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Obsidian MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that enables AI assistants like Claude to interact with your Obsidian vault. This server provides tools for reading, creating, searching, and managing notes in Obsidian through the Local REST API plugin.

Features

  • 📖 Read & write notes - Full access to your Obsidian vault with automatic overwrite protection
  • 🔍 Smart search - Find notes by content, tags, or modification date
  • 📁 Browse vault - List and navigate your notes and folders by directory
  • 🏷️ Tag management - Add, remove, and organize tags (supports both frontmatter and inline tags)
  • 🔗 Link management - Find backlinks, analyze outgoing links, and identify broken links
  • 📊 Note insights - Get statistics like word count and link analysis
  • 🎯 AI-optimized - Clear error messages and smart defaults for better AI interactions
  • 🔒 Secure - API key authentication with local-only connections
  • ⚡ Performance optimized - Concurrent operations and batching for large vaults
  • 🚀 Bulk operations - Create folder hierarchies and move entire folders with all their contents

Prerequisites

  • Obsidian with the Local REST API plugin installed and enabled
  • Python 3.10+ installed on your system
  • Node.js (optional, for running MCP Inspector)

Installation

Quick Install

  1. Install and configure Obsidian:

    • Install the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian
    • Enable the plugin in Settings > Community plugins
    • Go to Settings > Local REST API
    • Copy your API key (you'll need this for step 2)

  2. Configure your AI tool:

    Claude Desktop

    Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["obsidian-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}
    Cursor IDE

    Add to your Cursor settings:

    • Project-specific: .cursor/mcp.json in your project directory
    • Global: ~/.cursor/mcp.json in your home directory
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["obsidian-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

    Then: Open Settings → Cursor Settings → Enable MCP

    Windsurf IDE

    Edit your Windsurf config file:

    • Location: ~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["obsidian-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here"
      }
    }
  }
}

    Then: Open Windsurf Settings → Advanced Settings → Cascade → Add Server → Refresh

    Replace your-api-key-here with the API key you copied from Obsidian.

    Using HTTP or custom port? Add "OBSIDIAN_API_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:27123" to the env section. See Advanced Configuration for details.

  3. Restart your AI tool to load the new configuration.

That's it! The server will now be available in your AI tool with access to your Obsidian vault.

Note: This uses uvx which automatically downloads and runs the server in an isolated environment. Most users won't need to install anything else. If you don't have uv installed, you can also use pipx install obsidian-mcp and change the command to "obsidian-mcp" in the config.

Try It Out

Here are some example prompts to get started:

  • "Show me all notes I modified this week"
  • "Create a new daily note for today with my meeting agenda"
  • "Search for all notes about project planning"
  • "Read my Ideas/startup.md note"

Development Installation

  1. Clone the repository:

    git clone https://github.com/natestrong/obsidian-mcp
cd obsidian-mcp

  2. Set up Python environment:

    # Using pyenv (recommended)
pyenv virtualenv 3.12.9 obsidian-mcp
pyenv activate obsidian-mcp

# Or using venv
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # On Windows: venv\Scripts\activate

  3. Install dependencies:

    pip install -r requirements.txt

  4. Set up Obsidian Local REST API:

    • Install the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian
    • Enable the plugin in Obsidian settings
    • Copy the API key from the plugin settings
    • Note the port number (default: 27124)

  5. Configure environment variables:

    export OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY="your-api-key-here"
# export OBSIDIAN_API_URL="http://127.0.0.1:27123"  # Optional: only if not using default

  6. Add to Claude Desktop (for development):

    Edit your Claude Desktop config file:

    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json
    • Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
    {
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "/path/to/python",
      "args": ["-m", "src.server"],
      "cwd": "/path/to/obsidian-mcp",
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "/path/to/obsidian-mcp",
        "OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "OBSIDIAN_API_URL": "https://localhost:27124"
      }
    }
  }
}

