Repository README and public project material. Toolglass has not installed or run Emeraldian.
TESTED BY TOOLGLASS: NO
What is it?
Emeraldian is a terminal interface for an existing Obsidian vault. It reads the same Markdown folder directly, with no import database, and supplies a three-pane editor, wikilinks, backlinks, tags, a force-directed graph, image rendering and even an Excalidraw viewer.
Why did Radar notice it?
The interesting part is not merely 'Obsidian in a TUI'. The optional assistant acts on notes through the same commands the human uses, and its tool calls remain visible in the transcript. That is a much healthier agent boundary than a mysterious second system quietly rewriting a private knowledge base.
The project also keeps the underlying object boring: a folder of Markdown. Close Emeraldian and nothing needs exporting back out of Emeraldian.
What looks good?
The README describes real terminal-image protocols with a half-block fallback, a Barnes-Hut graph, Vim mode, multiple model providers and an offline setting. The project says the non-agent parts make no network connections, and the assistant can be pointed at local models.
What's the catch?
This is young software with a surprisingly broad surface area. A terminal Markdown editor, graph renderer, image layer and writable AI assistant each provide their own opportunities for sharp edges. Toolglass has not verified editing fidelity, large-vault performance, agent write safety or compatibility with complicated Obsidian vaults.
Who might want it?
Keyboard-heavy Obsidian users, people working over SSH, and anyone interested in local-first knowledge tools where the AI is an inspectable guest rather than the landlord.
Radar verdict
One of the more interesting attempts to make an existing plain-file knowledge base agent-friendly without first turning it into somebody else's database.
Next step
Open a copy of a real vault, test wikilink fidelity and graph performance, then let the assistant perform a bounded edit with writes visible.