.md (or your agent's skills folder).

name: search-vault
description: Quick search across Obsidian vault using keywords or semantic similarity
allowed-tools: Read, Grep, Bash
automation: autonomous
argument-hint: <search query>

Quick Vault Search

Search the Obsidian vault using both semantic and keyword-based search.

Local Brain Search

Use Local Brain Search for all semantic search operations. Supports two modes:

static: Fast vector similarity (default)
spreading: SYNAPSE-inspired graph traversal (better for connections)

Note: Usage-based learning is active - searches are tracked and rankings improve over time.

Query

$ARGUMENTS

Instructions

Semantic Search - Use Local Brain Search:

bash

# For quick lookups, use static mode
BRAIN_READ_SCOPE=core,Books,document-insights resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh "$ARGUMENTS" --limit 5 --json

# For finding connections, use spreading mode
BRAIN_READ_SCOPE=core,Books,document-insights resources/local-brain-search/run_search.sh "$ARGUMENTS" --mode spreading --limit 5 --json

Read role: lookup (contract: scope-mount): the reasoning mount, output grouped as your thinking (core) · what you have read (Books / Document Insights) · records (a reference scope, only if a trigger mounted it); --scope core pins to your own notes.

bash

Keyword Search - Use Grep:
- Pattern: $ARGUMENTS
- Path: Brain/
- Output mode: "files_with_matches" to get file list
- Then use output mode: "content" with -C flag for context
Retrieve Content - For the top result from semantic search:
- Use Read tool to get full content

Output Format

markdown

# Search Results: "$ARGUMENTS"

## Semantic Matches
[Top 5 notes with similarity/activation scores]

## Keyword Matches
[Top 5 notes with context snippets from Grep]

## Top Result Content
[Full content of the most relevant note]

Keep results concise and actionable. Highlight the most relevant findings.

State Dependencies

Source	Location	Read	Description
Brain notes	`Brain/*/.md`	X	All vault notes for search
Local Brain Search index	`resources/local-brain-search/`	X	Vector index for semantic search
Memory config	`resources/local-brain-search/memory_config.py`	X	Tunable memory parameters

Completion Checklist

Semantic search executed with top 5 results
Keyword search executed with file matches
Top result full content retrieved and displayed
Results formatted and highlighted

Files

Just SKILL.md in .claude/skills/search-vault of Abilityai/cornelius.

Open the folder on GitHubat commit b9bea90

Compare with similar skills

Search Vault next to the 5 skills that share the most tags, products or categories with it. Stars are the repository's; “used in” counts other GitHub owners with a copy.

Search Vault compared with similar skills
Skill	Stars	Used in	Tokens	Auto-check	Licence	Repo updated
Search Vault this skillAbilityai/cornelius	109	—	~657	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday
Obsidian CLIAtmosphere/atmosphere	3.8k	13 repos	~795	Automated safety check: Pass	Apache-2.0	today
Obsidian Canvas BoardsAgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian	15k	—	~1.4k	Automated safety check: Pass	MIT	28 days ago
LLM Wikilewislulu/llm-wiki-skill	655	—	~3.7k	Automated safety check: Pass	None	5 mo ago
Second BrainNicholasSpisak/second-brain	737	—	~1.5k	Automated safety check: Notes	None	6 mo ago
Codex History IngestAr9av/obsidian-wiki	3.5k	—	~2.2k	Automated safety check: Notes	MIT	yesterday

Similar skills

Obsidian CLI
Atmosphere/atmosphere
Interact with Obsidian vaults using the Obsidian CLI to read, create, search, and manage notes, tasks, properties, and more.
3.8k GitHub starsUsed in 13 repos~795 tokens
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Obsidian Canvas Boards
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Questions about Search Vault

What does Search Vault do?

Quick search across Obsidian vault using keywords or semantic similarity. Search Vault is an agent skill from Abilityai/cornelius.

When should I use Search Vault?

Search Vault fits situations like: knowledge Management work in your project.

How do I install Search Vault in Claude Code?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a claude-code`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/search-vault in Abilityai/cornelius) into .claude/skills/search-vault in your project. Claude Code loads it when a task matches its description.

How do I install Search Vault in Codex?

Run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a codex`. Or copy the skill folder (.claude/skills/search-vault in Abilityai/cornelius) into .agents/skills/search-vault in your project. Codex loads it when a task matches its description.

Can I use Search Vault in Cursor, Gemini CLI or GitHub Copilot?

Cursor, Gemini CLI, GitHub Copilot and OpenCode also load SKILL.md folders. With the skills CLI, run `npx skills add Abilityai/cornelius --skill search-vault -a cursor` (or -a gemini-cli, github-copilot or opencode for the others). To copy it by hand, put the folder in .cursor/skills/search-vault, .gemini/skills/search-vault, .github/skills/search-vault and .opencode/skills/search-vault in your project.

What does Search Vault need to run?

SKILL.md names no scripts, command-line tools or credentials: Search Vault is instructions for the agent only. Its frontmatter pre-approves these tools: Read, Grep, Bash.

Does Search Vault access the network?

SKILL.md contains no URLs. Any network use would come from the scripts or tools the agent runs. This is read from the text; nothing was executed.

Is Search Vault safe to install?

Our automated static check of SKILL.md found notes only (pre-approves every shell command (allowed-tools: bash)), nothing it rates as a warning. It is not a guarantee. Review the folder before installing.

What licence does Search Vault use?

Search Vault is published under the MIT licence (the repository's licence). It allows redistribution, so the full SKILL.md is shown on this page.

How many tokens does Search Vault use?

About 657 tokens (SKILL.md is roughly 2.6k characters). Agents keep only the skill's name and description in context until a task matches; then they load SKILL.md in full.

What are the alternatives to Search Vault?

Skills that share tags, products or a category with Search Vault: Obsidian CLI (Atmosphere/atmosphere, 3.8k stars), Obsidian Canvas Boards (AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian, 15k stars), LLM Wiki (lewislulu/llm-wiki-skill, 655 stars) and Second Brain (NicholasSpisak/second-brain, 737 stars). The comparison table on this page puts their stars, adoption, token cost, safety result and licence side by side.

Who maintains Search Vault?

Abilityai (a GitHub organization) maintains it in Abilityai/cornelius, which has 109 GitHub stars. The repository holds 54 skills in this directory. The repository was last updated on October 8, 2026.

Source: Abilityai/cornelius on GitHub. Facts on this page come from the repository at the commit we read; the author's words are quoted as theirs.

Install Search Vault

Facts

At a glance

What it does

When your agent uses it

Example prompts

Requirements

Workflow steps

What it can do on your machine

Tool permissions

Runs code

Network

Credentials

Context cost

Safety

SKILL.md

Quick Vault Search

Local Brain Search

Query

Instructions

Output Format

State Dependencies

Completion Checklist

Files

Compare with similar skills

Similar skills

More from Abilityai/cornelius

Related

Questions about Search Vault