obsidian-clipper-template-creator

Obsidian Web Clipper Template Creation Guide

Skill Overview

This is a skill that helps you create Obsidian Web Clipper importable JSON template configurations by analyzing webpage structure, validating CSS selectors, and generating templates according to the required format.

Use Cases

1. Create Dedicated Clipping Templates for Specific Websites

When you need to clip content from specific sources such as YouTube, recipe websites, blogs, etc., this skill can analyze the page’s Schema.org data, Meta tags, and DOM structure to generate templates that precisely extract metadata such as title, author, and publication date.

2. Learn and Use Obsidian Clipper Variables

If you want to understand what variables are supported by Obsidian Web Clipper (Preset, Schema, Selector) and how to format clipped content using filters, this skill provides a complete variable reference along with practical examples.

3. Validate and Debug CSS Selectors

When creating templates, incorrect selectors are the most common issue. This skill emphasizes a workflow of “get first, then validate”: it verifies each CSS selector against real webpage content, avoiding guesswork and invalid configurations.

Core Features

1. Webpage Analysis and Selector Validation

Before generating a template, the skill retrieves the actual webpage content and analyzes the HTML structure, including Schema.org JSON, Meta tags, and CSS selectors. Every selector must be validated using real content—never guessed out of thin air. This ensures the generated template can reliably extract the target content.

2. Base Schema Mapping and Structured Properties

The skill supports reading a user-defined Base Schema (e.g., Recipes.base). It maps predefined properties into the Clipper template, enabling consistent content structure and property naming. This is very useful for building a knowledge base and keeping clipped content formats uniform.

3. Standard JSON Template Generation

The final output is a JSON configuration file that complies with the Obsidian Web Clipper specification, including required fields such as schemaVersion, name, and properties. The generated code block can be copied and imported into Obsidian directly—ready to use.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where should Obsidian Web Clipper template files be stored?

Template files are typically stored in the Templates/ directory of your Obsidian vault. If you define the property structure using Base Schema, you can create .base files in the Templates/Bases/ directory, and the skill will automatically read and apply those property definitions.

How can I ensure CSS selectors remain stable and valid?

This skill follows the principle of “get first, then validate.” You need to provide the URL of the target webpage, and the skill will fetch the actual HTML content and analyze the DOM structure. Prefer stable targeting methods such as data attributes, semantic tags, and unique IDs, and avoid chains of class names that are likely to change. If a selector cannot be validated, the skill will clearly report it and provide alternatives.

Why can’t my template extract any content?

The most common reason is that the CSS selectors do not match the actual DOM. Please make sure that: 1) you provide the correct example URL for analysis; 2) the selectors have passed the validation step; and 3) the target site does not load content dynamically (content like this requires waiting for JavaScript rendering). If the issue persists, try providing a screenshot of the webpage to help diagnose the problem.

What variables does Obsidian Clipper support?

It supports three main categories of variables: Preset variables (e.g., {{title}}, {{url}}, {{date}}), Schema variables (extracted from Schema.org JSON-LD, e.g., {{schema:name}}), and Selector variables (extracted via CSS selectors, e.g., {{selector:div.author}}). For the full variable list, refer to Obsidian’s official documentation or the skill’s references/variables.md.

Can I create a template for clipping video information?

Yes. For video sites such as YouTube, the skill analyzes the page structure to extract information like video title, author, duration, and publication date. The key step is to provide the video page URL so the skill can validate whether the selectors can correctly extract the target elements. You can also modify existing YouTube template examples.

How do I troubleshoot errors in the template JSON format?

Common JSON format issues include missing commas, mismatched quotation marks, using single quotes instead of double quotes, and having a trailing comma after the last item. The JSON generated by this skill will automatically follow the correct specification. If you manually modify a template, it’s recommended to use a JSON validation tool to check syntax, or ask the skill to regenerate the complete configuration.