Project Structure

obsidian-mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── server.py           # Main entry point with rich parameter schemas
│   ├── tools/              # Tool implementations
│   │   ├── note_management.py    # CRUD operations
│   │   ├── search_discovery.py   # Search and navigation
│   │   ├── organization.py       # Tags, moves, metadata
│   │   └── link_management.py    # Backlinks, outgoing links, broken links
│   ├── models/             # Pydantic models for validation
│   │   └── obsidian.py    # Note, SearchResult, VaultItem models
│   ├── utils/              # Shared utilities
│   │   ├── obsidian_api.py      # REST API client wrapper
│   │   ├── validators.py        # Path validation, sanitization
│   │   └── validation.py        # Comprehensive parameter validation
│   └── constants.py       # API endpoints, defaults, enhanced error messages
├── tests/
│   ├── run_tests.py       # Smart test runner
│   ├── test_unit.py       # Unit tests with mocks
│   ├── test_integration.py # Integration tests
│   ├── test_live.py       # Live API tests
│   ├── test_comprehensive.py # Full workflow validation
│   └── test_data_validation.py # Return value testing
├── docs/                  # Additional documentation
├── requirements.txt       # Python dependencies
├── CLAUDE.md             # Instructions for Claude Code
└── README.md

Available Tools

Note Management

read_note

Read the content and metadata of a specific note.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note (e.g., "Daily/2024-01-15.md")

Returns:

{
  "path": "Daily/2024-01-15.md",
  "content": "# Daily Note\n\nContent here...",
  "metadata": {
    "tags": ["daily", "journal"],
    "aliases": [],
    "frontmatter": {}
  }
}

create_note

Create a new note or update an existing one.

Parameters:

  • path: Path where the note should be created
  • content: Markdown content of the note (consider adding tags for organization)
  • overwrite (default: false): Whether to overwrite existing notes

Best Practices:

  • Add relevant tags when creating notes to maintain organization
  • Use list_tags to see existing tags and maintain consistency
  • Tags can be added as inline hashtags (#tag) or in frontmatter

update_note

Update the content of an existing note.

⚠️ IMPORTANT: By default, this tool REPLACES the entire note content. Always read the note first if you need to preserve existing content.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note to update
  • content: New markdown content (REPLACES existing content unless using append)
  • create_if_not_exists (default: false): Create if doesn't exist
  • merge_strategy (default: "replace"): How to handle content
    • "replace": Overwrites entire note content (default)
    • "append": Adds new content to the end of existing content

Safe Update Pattern:

  1. ALWAYS read first to preserve content
  2. Modify the content as needed
  3. Update with the complete new content
  4. Or use append mode to add content to the end

delete_note

Delete a note from the vault.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note to delete

Search and Discovery

search_notes

Search for notes containing specific text or tags.

Parameters:

  • query: Search query (supports Obsidian search syntax)
  • context_length (default: 100): Number of characters to show around matches

Search Syntax:

  • Text search: "machine learning"
  • Tag search: tag:project or tag:#project
  • Path search: path:Daily/
  • Combined: tag:urgent TODO

search_by_date

Search for notes by creation or modification date.

Parameters:

  • date_type (default: "modified"): Either "created" or "modified"
  • days_ago (default: 7): Number of days to look back
  • operator (default: "within"): Either "within" (last N days) or "exactly" (exactly N days ago)

Returns:

{
  "query": "Notes modified within last 7 days",
  "count": 15,
  "results": [
    {
      "path": "Daily/2024-01-15.md",
      "date": "2024-01-15T10:30:00",
      "days_ago": 1
    }
  ]
}

Example usage:

  • "Show me all notes modified today" → search_by_date("modified", 0, "within")
  • "Show me all notes modified this week" → search_by_date("modified", 7, "within")
  • "Find notes created in the last 30 days" → search_by_date("created", 30, "within")
  • "What notes were modified exactly 2 days ago?" → search_by_date("modified", 2, "exactly")

list_notes

List notes in your vault with optional recursive traversal.

Parameters:

  • directory (optional): Specific directory to list (e.g., "Daily", "Projects")
  • recursive (default: true): List all notes recursively

Returns:

{
  "directory": "Daily",
  "recursive": true,
  "count": 365,
  "notes": [
    {"path": "Daily/2024-01-01.md", "name": "2024-01-01.md"},
    {"path": "Daily/2024-01-02.md", "name": "2024-01-02.md"}
  ]
}

list_folders

List folders in your vault with optional recursive traversal.

