Obsidian MCP server

The Obsidian MCP REST Server enables AI assistants to interact with Obsidian vaults through a standardized Model Context Protocol interface. It provides a local REST API that allows reading, writing, and searching notes while keeping your data secure on your machine.

Prerequisites

• Node.js 16 or higher
• Obsidian with Local REST API plugin installed and configured
• An Obsidian vault with Local REST API enabled

Installation

Install the package globally:

npm install -g PublikPrinciple/obsidian-mcp-rest

Or if you prefer using a specific version/branch:

npm install -g PublikPrinciple/obsidian-mcp-rest#main

If you encounter installation issues, try this alternative approach:

git clone https://github.com/PublikPrinciple/obsidian-mcp-rest.git
cd obsidian-mcp-rest
npm install
npm run build
npm install -g .

For TypeScript-related errors, ensure TypeScript is installed globally:

npm install -g typescript

Configuration

Setting Up Obsidian Local REST API

1. Install the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian
2. Configure the API port (default: 27123)
3. Generate and save an API key

Create Configuration File

Create a config.json file with the following structure:

{
  "obsidian": {
    "apiKey": "your-api-key-here",
    "port": 27123,
    "host": "localhost"
  },
  "server": {
    "name": "obsidian-mcp",
    "version": "1.0.0"
  }
}

Usage

Starting the Server

Start the MCP server by running:

obsidian-mcp-rest --config path/to/config.json

The server will start and listen for MCP requests via stdin/stdout.

Integration with Claude Desktop

1. Open Claude Desktop settings
2. Navigate to the MCP section
3. Add a new server configuration:

{
  "name": "obsidian-mcp",
  "command": "obsidian-mcp-rest",
  "args": ["--config", "path/to/config.json"]
}

Once configured, Claude can access your Obsidian vault through natural language commands like:

• "Read note 'Projects/MyProject.md'"
• "List all notes in 'Projects' folder"
• "Search for notes containing 'typescript'"

Available Tools

The MCP server provides the following functionality:

• listNotes: List all notes in the vault or a specific folder
• readNote: Read the contents of a specific note
• writeNote: Create or update a note
• searchNotes: Search for notes using a query string
• getMetadata: Get metadata for a specific note

Security

The Obsidian MCP REST Server maintains security through:

• Local-only operation (communicates through stdin/stdout)
• Authentication with your Obsidian REST API key
• No external network access requirements
• Keeping all data local to your machine

How to install this MCP server

For Claude Code

To add this MCP server to Claude Code, run this command in your terminal:

claude mcp add-json "obsidian-mcp" '{"command":"obsidian-mcp-rest","args":["--config","path/to/config.json"]}'

See the official Claude Code MCP documentation for more details.

For Cursor

There are two ways to add an MCP server to Cursor. The most common way is to add the server globally in the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file so that it is available in all of your projects.

If you only need the server in a single project, you can add it to the project instead by creating or adding it to the .cursor/mcp.json file.

Adding an MCP server to Cursor globally

To add a global MCP server go to Cursor Settings > Tools & Integrations and click "New MCP Server".

When you click that button the ~/.cursor/mcp.json file will be opened and you can add your server like this:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian-mcp": {
            "command": "obsidian-mcp-rest",
            "args": [
                "--config",
                "path/to/config.json"
            ]
        }
    }
}

Adding an MCP server to a project

To add an MCP server to a project you can create a new .cursor/mcp.json file or add it to the existing one. This will look exactly the same as the global MCP server example above.

How to use the MCP server

Once the server is installed, you might need to head back to Settings > MCP and click the refresh button.

The Cursor agent will then be able to see the available tools the added MCP server has available and will call them when it needs to.

You can also explicitly ask the agent to use the tool by mentioning the tool name and describing what the function does.

For Claude Desktop

To add this MCP server to Claude Desktop:

1. Find your configuration file:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

2. Add this to your configuration file:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian-mcp": {
            "command": "obsidian-mcp-rest",
            "args": [
                "--config",
                "path/to/config.json"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect