Obsidian MCP server

This MCP server enables AI assistants like Claude to interact with your Obsidian vault, allowing for reading, creating, editing, and managing notes and tags. It provides a seamless way to use AI capabilities with your knowledge management system.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js 20 or higher
• An Obsidian vault
• Claude Desktop application

Manual Installation

Add the MCP server to your Claude Desktop configuration file located at:

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

Add the following configuration, replacing the vault path with your own:

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "obsidian": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": ["-y", "obsidian-mcp", "/path/to/your/vault", "/path/to/your/vault2"]
        }
    }
}

Path Examples

MacOS/Linux:

"/Users/username/Documents/MyVault"

Windows:

"C:\\Users\\username\\Documents\\MyVault"

Using Smithery for Installation

You can also install via Smithery with a single command:

npx -y @smithery/cli install obsidian-mcp --client claude

Completing Installation

After saving the configuration, restart Claude Desktop. You should see a hammer icon appear, indicating the MCP server is connected.

Usage

Available Tools

The MCP server provides several tools you can use with Claude:

• Note Management:

  • read-note - Read the contents of a note
  • create-note - Create a new note
  • edit-note - Edit an existing note
  • delete-note - Delete a note
  • move-note - Move a note to a different location
  • create-directory - Create a new directory

• Search and Navigation:

  • search-vault - Search notes in the vault
  • list-available-vaults - List all available vaults (for multi-vault setups)

• Tag Management:

  • add-tags - Add tags to a note
  • remove-tags - Remove tags from a note
  • rename-tag - Rename a tag across all notes
  • manage-tags - List and organize tags

Working with Claude

When chatting with Claude, you can ask it to perform actions in your Obsidian vault. For example:

• "Create a new note about today's meeting"
• "Search my vault for notes on project management"
• "Add the tag #important to my weekly planning note"
• "Read the content of my 'Project Ideas' note"

Claude will use the appropriate tool to execute your request.

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

1. Server Not Connecting

   • Verify your configuration file syntax
   • Ensure vault paths are absolute and exist
   • Restart Claude Desktop

2. Permission Errors

   • Check if the vault path is readable/writable
   • Review file permissions in your vault

Checking Logs

If you encounter issues, check the logs at:

• macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Claude/mcp*.log
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\mcp*.log

Security Note

Important: This MCP has read and write access to your vault. Always backup your Obsidian vault before using this tool. Using git is recommended, but any backup method will work.

When configuring the server, make sure to:

• Only provide access to intended vault directories
• Review tool actions before approving them
• Be cautious with write operations

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" '{"command":"npx","args":["-y","obsidian-mcp","/path/to/your/vault"]}'

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": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "obsidian-mcp",
                "/path/to/your/vault"
            ]
        }
    }
}

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": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "obsidian-mcp",
                "/path/to/your/vault"
            ]
        }
    }
}

3. Restart Claude Desktop for the changes to take effect