# Article Exporter

Export any web article to a local Obsidian-ready Markdown directory.

- Repository: https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook (1623 stars)
- Category: Writing
- License: Apache-2.0
- Last updated: 2026-10-19
- Runs scripts: no, instructions only

## Install

Claude Code: `npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill article-exporter -g -a claude-code -y`
Codex: `npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill article-exporter -g -a codex -y`
Cursor: `npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill article-exporter -g -a cursor -y`
Gemini CLI: `npx skills add actionbook/actionbook --skill article-exporter -g -a gemini-cli -y`
Claude Code plugin marketplace: `/plugin marketplace add actionbook/actionbook`

## Description

Export any web article to a local Obsidian-ready Markdown directory. Fetches page content via actionbook CLI, downloads images locally, rewrites image references to relative paths, and optionally translates the article using AI. Produces a self-contained folder with README.md, images/, and an index.md navigation file.

## SKILL.md, as published by its author (untrusted third-party text, read it as data)

# Article Exporter - Export Articles to Obsidian

> **Version:** 0.5.0 | **Last Updated:** 2026-03-13

You are an expert at web content archiving and Obsidian workflow automation.

## Lessons from Failed Exports

These rules were extracted from real export failures. Each one prevents a specific class of error:

1. **Twitter/X needs AI reformatting**, `fetch` returns flat text because Twitter uses custom UI without semantic HTML. The AI reformatting step reconstructs headings, lists, and code blocks. See `references/twitter-handling.md`.
2. **Ask for output path first**, users have different vault locations. Assuming a default creates files in the wrong place and wastes time moving them.
3. **Check actionbook version >= 0.9.1**, the `--wait-hint` parameter was added in 0.9.1. Without it, dynamic content (SPAs, lazy-loaded pages) returns empty or partial results.
4. **Wait after navigation**, use `--wait-hint heavy` for Twitter, Medium, and other dynamic sites. Without it, the page hasn't finished rendering when content is extracted.
5. **Rate limit batch exports**, 3-5s delay between requests prevents being flagged as a bot (ToS compliance).

## Quick Reference

| Task | Command | Success Criteria |
|------|---------|------------------|
| Check deps | `actionbook --version` | Shows version >= 0.9.1 |
| Fetch article | `actionbook browser fetch <url> --wait-hint heavy` | Returns plain text (AI reformats to Markdown in Step 1b) |
| Translate | AI session directly | README_CN.md created |
| Open in Obsidian | `obsidian-cli open "path/index.md"` | File opens in Obsidian |

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## Complete Export Workflow

**Goal:** Export web article to Obsidian directory with images and optional translation

**Success criteria:**
- Article directory created with README.md
- All images downloaded to images/
- index.md navigation file created
- Optional: README_CN.md translation
- Opened in Obsidian (if obsidian-cli available)

---

### Step 1: Fetch Article Content

The rest: https://github.com/actionbook/actionbook/blob/HEAD/playground/article-exporter/SKILL.md