Obsidian Index MCP Server

MCP server providing sementic search over Obsidian vaults

Local serverstdio

What is the Obsidian Index MCP server?

Most planning and project tracking work still happens through a UI a human drives. Obsidian Index MCP server moves it into the conversation instead. MCP server providing sementic search over Obsidian vaults.

The short version

An MCP server that provides a semantic search over an Obsidian vault and exposes recent notes as resources.

The tools it exposes

The server publishes 4 tools. What each one is for:

  • search-notes — Performs semantic search over indexed notes
  • Resources — The server exposes recently modified notes in your vaults as resources to MCP clients. - Notes are addressed by an
  • Tools — The server implements one tool: - search-notes: Performs semantic search over indexed notes
  • Debugging — Since MCP servers run over stdio, debugging can be challenging. For the best debugging experience, we strongly recommend using the [MCP

Getting it running

Installation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at @modelcontextprotocol/inspector on npm and it is fetched when the client starts. The copy-paste blocks for Claude Desktop, Claude Code and Cursor are further down this page.

What it needs from you

Configuration is passed through the environment: NOTE_PATH, VAULT_PATH, DATABASE_PATH, UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN. Treat anything key-shaped as a real credential — scope it to the minimum the server needs, and rotate it if it ever lands in a shared config.

How it compares

Among the planning and project tracking options, the useful question is rarely "what can it do" but "what does it cost you to run" — permissions, credentials, and how much of your context its toolset consumes. Obsidian Index's toolset — search-notes, Resources, Tools and 1 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by tcsavage; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.

This entry was verified against Obsidian Index's own documentation before publication; SyncDev keeps the directory reviewed rather than auto-generated.

Things to watch

  • 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.
  • Missing credentials fail quietly in some clients — if no tools show up, check the environment block first.
  • Keep per-call confirmation enabled while you learn its behaviour; it is the cheapest safeguard you have.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
search-notesPerforms semantic search over indexed notes
ResourcesThe server exposes recently modified notes in your vaults as resources to MCP clients. - Notes are addressed by an obsidian://<VAULT_NAME>/<NOTE_PATH> URL scheme - Notes have the text/markdown media type
ToolsThe server implements one tool: - search-notes: Performs semantic search over indexed notes
DebuggingSince MCP servers run over stdio, debugging can be challenging. For the best debugging experience, we strongly recommend using the [MCP Inspector](https://github.com/modelcontextprotocol/inspector).

How to install the Obsidian Index MCP server

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-index": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/inspector"],
      "env": {
        "NOTE_PATH": "your-value",
        "VAULT_PATH": "your-value",
        "DATABASE_PATH": "your-value",
        "UV_PUBLISH_TOKEN": "your-value"
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.

Configuration

VariableDescriptionRequired
NOTE_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional
VAULT_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional
DATABASE_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional
UV_PUBLISH_TOKENCredential the server authenticates with.Yes

Example prompts to try

  • Use Obsidian Index to search-notes.
  • Use Obsidian Index to Resources.
  • Use Obsidian Index to Tools.

Frequently asked questions

It performs semantic search over indexed notes in the Obsidian vault.