Obsidian MCP

Overview

Obsidian MCP is a Model Context Protocol server that provides access to Obsidian vaults. Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management tool that stores notes as local Markdown files, making it perfect for AI agent integration.

The MCP integration enables AI agents to read, search, create, and modify notes in your Obsidian vault, turning your personal knowledge base into an interactive resource for research, writing, and learning.

Features

• Note Reading: Read any note in your vault
• Full-Text Search: Search across all notes
• Link Navigation: Follow and resolve internal links
• Note Creation: Create new notes with content
• Note Editing: Modify existing notes
• Tag Management: Search and manage tags
• Graph Analysis: Understand note relationships
• Backlink Discovery: Find notes linking to a specific note

Installation

npx -y @modelcontextprotocol/server-obsidian

Configuration

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@modelcontextprotocol/server-obsidian"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH": "/path/to/your/vault"
      }
    }
  }
}

Finding Your Vault Path

Obsidian vaults are local folders containing Markdown files. Common locations:

• macOS: ~/Documents/Obsidian/Vault Name/
• Windows: C:\\Users\\Username\\Documents\\Obsidian\\Vault Name\\
• Linux: ~/Obsidian/Vault Name/

Available Tools

Tool	Description
search_notes	Search notes by query
read_note	Read a specific note by name
create_note	Create a new note
update_note	Update an existing note
list_tags	List all tags in the vault
search_tags	Search notes by tag
get_backlinks	Find notes linking to a note
get_linked_notes	Get notes linked from a note

Usage Examples

Search and Read Notes

# Search for notes about AI agents
results = search_notes(query="AI agent frameworks")
for note in results:
    print(f"- {note.title}: {note.excerpt}")

# Read a specific note
note = read_note("AI Agent Frameworks Comparison.md")
print(note.content)

Create a New Note

create_note(
    name="Meeting Notes - 2026-05-19",
    content="""# Meeting Notes - 2026-05-19

## Attendees
- Alice
- Bob
- Charlie

## Agenda
1. Review project status
2. Discuss new features
3. Plan next sprint

## Notes
- Project is on track for Q2 launch
- New AI features need more testing
- Sprint planning scheduled for Friday

## Action Items
- [ ] Alice: Complete API documentation
- [ ] Bob: Run integration tests
- [ ] Charlie: Update project timeline
""",
)

Find Related Notes

# Get backlinks (notes that link to this note)
backlinks = get_backlinks(note_name="Machine Learning")
print("Notes linking to Machine Learning:")
for link in backlinks:
    print(f"  - {link.source} → {link.context}")

# Get linked notes (notes this note links to)
linked = get_linked_notes(note_name="Machine Learning")
print("Notes linked from Machine Learning:")
for link in linked:
    print(f"  - {link.target}")

Research Workflow

# Search for topic
results = search_notes(query="transformer architecture")

# Read top results
for note in results[:3]:
    content = read_note(note.name)
    print(f"\n=== {note.name} ===")
    print(content.content[:500])

# Find related notes
backlinks = get_backlinks(note_name="Transformer Models")
print(f"\n{len(backlinks)} notes reference Transformer Models")

Pros

• ✅ Local-First: Notes stored as plain Markdown files
• ✅ Full Control: Your data stays on your machine
• ✅ Rich Linking: Understand note relationships
• ✅ Tag System: Organize and search by tags
• ✅ Privacy: No cloud dependency
• ✅ Extensible: Works with Obsidian plugins

Cons

• ❌ Local Only: Vault must be accessible to the MCP server
• ❌ No Sync: Doesn't sync across devices automatically
• ❌ Vault Path Required: Need to know vault location
• ❌ Limited to Vault: Can't access notes outside vault

When to Use

Use Obsidian MCP when:

• You use Obsidian for knowledge management
• You want AI agents to access your personal notes
• You need to search and analyze your knowledge base
• You want to create and organize notes via AI

Avoid Obsidian MCP when:

• Your notes are in a cloud-only system
• You don't use Obsidian
• You need cross-device sync without local access

Resources

• Obsidian Documentation
• GitHub Repository
• Obsidian Website