patch_active_file

Patch a section of the note currently open in the live Obsidian session (patch_note, aimed at the active note): append, prepend, replace or replace_text under a heading, block reference or the frontmatter preamble. Required fields per operation (anchor or target_heading on append, prepend and replace only): append, prepend, replace: content; replace_text: old_string + new_string. Refused: old_string/new_string on append, prepend, replace; content on replace_text. insert_before is append-only: it inserts content above a unique matching line within the resolved section, useful for keeping signatures, Parent links and footnote blocks at the end. With neither anchor nor target_heading, replace_text is note-wide (the whole note body, frontmatter excluded). Same anchors, prev_hash compare-and-swap, confirm_replace guard, snapshot and memoryDefense rules as patch_note; response_format=concise is patch_note’s acknowledgement. Refuses a non-markdown active file.

Domain	workspace
Scopes	write:notes
Access	write
Tags	writes, domain:workspace, plugin-bridge
Profile	full only

Annotations

Annotation	Value
Read-only	no
Destructive	no
Idempotent	no
Accepts an idempotency key	no

Idempotent is the advisory MCP idempotentHint. Destructive is also yes for a tool that asks for confirmation only on some calls.

Confirmation (human in the loop)

No human confirmation is required to call this tool.

Input

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
vault	string		—	Vault id. May be omitted when only one vault is available. length 1–64; pattern ^[a-z0-9_-]+$
operation	enum	yes	—	Which edit to make. append, prepend and replace take content and need an anchor or target_heading; replace_text takes old_string and new_string and needs neither. Each field’s description says which operations require or refuse it. One of: "append", "prepend", "replace", "replace_text"
target_heading	string		—	Legacy shorthand for anchor:{type:“heading”,heading}. append, prepend and replace need anchor or target_heading; replace_text needs neither (with neither it is note-wide). length ≥ 1
anchor	object		—	Where to act: {type:“heading”,heading:“Notes”[,occurrence:2]}, {type:“block”,block_id:“abc”} or {type:“frontmatter”} (the preamble above the first heading). append, prepend and replace need anchor or target_heading; replace_text needs neither: with neither it matches over the whole note body (frontmatter excluded, heading lines included).
anchor.type	enum	with parent	—	One of: "heading", "block", "frontmatter"
anchor.heading	string		—	Heading text without the # marks, e.g. “Notes”; case-insensitive. To pick one of several same-named headings by its parents write “Parent > Child” (outermost first). length ≥ 1
anchor.occurrence	integer		—	1-based index among the headings that match, in document order. Needed when the heading appears more than once and no Parent > Child path singles it out; otherwise the call is refused with every match’s line number. range ≥ 1
anchor.block_id	string		—	length ≥ 1
content	string		—	Required for append, prepend and replace; refused for replace_text.
insert_before	string		—	Optional for append only: insert content immediately above the unique line matching this value within the resolved section, ignoring trailing spaces and tabs. Fenced code and a heading anchor’s own heading line are excluded.
old_string	string		—	Required for replace_text, refused for append, prepend and replace: the exact text to find inside the anchor’s section, or inside the whole note body when there is no anchor; it must occur exactly once. To move or reorder sections, anchor on an enclosing heading and put the whole span here. length ≥ 1
new_string	string		—	Required for replace_text, refused for append, prepend and replace: the text that takes old_string’s place (may be empty to delete).
prev_hash	string		—	—
confirm_replace	boolean		false	—
response_format	enum		—	concise returns only the high-signal fields; detailed (the shipped default) returns the full payload. Errors and safety warnings are never trimmed. When omitted, the server’s tools.defaults.responseFormat applies. One of: "concise", "detailed"
verbosity	enum		—	Legacy alias for response_format: terse = concise, full = detailed. One of: "full", "terse"

Output

Field	Type	Always present	Description
vault	string	yes	—
path	string	yes	—
operation	enum		One of: "append", "prepend", "replace", "replace_text"
anchor	object		—
anchor.type	enum	with parent	One of: "heading", "block", "frontmatter"
anchor.heading	string		—
anchor.occurrence	number		—
anchor.block_id	string		—
target_heading	string		—
content_hash	string	yes	—
prev_hash	string		—
lines_removed	number		—
bytes_removed	number		—
quality_warning	object | null		—
quality_warning.flags	string[]	with parent	—
quality_warning.computed_at	number	with parent	—
redactions	integer		range ≥ 0

Related tools

Other tools in the workspace domain: add_bookmark, append_active_file, append_to_periodic_note, create_periodic_note, delete_active_file, find_or_create_periodic_note, get_active_file, get_periodic_note, list_bookmarks, list_periodic_notes, list_workspaces, open_workspace, remove_bookmark, resolve_daily_note, save_workspace, update_active_file.

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