Parameters:

  • directory (optional): Specific directory to list from
  • recursive (default: true): Include all nested subfolders

Returns:

{
  "directory": "Projects",
  "recursive": true,
  "count": 12,
  "folders": [
    {"path": "Projects/Active", "name": "Active"},
    {"path": "Projects/Archive", "name": "Archive"},
    {"path": "Projects/Ideas", "name": "Ideas"}
  ]
}

Organization

create_folder

Create a new folder in the vault, including all parent folders in the path.

Parameters:

  • folder_path: Path of the folder to create (e.g., "Apple/Studies/J71P")
  • create_placeholder (default: true): Whether to create a placeholder file

Returns:

{
  "folder": "Apple/Studies/J71P",
  "created": true,
  "placeholder_file": "Apple/Studies/J71P/.gitkeep",
  "folders_created": ["Apple", "Apple/Studies", "Apple/Studies/J71P"]
}

Note: This tool will create all necessary parent folders. For example, if "Apple" exists but "Studies" doesn't, it will create both "Studies" and "J71P".

move_note

Move a note to a new location.

Parameters:

  • source_path: Current path of the note
  • destination_path: New path for the note
  • update_links (default: true): Update links in other notes (future enhancement)

move_folder

Move an entire folder and all its contents to a new location.

Parameters:

  • source_folder: Current folder path (e.g., "Projects/Old")
  • destination_folder: New folder path (e.g., "Archive/Projects/Old")
  • update_links (default: true): Update links in other notes (future enhancement)

Returns:

{
  "source": "Projects/Completed",
  "destination": "Archive/2024/Projects",
  "moved": true,
  "notes_moved": 15,
  "folders_moved": 3,
  "links_updated": 0
}

add_tags

Add tags to a note's frontmatter.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note
  • tags: List of tags to add (without # prefix)

update_tags

Update tags on a note - either replace all tags or merge with existing.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note
  • tags: New tags to set (without # prefix)
  • merge (default: false): If true, adds to existing tags. If false, replaces all tags

Perfect for AI workflows:

User: "Tell me what this note is about and add appropriate tags"
AI: [reads note] "This note is about machine learning research..."
AI: [uses update_tags to set tags: ["ai", "research", "neural-networks"]]

remove_tags

Remove tags from a note's frontmatter.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note
  • tags: List of tags to remove

get_note_info

Get metadata and statistics about a note without retrieving its full content.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note

Returns:

{
  "path": "Projects/AI Research.md",
  "exists": true,
  "metadata": {
    "tags": ["ai", "research"],
    "aliases": [],
    "frontmatter": {}
  },
  "stats": {
    "size_bytes": 4523,
    "word_count": 823,
    "link_count": 12
  }
}

list_tags

List all unique tags used across your vault with usage statistics.

Parameters:

  • include_counts (default: true): Include usage count for each tag
  • sort_by (default: "name"): Sort by "name" or "count"

Returns:

{
  "total_tags": 25,
  "tags": [
    {"name": "project", "count": 42},
    {"name": "meeting", "count": 38},
    {"name": "idea", "count": 15}
  ]
}

Performance Notes:

  • Fast for small vaults (<1000 notes)
  • May take several seconds for large vaults
  • Uses concurrent batching for optimization

Link Management

get_backlinks

Find all notes that link to a specific note.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note to find backlinks for
  • include_context (default: true): Whether to include text context around links
  • context_length (default: 100): Number of characters of context to include

Returns:

{
  "target_note": "Projects/AI Research.md",
  "backlink_count": 5,
  "backlinks": [
    {
      "source_path": "Daily/2024-01-15.md",
      "link_text": "AI Research",
      "link_type": "wiki",
      "context": "...working on the [[AI Research]] project today..."
    }
  ]
}

Use cases:

  • Understanding which notes reference a concept or topic
  • Discovering relationships between notes
  • Building a mental map of note connections

get_outgoing_links

List all links from a specific note.

