Synapse Obsidian MCP Server

Taproot — the memory layer for your AI. MCP server that connects any AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf) to your notes.

Local serverstdio

What is the Synapse Obsidian MCP server?

Taproot — the memory layer for your AI. MCP server that connects any AI client (Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf) to your notes. The synapse obsidian mcp server wraps that behind the Model Context Protocol, so an assistant can use it through 14 defined tools rather than through you.

What it actually does

MCP server that connects any AI client — Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf — to your Obsidian vault. Save anything from anywhere, ask questions across your notes, keep the knowledge base your AI reads from.

Its toolset

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

  • taproot_plant — Onboarding — scans vault, presents options, configures Taproot
  • taproot_till — Saves your vault preferences
  • taproot_seed — Save content from a URL or pasted text
  • taproot_status — Full vault overview with suggested actions
  • taproot_water — Process a source into organized pages
  • taproot_cultivate — Find and process all unprocessed sources
  • taproot_harvest — Research a question across your knowledge base
  • taproot_prune — Health-check for broken links, orphans, gaps
  • taproot_sow — Scaffold a new knowledge base from scratch
  • garden_read — Read any file
  • garden_plant — Create or update any file
  • garden_survey — List files in vault or subdirectory

Adding it to your client

synapse-obsidian on npm is all you need. Most clients run it directly, so configuration is a few lines and a restart.

Configuration

  • Node.js 18+ (check with node -v) - An Obsidian vault or any folder of markdown files - Any MCP-compatible AI client

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. Synapse Obsidian's toolset — taproot_plant, taproot_till, taproot_seed and 11 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by tomjrworks; 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We check each listing at SyncDev against the project's documentation before it goes live — if something here drifts out of date, it is a bug worth reporting.

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 14 tools registered it takes up a noticeable share of the context window; turn it off in projects that never touch Synapse Obsidian.
  • MCP clients confirm each tool call by default. Leave that on until you have watched what the synapse obsidian mcp server does with a few real requests.

Available tools

ToolWhat it does
taproot_plantOnboarding — scans vault, presents options, configures Taproot
taproot_tillSaves your vault preferences
taproot_seedSave content from a URL or pasted text
taproot_statusFull vault overview with suggested actions
taproot_waterProcess a source into organized pages
taproot_cultivateFind and process all unprocessed sources
taproot_harvestResearch a question across your knowledge base
taproot_pruneHealth-check for broken links, orphans, gaps
taproot_sowScaffold a new knowledge base from scratch
garden_readRead any file
garden_plantCreate or update any file
garden_surveyList files in vault or subdirectory
garden_forageFull-text search
garden_measureFile counts and structure

How to install the Synapse Obsidian MCP server

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

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

Configuration

  • Node.js 18+ (check with node -v) - An Obsidian vault or any folder of markdown files - Any MCP-compatible AI client

Example prompts to try

  • Use Synapse Obsidian to taproot plant.
  • Use Synapse Obsidian to taproot till.
  • Use Synapse Obsidian to taproot seed.

Frequently asked questions

It connects Synapse Obsidian to MCP-compatible AI assistants such as Claude and Cursor, exposing 14 tools (taproot_plant, taproot_till, taproot_seed, and more) that the assistant can call on your behalf. Instead of copying data back and forth by hand, the assistant works with Synapse Obsidian directly.