obsidian-conversation-backup

Obsidian Conversation Backup

Automatically backs up Clawdbot conversations to Obsidian with beautiful chat-style formatting. Prevents data loss from /new resets with hourly incremental snapshots.

Features

• Incremental backups: Hourly snapshots of new messages only (no duplication)
• Chat formatting: Obsidian callouts with emojis, timestamps, proper multi-paragraph support
• Hourly breakdowns: Organize conversations by clock hour for easy reference
• Zero token cost: Pure shell scripting, no LLM calls
• Smart filtering: Skips empty messages and system notifications

Quick Setup

Installation

# Extract the skill (if downloaded as .skill file)
unzip obsidian-conversation-backup.skill
cd obsidian-conversation-backup

# Run installer (interactive)
chmod +x install.sh
./install.sh

The installer will ask for:

• Obsidian vault path
• Session directory location
• Tracking files location

Or manual setup:

1. Copy config.example to config
2. Edit config with your paths
3. Make scripts executable: chmod +x scripts/*.sh

Enable Automatic Backups

Add to crontab for hourly backups:

crontab -e

# Add this line (runs every hour at :00)
0 * * * * /path/to/obsidian-conversation-backup/scripts/monitor_and_save.sh

Customize Chat Appearance (Optional)

Edit scripts/format_message_v2.jq to change:

• User emoji (default: 🐉)
• Assistant emoji (default: 🦞)
• Callout types (default: [!quote] for user, [!check] for assistant)

Usage

Automatic Incremental Backups

Once configured in cron, the system runs automatically:

Every hour:

• Checks for new messages (≥10 lines)
• Creates incremental snapshot if found
• Saves to: YYYY-MM-DD-HHmm-incremental.md
• Skips if no new conversation

Example output:

2026-01-20-1500-incremental.md (messages from last save to now)
2026-01-20-1600-incremental.md (new messages since 15:00)
2026-01-20-1700-incremental.md (new messages since 16:00)

Protection: Max conversation loss = 1 hour

On-Demand Full Snapshot

Save complete conversation anytime:

scripts/save_full_snapshot.sh [topic-name]

Examples:

scripts/save_full_snapshot.sh important-decisions
scripts/save_full_snapshot.sh bug-fix-discussion
scripts/save_full_snapshot.sh  # uses "full-conversation" as default

Hourly Breakdown (Organization)

Create organized breakdown by clock hour:

scripts/create_hourly_snapshots.sh YYYY-MM-DD

Example:

scripts/create_hourly_snapshots.sh 2026-01-20

Output:

2026-01-20-1500-hourly.md (15:00-15:59 messages)
2026-01-20-1600-hourly.md (16:00-16:59 messages)
2026-01-20-1700-hourly.md (17:00-17:59 messages)

Use case: End-of-day organization for easy reference

Chat Format

Messages appear as colored Obsidian callouts:

User messages (blue [!quote] callout):

> [!quote] 🐉 User · 15:30
> This is my message

Assistant messages (green [!check] callout):

> [!check] 🦞 Zoidbot · 15:31  
> This is the response

Features:

• Timestamps (HH:MM format)
• Multi-paragraph support (uses <br><br> for paragraph breaks)
• Proper line wrapping (all lines prefixed with > )
• Empty messages filtered out
• System notifications excluded

Token Monitoring

The monitor_and_save.sh script also tracks token usage:

Warnings via Telegram:

• 800k tokens (80%): "Consider /new soon"
• 900k tokens (90%): "Run /new NOW"

Implementation:

# Sends warning only when crossing threshold (one-time)
# No repeated warnings
# Resets when back under 800k

File Structure

scripts/
├── monitor_and_save.sh           # Hourly incremental backup + token monitoring
├── save_full_snapshot.sh         # On-demand full conversation save
├── create_hourly_snapshots.sh    # Organize by clock hour
└── format_message_v2.jq          # Chat formatting logic

Configuration

Tracking Files

The system uses hidden files to track state:

/root/clawd/.last_save_line_count       # For token monitoring
/root/clawd/.last_snapshot_timestamp    # For incremental saves
/root/clawd/.token_warning_sent         # For warning deduplication

Note: Do not delete these files or incremental backups may duplicate content

Session File Location

Default: /root/.clawdbot/agents/main/sessions/*.jsonl

If your session files are elsewhere, update the SESSION_FILE path in each script.

Troubleshooting

No snapshots being created

1. Check cron is running: crontab -l
2. Verify script has execute permission: chmod +x scripts/*.sh
3. Check logs: Run manually to see errors

Messages breaking out of callouts

• Ensure format_message_v2.jq has the gsub("\n\n"; "<br><br>") line
• Check that all lines have > prefix
• Verify jq is installed: jq --version

Duplicated content in snapshots

• Delete tracking files and let system reset:

  rm /root/clawd/.last_snapshot_timestamp
  

Empty callout boxes appearing

• Update format_message_v2.jq to filter empty messages
• Check for the if ($text_content | length) > 0 condition

Requirements

• jq: JSON parsing (apt-get install jq)
• cron: For automatic backups
• Obsidian vault: Target directory for markdown files

Advanced Customization

Change Backup Frequency

Edit crontab:

# Every 2 hours
0 */2 * * * /path/to/monitor_and_save.sh

# Every 30 minutes
*/30 * * * * /path/to/monitor_and_save.sh

# Specific times only (9am, 12pm, 6pm, 9pm)
0 9,12,18,21 * * * /path/to/monitor_and_save.sh

Change Minimum Message Threshold

Edit monitor_and_save.sh:

# Change from 10 to 5 messages minimum
if [[ $new_lines -lt 5 ]]; then

Add More Callout Styles

Obsidian callout types:

• [!quote] - Blue
• [!check] - Green
• [!note] - Cyan
• [!tip] - Purple
• [!warning] - Orange
• [!danger] - Red

Customize Telegram Notifications

Edit monitor_and_save.sh to change warning text or add custom notifications.

Best Practices

1. Run hourly breakdown at end of day - Use as organizational tool, not backup
2. Keep incremental backups running - This is your safety net
3. Test scripts after setup - Run manually first to verify output
4. Backup tracking files - Include .last_snapshot_timestamp in vault backups
5. Use descriptive topic names - For full snapshots, use meaningful names

Example Workflow

Daily routine:

1. Automatic incremental backups run hourly (no action needed)
2. At end of day: scripts/create_hourly_snapshots.sh 2026-01-20
3. Review organized hourly files in Obsidian
4. Delete old incrementals if desired (hourly breakdown covers them)

Before /new reset:

1. Optional: scripts/save_full_snapshot.sh before-reset
2. Run /new safely - conversation is backed up
3. Continue chatting - incrementals resume automatically

Integration with Clawdbot

This skill works with:

• HEARTBEAT.md: Automatic token monitoring
• MEMORY.md: Conversation archival system
• Telegram integration: Warning notifications
• Any Obsidian vault: Works with existing vaults

Credits

Created by the Clawdbot community for reliable conversation backup and beautiful Obsidian formatting.