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: bash 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: bash 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: ```bash

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: bash 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: ```bash

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: ```bash

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.