Obsidian

by MarkusPfundstein

4k stars

5.7k downloads

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GitHub

About

MCP server to interact with Obsidian via the Local REST API community plugin. It allows MCP clients (like Claude Desktop) to read, search, and modify notes in an Obsidian vault.

Details

Author: MarkusPfundstein
GitHub stars: 4,041
Downloads: 5,743
Categories: Productivity, Community, Other, Knowledge Base

- List all files and directories in the vault root
- List files in a specific Obsidian directory
- Get the full content of any single file
- Search for documents matching a text query
- Insert content relative to a heading, block, or frontmatter field
- Append content to a new or existing file
- Delete a file or directory from the vault

Setting up with Highlight

This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:

Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
Configure the plugin with the settings below

Plugin Name Obsidian

Command (node, npx, python, etc.)

Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches

Setting up with Cursor

Open Cursor's settings
Navigate to the MCP section
Click "Add new Global MCP server"
Copy and paste the configuration below based on your operating system

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Setting up with Claude Desktop

Open Claude Desktop's settings
Go to the Integrations tab
Click "Add MCP Server"
Use the configuration below based on your operating system

Note: Make sure Claude Desktop is running before attempting to connect.

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Setting up with Windsurf

Open Windsurf's preferences
Go to the Integrations section
Click "Add MCP Integration"
Use the configuration below based on your operating system

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Setting up with Cline

Open Cline's settings
Navigate to the Integrations section
Click "Add MCP Server"
Copy and paste the configuration below based on your operating system

Note: Make sure to restart Cline after adding the configuration.

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

Setting up with Goose

Open Goose's preferences
Go to the Integrations tab
Select "MCP Servers"
Click "Add New Server"
Use the configuration below based on your operating system

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

JSON

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

From the repository

First install and enable the Obsidian Local REST API plugin, then copy the API key. Configure the server by setting OBSIDIAN_API_KEY, OBSIDIAN_HOST (default 127.0.0.1), and OBSIDIAN_PORT (default 27124) either in the MCP server config or a .env file. Run the server via uvx mcp-obsidian or using the development configuration with uv.

Claude Desktop / Cursor

Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "mcp-obsidian": {
                "command": "uvx",
                "args": [
                    "mcp-obsidian"
                ],
                "env": {
                    "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
                    "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
                }
            }
        }
    }
}

McpServers

{
    "mcp-obsidian": {
        "command": "uvx",
        "args": [
            "mcp-obsidian"
        ],
        "env": {
            "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>",
            "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>",
            "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>"
        }
    }
}

# MCP server for Obsidian MCP server to interact with Obsidian via the Local REST API community plugin. <a href="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/3wko1bhuek"><img width="380" height="200" src="https://glama.ai/mcp/servers/3wko1bhuek/badge" alt="server for Obsidian MCP server" /></a> ## Components ### Tools The server implements multiple tools to interact with Obsidian: - list_files_in_vault: Lists all files and directories in the root directory of your Obsidian vault - list_files_in_dir: Lists all files and directories in a specific Obsidian directory - get_file_contents: Return the content of a single file in your vault. - search: Search for documents matching a specified text query across all files in the vault - patch_content: Insert content into an existing note relative to a heading, block reference, or frontmatter field. - append_content: Append content to a new or existing file in the vault. - delete_file: Delete a file or directory from your vault. ### Example prompts Its good to first instruct Claude to use Obsidian. Then it will always call the tool. The use prompts like this: - Get the contents of the last architecture call note and summarize them - Search for all files where Azure CosmosDb is mentioned and quickly explain to me the context in which it is mentioned - Summarize the last meeting notes and put them into a new note 'summary meeting.md'. Add an introduction so that I can send it via email. ## Configuration ### Obsidian REST API Key There are two ways to configure the environment with the Obsidian REST API Key. 1. Add to server config (preferred) ```json { "mcp-obsidian": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "mcp-obsidian" ], "env": { "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>", "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>", "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>" } } } ``` Sometimes Claude has issues detecting the location of uv / uvx. You can use `which uvx` to find and paste the full path in above config in such cases. 2. Create a `.env` file in the working directory with the following required variables: ``` OBSIDIAN_API_KEY=your_api_key_here OBSIDIAN_HOST=your_obsidian_host OBSIDIAN_PORT=your_obsidian_port ``` Note: - You can find the API key in the Obsidian plugin config - Default port is 27124 if not specified - Default host is 127.0.0.1 if not specified ## Quickstart ### Install #### Obsidian REST API You need the Obsidian REST API community plugin running: https://github.com/coddingtonbear/obsidian-local-rest-api Install and enable it in the settings and copy the api key. #### Claude Desktop On MacOS: `~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` On Windows: `%APPDATA%/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json` <details> <summary>Development/Unpublished Servers Configuration</summary> ```json { "mcpServers": { "mcp-obsidian": { "command": "uv", "args": [ "--directory", "<dir_to>/mcp-obsidian", "run", "mcp-obsidian" ], "env": { "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<your_api_key_here>", "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>", "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>" } } } } ``` </details> <details> <summary>Published Servers Configuration</summary> ```json { "mcpServers": { "mcp-obsidian": { "command": "uvx", "args": [ "mcp-obsidian" ], "env": { "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY>", "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "<your_obsidian_host>", "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "<your_obsidian_port>" } } } } ``` </details> ## Development ### Building To prepare the package for distribution: 1. Sync dependencies and update lockfile: ```bash uv sync ``` ### Debugging Since 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). You can launch the MCP Inspector via [`npm`](https://docs.npmjs.com/downloading-and-installing-node-js-and-npm) with this command: ```bash npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector uv --directory /path/to/mcp-obsidian run mcp-obsidian ``` Upon launching, the Inspector will display a URL that you can access in your browser to begin debugging. You can also watch the server logs with this command: ```bash tail -n 20 -f ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp-server-mcp-obsidian.log ```

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