Parameters:

  • path: Path to the note to extract links from
  • check_validity (default: false): Whether to check if linked notes exist

Returns:

{
  "source_note": "Projects/Overview.md",
  "link_count": 8,
  "links": [
    {
      "path": "Projects/AI Research.md",
      "display_text": "AI Research",
      "type": "wiki",
      "exists": true
    }
  ]
}

Use cases:

  • Understanding what a note references
  • Checking note dependencies before moving/deleting
  • Exploring the structure of index or hub notes

find_broken_links

Find all broken links in the vault or a specific directory.

Parameters:

  • directory (optional): Specific directory to check (defaults to entire vault)

Returns:

{
  "directory": "/",
  "broken_link_count": 3,
  "affected_notes": 2,
  "broken_links": [
    {
      "source_path": "Projects/Overview.md",
      "broken_link": "Projects/Old Name.md",
      "link_text": "Old Project",
      "link_type": "wiki"
    }
  ]
}

Use cases:

  • After renaming or deleting notes
  • Regular vault maintenance
  • Before reorganizing folder structure

Testing

Running Tests

# Run all tests
python tests/run_tests.py

# Run specific test types
python tests/run_tests.py unit         # Unit tests (requires pytest)
python tests/run_tests.py integration  # Integration tests (requires pytest)  
python tests/run_tests.py live         # Live tests with real Obsidian

# Run individual test files
python tests/test_comprehensive.py     # Full workflow test
python tests/test_data_validation.py   # Data structure validation

Testing with MCP Inspector

  1. Ensure Obsidian is running with the Local REST API plugin enabled

  2. Run the MCP Inspector:

    npx @modelcontextprotocol/inspector python -m src.server

  3. Open the Inspector UI at http://localhost:5173

  4. Test the tools interactively with your actual vault

Integration with Claude Desktop

For development installations, see the Development Installation section above.

Enhanced Error Handling

The server provides detailed, actionable error messages to help AI systems recover from errors:

Example Error Messages

Invalid Path:

Invalid note path: '../../../etc/passwd'. 
Valid paths must: 1) End with .md or .markdown, 2) Use forward slashes (e.g., 'folder/note.md'), 
3) Not contain '..' or start with '/', 4) Not exceed 255 characters. 
Example: 'Daily/2024-01-15.md' or 'Projects/My Project.md'

Empty Search Query:

Search query cannot be empty. 
Valid queries: 1) Keywords: 'machine learning', 
2) Tags: 'tag:#project', 3) Paths: 'path:Daily/', 
4) Combined: 'tag:#urgent TODO'

Invalid Date Parameters:

Invalid date_type: 'invalid'. 
Must be either 'created' or 'modified'. 
Use 'created' to find notes by creation date, 'modified' for last edit date

Troubleshooting

"Connection refused" error

  • Ensure Obsidian is running
  • Verify the Local REST API plugin is enabled
  • Check that the port matches (default: 27124)
  • Confirm the API key is correct
  • The enhanced error will show the exact URL and port being used

Tags not showing up

  • Ensure tags are properly formatted (with or without # prefix)
  • Check that the Local REST API plugin is up to date
  • Tags in frontmatter should be in YAML array format: tags: [tag1, tag2]
  • Inline tags should use the # prefix: #project #urgent

"Certificate verify failed" error

  • This is expected with the Local REST API's self-signed certificate
  • The server handles this automatically

"Module not found" error

  • Ensure your virtual environment is activated
  • Run from the project root: python -m src.server
  • Verify PYTHONPATH includes the project directory

Empty results when listing notes

  • Specify a directory when using list_notes (e.g., "Daily", "Projects")
  • Root directory listing requires recursive implementation
  • Check if notes are in subdirectories

Tags not updating

  • Ensure notes have YAML frontmatter section for frontmatter tags
  • Frontmatter must include a tags: field (even if empty)
  • The server now properly reads both frontmatter tags and inline hashtags

Best Practices for AI Assistants

Preventing Data Loss

  1. Always read before updating: The update_note tool REPLACES content by default
  2. Use append mode for additions: When adding to existing notes, use merge_strategy="append"
  3. Check note existence: Use read_note to verify a note exists before modifying
  4. Be explicit about overwrites: Only use overwrite=true when intentionally replacing content

