Obsidian AI Agent: Edit Notes Safely with Approval Modes
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SystemSculpt adds an AI agent to Obsidian that can read, create, edit, move and delete notes in your vault, and you choose how often it asks first. In the default Auto mode, SystemSculpt's hosted AI creates and edits notes without asking but stops for your approval before it moves or deletes anything; Ask mode asks before every change.
Use SystemSculpt if you want an agent that gets on with ordinary note work, with a clear stop before changes that are harder to notice or undo. It's free to install, saves each chat as a Markdown note in your vault, and on desktop it can run your own Claude Code or Codex instead of hosted AI.
Choose how often it asks
The mode sits in the run line below the chat's message box, next to the AI that answers. New chats start in Auto; a saved chat keeps the mode it had. Change it before you send, and it applies from your next message.
| AI in the run line | Mode | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| SystemSculpt (hosted) | Auto | Reads, creates and edits notes without asking. Asks before moving or deleting. |
| SystemSculpt (hosted) | Ask | Asks before every change to your vault. |
| SystemSculpt (hosted) | Full access | Makes every change without asking, including moves and deletes. |
| Claude Code | Auto | Runs safe actions without asking. Claude Code's safety check blocks risky ones. |
| Claude Code | Ask before edits | Asks before every edit and command. |
| Claude Code | Accept edits | Edits notes without asking. Asks before commands. |
| Claude Code | Plan only | Reads and plans. Changes nothing until you approve the plan. |
| Claude Code | Claude Code settings | Uses the permission rules in your Claude Code settings. |
| Codex | Auto | Works inside this vault. Codex's reviewer only asks you about unsafe actions. |
| Codex | Ask | Works inside this vault. Asks before editing other files or using the internet. |
| Codex | Read only | Reads your vault without changing it. |
| Codex | Codex settings | Uses your own Codex configuration. |
If Claude Code's Auto mode isn't available in your version, SystemSculpt falls back to Accept edits, says Auto unavailable and asks for other actions; update Claude Code to use Auto. SystemSculpt never turns on Claude Code's permission bypass.
What an approval looks like
When the agent needs your approval, the request appears inside the conversation with the proposed change or a diff. Read it, then press Enter to approve or Escape to deny. Alt+Up brings a waiting request into focus without losing your draft. When a request offers it, Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Enter approves the offered scope for that chat only; it is not a blanket permission. A denied action is labeled Denied.
After a run, the conversation lists the notes the agent changed, so you can open and check them.
Try it on a test note
- Create a note called
Agent testwith a few lines of text. - Run Open chat, choose SystemSculpt in the run line and set the mode to Ask.
- Type
@to attachAgent testand ask: "Add an Action items checklist at the end of this note." - Read the request, then approve it and open the note.
- Switch the mode to Auto and ask the agent to rename the note. Auto asks before the rename.
That shows you both boundaries in a minute, before you point the agent at notes that matter. With Claude Code or Codex, try the same steps with Ask before edits or Ask; their Auto modes follow their own rules.
Why Auto asks before moves and deletes, not every edit
We designed Auto around one rule: gate consequences, not effort. An agent that asks before every small edit turns you into its scheduler, and after the twentieth prompt most people approve without reading. That isn't safety.
An edit to a note shows up in the conversation, with the changed notes listed when the run ends, so you can check the work afterwards. A move, rename or deletion is different: links can break and a note can disappear from where you expect it. So hosted Auto handles ordinary edits on its own and stops before the changes that are harder to notice or reverse.
You stay in charge of the line. Use Ask for a chat that touches notes you can't afford to get wrong, and Full access only for work you have already checked.
Use your own Claude Code or Codex
On desktop, choose Claude Code or Codex in the run line to have your own installed, signed-in agent do the work, with no SystemSculpt plan. They keep their own login, settings and approval rules, and SystemSculpt shows their approval requests in the same conversation. See how to use Claude Code in Obsidian and choose your AI.
Questions
Does every edit ask for approval first? No. In Auto, the default, hosted SystemSculpt AI creates and edits notes without asking and asks before moving or deleting them. Choose Ask to approve every change, or a Claude Code or Codex mode that asks before edits.
Can the agent delete my notes? Yes, if you ask it to. In Auto and Ask, hosted SystemSculpt AI asks before deleting. In Full access it deletes without asking, so use that mode only when you mean it.
Does it work on my phone? Yes. On Obsidian mobile, the agent uses hosted SystemSculpt AI, with the same modes. Claude Code and Codex run on desktop only.
Is it free? SystemSculpt is free to install, and the agent can run on your own Claude Code or Codex with no SystemSculpt plan. For hosted AI, eligible new accounts can claim 500 one-time starter credits with no card; then Monthly is $9 a month and Yearly is $90 a year. See pricing.
The chat workspace guide documents every mode. See what SystemSculpt does or install it free.