Galdur

Galdur is an Obsidian plugin for running AI CLI tools in a sidebar terminal panel.

Windows only. Desktop only. Beta distribution. After installing the plugin, you also need to install the managed runtime from Galdur settings.

Why Galdur

Galdur is for people who want CLI flexibility inside Obsidian instead of a fully custom chat UI.

It embeds terminal-backed AI workflows in a sidebar panel, so you can stay in your vault while still using the CLI behavior, flags, and permission modes you already know.

It also includes an optional global tag-based context guard. You can mark Obsidian notes with tags such as #private or #sensitive and tell Galdur to keep those notes out of supported CLI file access paths.

Requirements

• Obsidian Desktop
• Windows x64 or arm64
• Claude Code CLI, Codex CLI, Gemini CLI, and/or OpenCode CLI installed locally
• A one-time runtime install from Settings -> Galdur

What the runtime is

The runtime is a small local helper app that Galdur downloads and runs on your machine.

In plain terms, it is the part that gives Galdur access to a real terminal. Obsidian plugins cannot host node-pty directly inside the main plugin process, so Galdur uses a separate packaged runtime for that job.

The runtime does not contain Claude, Codex, OpenCode, or any model. It contains Galdur's terminal bridge code plus the node-pty dependency needed to start and manage terminal sessions. Galdur talks to that helper app locally, and the helper app launches the CLI tool you selected.

Install the beta with BRAT

BRAT is the primary installation path for the Galdur beta.

1. Install BRAT from Obsidian Community plugins.
2. Open Settings -> Community plugins -> BRAT.
3. Choose Add Beta plugin.
4. Enter the repository path Kyle-Undefined/galdur.
5. Let BRAT install the plugin, then enable Galdur.
6. Open Settings -> Galdur.
7. In the Runtime section, select Install runtime.

Install from GitHub release

Use this if you do not want to install through BRAT.

1. Download the latest galdur-<version>.zip from GitHub Releases.
2. Extract the archive into your vault's plugin folder so the final path is YOUR_VAULT/.obsidian/plugins/galdur/.
3. Enable Galdur in Settings -> Community plugins.
4. Open Settings -> Galdur.
5. In the Runtime section, select Install runtime.

Release tags match manifest.json exactly, such as 1.0.1.

Quick start

1. Open Settings -> Galdur.
2. Install the runtime if it is not already installed.
3. Configure any global context guard tags you want to apply across tools.
4. Configure the tool profiles you want to use.
5. Make sure the CLI you want to launch is available on PATH, or set its command/path override through your environment.
6. Open the Galdur panel from the ribbon icon or the command palette.

Supported tools

Galdur currently supports:

• Claude
• Codex
• Gemini
• OpenCode

Each tool has its own launch profile. Configure tool-specific permission presets, extra args, and debug logging behavior in plugin settings, then switch tools from the panel when you want to start a different CLI.

Context guard

Galdur can apply one global list of Obsidian note tags as a context guard across supported CLI tools.

• Configure Excluded note tags in Settings -> Galdur -> Context guard
• Use one tag per line without the leading #
• Example: private sensitive/client
• Only Markdown notes are checked
• Matching is case-insensitive
• The guard applies when a session starts, not by rewriting files in your vault
• If the excluded note set changes while a session is running, Galdur marks that session as stale and shows a restart-required warning in the terminal and status bar

Current support levels:

• Claude: tool-enforced with generated deny rules for tagged note paths (shell commands can still access tagged files)
• Gemini: partial protection (file tools are blocked, but shell commands can still access tagged files)
• Codex: advisory only (no technical enforcement; tagged files remain accessible to the CLI)
• OpenCode: advisory only (no technical enforcement; tagged files remain accessible to the CLI)

This is not a full filesystem sandbox. It is a best-effort launch guard that stays out of your vault root and writes its generated policy files under the plugin folder instead.

The guard depends on Obsidian metadata. New notes or retagged notes may require Obsidian to finish indexing. If Galdur detects that the excluded note set changed during a live session, it warns that the session is stale and should be restarted before continuing.

What the plugin does

• Opens a sidebar terminal view inside Obsidian
• Starts CLI sessions with the vault as the working directory
• Lets you start or stop the active session from the panel toolbar
• Lets you switch between Claude, Codex, Gemini, and OpenCode from the panel while keeping per-tool settings in plugin settings
• Applies optional global tag-based context guard for supported tools
• Manages the local PTY runtime used for terminal sessions
• Writes tool debug logs for CLIs that support them
• Exposes commands for toggling the panel, starting a session, and stopping a session

Runtime, privacy, and safety disclosures

• Galdur downloads runtime binaries from GitHub Releases for Kyle-Undefined/galdur.
• Galdur launches a local runtime executable for PTY support. That executable is a packaged helper app containing Galdur's runtime code and node-pty; it is not a bundled AI model or bundled Claude, Codex, Gemini, or OpenCode install.
• The selected CLI tool may read or write outside the vault depending on the CLI itself, the flags you pass, and the permission preset or mode you choose.
• Galdur can access paths outside the vault when launching user-selected CLI tools.
• Galdur's tag-based context guard provides technical enforcement for Claude, partial protection for Gemini (file tools only, not shell access), and no technical enforcement for Codex and OpenCode.
• No client-side telemetry is included by default.

Related plugins and inspiration

Claudian is a cleaner, more integrated Claude-in-Obsidian experience.

Galdur exists for a different use case: a terminal-first workflow that keeps the flexibility of external AI CLIs and supports more than one tool. Claudian is worth a look if you want a more native chat-style plugin.

Troubleshooting

Runtime is not installed

If the panel says runtime setup is required, open Settings -> Galdur and select Install runtime, then start the session.

CLI not found

If Galdur cannot find the AI tool, install the CLI normally and restart Obsidian. On Windows, Galdur checks common install locations and PATH. You can also use the relevant environment override:

• GALDUR_CLAUDE_CMD
• GALDUR_CODEX_CMD
• GALDUR_GEMINI_CMD
• GALDUR_OPENCODE_CMD

Windows-only support

The managed runtime currently supports Windows only. macOS and Linux are not supported in this release.

Development

Development notes, runtime architecture, build commands, and local runtime workflow are documented in docs/development.md.

License

Licensed under the MIT License.