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Obsidian MCP REST Server

Provides local MCP access to Obsidian vaults for reading, writing, listing, and searching notes via a secure local REST API.

Installation

Add the following to your MCP client configuration file.

Configuration

View docs

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

You run a local MCP server that exposes your Obsidian vaults through a secure REST-like interface. This lets AI assistants read, write, search, and manage notes inside Obsidian without exposing your data beyond your machine.

How to use

Connect an MCP client to the local Obsidian MCP REST server to perform common note operations. You can read, write, list, and search notes, all through a standard MCP interface that stays local to your machine.

How to install

Prerequisites you need before installing the MCP server.

- Node.js 16 or higher.

- Obsidian with the Local REST API plugin installed and configured.

- An Obsidian vault with Local REST API enabled.

Configuration

Install the MCP server globally and prepare a configuration file for Obsidian Local REST API.

Install globally

npm install -g PublikPrinciple/obsidian-mcp-rest

Create a configuration file named config.json with the following structure.

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

Security

The server operates locally and communicates through the standard input/output streams. All interactions with the Obsidian REST API are authenticated using your API key, and no external network access is required. Your data remains local to your machine.

Starting the server

Launch the server using your configuration file.

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

The server starts and listens for MCP requests via stdin/stdout.

Using with Claude Desktop

Configure Claude Desktop to connect to your local MCP server so you can issue natural-language requests to manage Obsidian notes.

1. Open Claude Desktop settings 2. Go to the MCP section 3. Add a new server configuration with these settings.

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

Available tools

listNotes

List all notes in the vault or a specific folder to help you inventory content.

readNote

Read the contents of a specific note to extract information or verify content.

writeNote

Create or update a note within the vault, enabling you to modify content programmatically.

searchNotes

Search for notes using a query string to quickly locate relevant content.

getMetadata

Retrieve metadata for a specific note, such as creation date, modification date, and tags.