MCP server for Obsidian vaults — search, memory, link graph, 23 tools, OAuth-protected.
If you already use Vault, the vault mcp server is the piece that lets your assistant work with it directly. MCP server for Obsidian vaults — search, memory, link graph, 23 tools, OAuth-protected.
Search the vault Reason over notes Write back to Obsidian
The toolset is worth reading before you wire it up, because it tells you what the integration is really for:
Category — ToolSearch — vault_searchTasks — vault_list_tasksMemory — vault_get_memoryProperties — vault_list_property_keysLinks — vault_get_backlinksFiles — vault_read_fileInstallation goes through your MCP client rather than a global install: point it at vault-cortex 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.
Configuration is passed through the environment: MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, VAULT_PATH, PUBLIC_URL, OBSIDIAN_AUTH_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.
Among the knowledge and memory 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. Vault's toolset — Category, Search, Tasks and 4 more — is a fair guide to whether it matches your workflow. It is maintained by aliasunder; worth a glance at recent repository activity before you build anything load-bearing on it.
SyncDev reviews every entry in this directory against the project's own documentation before publishing, and revisits them as servers change.
| Tool | What it does |
|---|---|
| Category | Tool |
| Search | vault_search |
| Tasks | vault_list_tasks |
| Memory | vault_get_memory |
| Properties | vault_list_property_keys |
| Links | vault_get_backlinks |
| Files | vault_read_file |
{
"mcpServers": {
"vault-cortex": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "vault-cortex"],
"env": {
"MCP_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-value",
"VAULT_PATH": "your-value",
"PUBLIC_URL": "your-value",
"OBSIDIAN_AUTH_TOKEN": "your-value"
}
}
}
}Add to claude_desktop_config.json, then restart Claude Desktop.
| Variable | Description | Required |
|---|---|---|
| MCP_AUTH_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
| VAULT_PATH | Filesystem location the server is allowed to use. | Optional |
| PUBLIC_URL | Endpoint or connection string the server talks to. | Yes |
| OBSIDIAN_AUTH_TOKEN | Credential the server authenticates with. | Yes |
A knowledge graph your assistant keeps between sessions — entities, relations and observations that persist.
Kill hallucinated APIs — version-accurate, up-to-date library documentation injected straight into context.
Your workspace, on speaking terms with AI — search, read and write Notion pages and databases.
A structured scratchpad for hard problems — stepwise reasoning with revisions, branches and visible logic.
Symbol-level code navigation, refactoring and memory for coding agents — the IDE brain your assistant has been missing.
Chat with your second brain — search, read and write vault notes through the Local REST API.