Niki-AI: Instructions file for Claude Code

CLAUDE.md

This file provides guidance to Claude Code (claude.ai/code) when working with code in this repository.

Project Overview

Niki AI is an Obsidian plugin that integrates Claude Code CLI as a conversational AI assistant in the Obsidian sidebar. Users can chat with Claude, include current note content as context, and insert responses directly into their notes.

Architecture: Single-file TypeScript plugin (main.ts) that follows Obsidian's plugin lifecycle pattern. The plugin executes Claude Code CLI locally via Node.js child processes.

Development Commands

npm install          # Install dependencies
npm run dev          # Watch mode with incremental builds
npm run build        # Production build (one-time)

Build output: main.js (bundled CommonJS)

Installation to Obsidian: After building, copy these files to .obsidian/plugins/niki-ai/ in your vault:

• main.js
• manifest.json
• styles.css

Then enable the plugin in Obsidian's settings.

Code Architecture

File Structure

├── main.ts              # All source code (plugin, view, settings)
├── styles.css           # UI styling
├── manifest.json        # Plugin metadata
├── esbuild.config.mjs   # Build configuration
├── tsconfig.json        # TypeScript configuration
└── package.json         # NPM scripts

Core Classes

ClaudeSidebarPlugin (main.ts:40)

• Main plugin class extending Plugin
• Manages plugin lifecycle: onload(), onunload()
• Registers sidebar view, ribbon icon, and command palette entry
• Handles settings persistence via loadData() / saveData()

ClaudeSidebarView (main.ts:90)

• Extends ItemView, renders the sidebar UI
• Manages chat state (messages: ChatMessage[])
• Handles user input and executes Claude CLI
• Renders messages using Obsidian's MarkdownRenderer.render()

ClaudeSidebarSettingTab (main.ts:400+)

• Settings UI configuration
• Three settings: claudeCommand, defaultPrompt, workingDir