Obsidian MCP Server

MCP server for AI assistants to interact with Obsidian vaults

Local serverstdio

What is the Obsidian MCP server?

MCP server for AI assistants to interact with Obsidian vaults. The obsidian mcp server wraps that behind the Model Context Protocol, so an assistant can use it through 12 defined tools rather than through you.

What it actually does

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI assistants to interact with Obsidian vaults, providing tools for reading, creating, editing and managing notes and tags.

  • Read and search notes in your vault
  • Create new notes and directories
  • Edit existing notes
  • Move and delete notes
  • Manage tags (add, remove, rename)
  • Search vault contents

Adding it to your client

@smithery/cli on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

Its toolset

Everything the assistant can do here goes through one of these:

  • read-note — Read the contents of a note
  • create-note — Create a new note
  • edit-note — Edit an existing note
  • delete-note — Delete a note
  • move-note — Move a note to a different location
  • create-directory — Create a new directory
  • search-vault — Search notes in the vault
  • add-tags — Add tags to a note
  • remove-tags — Remove tags from a note
  • rename-tag — Rename a tag across all notes
  • manage-tags — List and organize tags
  • list-available-vaults — List all available vaults (helps with multi-vault setups)

Configuration

  • Node.js 20 or higher (might work on lower, but I haven't tested it) - An Obsidian vault

Caveats

  • It runs with your machine's permissions. That is convenient and also the reason to think about what you point it at before you approve a tool call.
  • With 12 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Obsidian.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the obsidian mcp server does with a few real requests.

When to reach for it

This sits in the planning and project tracking group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Obsidian's toolset — read-note, create-note, edit-note and 9 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by steve_s; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
read-noteRead the contents of a note
create-noteCreate a new note
edit-noteEdit an existing note
delete-noteDelete a note
move-noteMove a note to a different location
create-directoryCreate a new directory
search-vaultSearch notes in the vault
add-tagsAdd tags to a note
remove-tagsRemove tags from a note
rename-tagRename a tag across all notes
manage-tagsList and organize tags
list-available-vaultsList all available vaults (helps with multi-vault setups)

How to install the Obsidian MCP server

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["-y", "obsidian-mcp", "/path/to/your/vault", "/path/to/your/vault2"]
        }
    }
}

Configuration as documented by the project. Restart the client after saving.

Configuration

  • Node.js 20 or higher (might work on lower, but I haven't tested it) - An Obsidian vault

Example prompts to try

  • Use Obsidian to read-note.
  • Use Obsidian to create-note.
  • Use Obsidian to edit-note.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Obsidian to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 12 tools (read-note, create-note, edit-note, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Obsidian directly.