Obsidian MCP
An MCP server that enables AI agents to read, search, write, and link notes in Obsidian vaults while respecting wikilinks, frontmatter, tags, and daily notes conventions, bundled with seven workflow-centric Claude Skills.
What is Obsidian MCP?
Obsidian MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that allows AI assistants like Claude, Cursor, and VS Code to mcp server that enables ai agents to read, search, write, and link notes in obsidian vaults while respecting wikilinks, frontmatter, tags, and daily notes conventions, bundled with seven workflow-cent...
An MCP server that enables AI agents to read, search, write, and link notes in Obsidian vaults while respecting wikilinks, frontmatter, tags, and daily notes conventions, bundled with seven workflow-centric Claude Skills.
This server falls under the Knowledge & Memory category on MCPgee, the world's largest MCP server directory with 33,000+ servers.
Features
- An MCP server that enables AI agents to read, search, write,
Use Cases
Maintainer
Works with
Installation
NPM
npx -y obsidian-mcpManual Installation
npx -y obsidian-mcpConfiguration
Configuration Details
claude_desktop_config.json
Performance
Response Metrics
Resource Usage
How to Set Up and Use Obsidian MCP
obsidian-mcp is a TypeScript MCP server that gives AI agents full read/write access to one or more Obsidian vaults, exposing 12 tools covering note creation, editing, deletion, moving, directory management, tag operations, and full-text vault search. It respects Obsidian conventions including wikilinks, frontmatter metadata, and daily notes, enabling natural language interactions like 'find all notes tagged #project and summarize them' or 'create a daily note for today'. A strong backup recommendation is included given the destructive potential of write operations.
Prerequisites
- Node.js 20 or higher installed
- An existing Obsidian vault (a directory containing .md files) with the absolute path noted
- Claude Desktop, Claude Code, or another MCP-compatible client
- A recent backup of your Obsidian vault before first use (critical — the server can delete notes)
- npx available (included with Node.js)
Back up your Obsidian vault
Before connecting any AI agent with write access, create a full backup of your vault. Copy the vault folder to an external drive or commit it to a git repository.
# Example: backup using cp
cp -r ~/Documents/MyVault ~/Documents/MyVault-backup-$(date +%Y%m%d)Locate your Claude Desktop config file
Find the claude_desktop_config.json file for your operating system. This is where you will add the obsidian-mcp server entry.
# macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
# Windows:
%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.jsonAdd obsidian-mcp to the configuration
Edit claude_desktop_config.json to add the server entry. Provide the absolute path to your vault as an argument. You can add multiple vault paths to manage several vaults simultaneously.
Restart Claude Desktop
Fully quit Claude Desktop and reopen it. The hammer icon in the chat interface confirms the obsidian-mcp tools are loaded and active.
Test with a read operation
Start with a safe read-only operation to confirm connectivity before attempting any writes. Ask Claude to list the notes in your vault or search for a specific tag.
Obsidian MCP Examples
Client configuration
Add obsidian-mcp to claude_desktop_config.json. Replace the vault path with the absolute path to your actual Obsidian vault. Multiple vault paths can be added as additional arguments.
{
"mcpServers": {
"obsidian": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"obsidian-mcp",
"/Users/yourname/Documents/MyVault"
]
}
}
}Prompts to try
Natural language prompts that use obsidian-mcp's note management and search tools.
- "Search my vault for all notes tagged #meeting and create a summary note called 'Meeting Highlights'."
- "Create a daily note for today with sections for tasks, notes, and reflections."
- "Find all notes that link to [[Project Alpha]] and add a tag #archived to each one."
- "Move all notes in the 'Inbox' folder to 'Projects/2024' and update their frontmatter status to 'active'."Troubleshooting Obsidian MCP
Claude Desktop does not show the hammer icon after restart
Verify the JSON in claude_desktop_config.json is valid (no trailing commas, correct bracket nesting). Also confirm the vault path in the args array is an absolute path, not a relative one. Use `node --version` to confirm Node.js 20+ is installed.
search-vault returns no results for notes that definitely exist
The search-vault tool performs full-text search on the content of .md files. Ensure your query matches text inside the notes, not just filenames. For tag-based searches, include the # prefix in your prompt so Claude passes the correct query.
Notes are being modified unexpectedly or data is lost
The server has full write access including delete. Always maintain a vault backup (git or Time Machine). If you want to limit risk, consider running the server in read-only mode by reviewing the source and removing destructive tool handlers for your setup.
Frequently Asked Questions about Obsidian MCP
What is Obsidian MCP?
Obsidian MCP is a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that mcp server that enables ai agents to read, search, write, and link notes in obsidian vaults while respecting wikilinks, frontmatter, tags, and daily notes conventions, bundled with seven workflow-centric claude skills. It connects AI assistants to external tools and data sources through a standardized interface.
How do I install Obsidian MCP?
Install via npm with the command: npx -y obsidian-mcp. Then add the server configuration to your AI client's JSON config file (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or .cursor/mcp.json).
Which AI clients work with Obsidian MCP?
Obsidian MCP works with all major MCP-compatible AI clients including Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, VS Code (GitHub Copilot), Windsurf, and Cline.
Is Obsidian MCP free to use?
Yes, Obsidian MCP is open source and available under the MIT License license. You can use it freely in both personal and commercial projects.
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