Smart MCP Server

MCP server for Obsidian Smart Connections. Semantic search using your vault's embeddings.

Local serverstdioTypeScript

What is the Smart MCP server?

MCP server for Obsidian Smart Connections. Semantic search using your vault's embeddings. Exposed over MCP by the smart mcp server, that capability becomes something an assistant can invoke while it works, not something you go and do afterwards.

What it actually does

A security-first MCP server for Smart Connections. Read-only. Path-validated. Auditable.

  • No path validation — - User input passed directly to file operations
  • Write access — - Some expose mutation tools we don't need
  • Heavy dependencies — - PyTorch/transformers for what's essentially vector math
  • Minimal dependencies — - MCP SDK + Transformers.js (for text search)
  • Fail-closed security — - path validation with realpath, symlink detection
  • Auditable — - small TypeScript codebase you can actually read

Adding it to your client

The server ships on npm as @modelcontextprotocol/inspector, so your MCP client can launch it on demand — there is no separate build step. Add the server block to your client's configuration, restart it, and the tools register themselves.

Its toolset

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

  • search_by_text — Search using freeform text (computes embedding locally)
  • search_similar — Find notes semantically similar to a given note
  • search_by_embedding — Search using a raw embedding vector
  • get_note — Get content of a specific note (path validated)
  • get_model_info — Get embedding model configuration
  • list_indexed — List all indexed notes
  • Prerequisites — The Prerequisites tool exposed by this server
  • Setup — The Setup tool exposed by this server

Configuration

You will need one environment variable: VAULT_PATH. Keep credentials in your client's env block or a secrets manager rather than in a file you might commit.

  • Node.js 18+ - Obsidian with Smart Connections plugin installed - Embeddings built (open vault in Obsidian, let Smart Connections index)

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.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the smart mcp server does with a few real requests.

When to reach for it

This sits in the AI and media services group, where several servers overlap in what they claim to do but differ sharply once you actually set them up. Smart's toolset — search_by_text, search_similar, search_by_embedding and 5 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by gogogadgetbytes; 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
search_by_textSearch using freeform text (computes embedding locally)
search_similarFind notes semantically similar to a given note
search_by_embeddingSearch using a raw embedding vector
get_noteGet content of a specific note (path validated)
get_model_infoGet embedding model configuration
list_indexedList all indexed notes
PrerequisitesThe Prerequisites tool exposed by this server.
SetupThe Setup tool exposed by this server.

How to install the Smart MCP server

Or manually add to `~/.claude.json`:

```json
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "smart-connections": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/smart-connections-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "VAULT_PATH": "/path/to/your/obsidian/vault"
      }
    }
  }
}

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

Configuration

  • Node.js 18+ - Obsidian with Smart Connections plugin installed - Embeddings built (open vault in Obsidian, let Smart Connections index)
VariableDescriptionRequired
VAULT_PATHFilesystem location the server is allowed to use.Optional

Example prompts to try

  • Use Smart to search by text.
  • Use Smart to search similar.
  • Use Smart to search by embedding.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Smart to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 8 tools (search_by_text, search_similar, search_by_embedding, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Smart directly.