Recommended Workflows

Safe note editing:

  1. Read the existing note first
  2. Modify the content as needed
  3. Update with the complete new content

Adding to daily notes:

  • Use merge_strategy="append" to add entries without losing existing content

Creating new notes:

  • Use create_note with overwrite=false (default) to prevent accidental overwrites
  • Add relevant tags to maintain organization
  • Use list_tags to see existing tags and avoid creating duplicates

Organizing with tags:

  • Check existing tags with list_tags before creating new ones
  • Maintain consistent naming (e.g., use "project" not "projects")
  • Use tags to enable powerful search and filtering

Security Considerations

  • Keep your API key secret - never commit it to version control
  • The server validates all paths to prevent directory traversal attacks
  • All communication with Obsidian uses HTTPS (self-signed certificate)
  • The server only accepts local connections through the REST API

Development

Code Style

  • Uses FastMCP framework for MCP implementation
  • Pydantic models for type safety and validation
  • Modular architecture with separated concerns
  • Comprehensive error handling and user-friendly messages

Adding New Tools

  1. Create tool function in appropriate module under src/tools/
  2. Add Pydantic models if needed in src/models/
  3. Register the tool in src/server.py with the @mcp.tool() decorator
  4. Include comprehensive docstrings
  5. Add tests in tests/
  6. Test with MCP Inspector before deploying

Changelog

v1.1.4 (2025-01-09)

  • 🔗 Added link management tools for comprehensive vault analysis:
    • get_backlinks - Find all notes linking to a specific note
    • get_outgoing_links - List all links from a note with validity checking
    • find_broken_links - Identify broken links for vault maintenance
  • 🔧 Fixed URL construction to support both HTTPS (default) and HTTP endpoints
  • 📝 Enhanced link parsing to handle both wiki-style and markdown links
  • ⚡ Optimized backlink search to handle various path formats

v1.1.3 (2025-01-09)

  • 🐛 Fixed search_by_date to properly find notes modified today (days_ago=0)
  • ✨ Added list_folders tool for exploring vault folder structure
  • ✨ Added create_folder tool that creates full folder hierarchies
  • ✨ Added move_folder tool for bulk folder operations
  • ✨ Added update_tags tool for AI-driven tag management
  • 🐛 Fixed tag reading to properly handle both frontmatter and inline hashtags
  • ✨ Added list_tags tool to discover existing tags with usage statistics
  • ⚡ Optimized performance with concurrent batching for large vaults
  • 📝 Improved documentation and error messages following MCP best practices
  • 🎯 Enhanced create_note to encourage tag usage for better organization

v1.1.2 (2025-01-09)

  • Fixed PyPI package documentation

v1.1.1 (2025-01-06)

  • Initial PyPI release

Publishing (for maintainers)

To publish a new version to PyPI:

# 1. Update version in pyproject.toml
# 2. Clean old builds
rm -rf dist/ build/ *.egg-info/

# 3. Build the package
python -m build

# 4. Check the package
twine check dist/*

# 5. Upload to PyPI
twine upload dist/* -u __token__ -p $PYPI_API_KEY

# 6. Create and push git tag
git tag -a v1.1.4 -m "Release version 1.1.4"
git push origin v1.1.4

Users can then install and run with:

# Using uvx (recommended - no installation needed)
uvx obsidian-mcp

# Or install globally with pipx
pipx install obsidian-mcp
obsidian-mcp

# Or with pip
pip install obsidian-mcp
obsidian-mcp

Configuration

Advanced Configuration

If you're using a non-standard setup, you can customize the server behavior with these environment variables:

  • OBSIDIAN_API_URL - Override the default API endpoint (default: https://localhost:27124)
    • Use this if you're running the HTTP endpoint instead of HTTPS (e.g., http://127.0.0.1:27123)
    • Or if you've changed the port number in the Local REST API plugin settings
    • The HTTPS endpoint is used by default for security

Example for non-standard configurations:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": ["obsidian-mcp"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_REST_API_KEY": "your-api-key-here",
        "OBSIDIAN_API_URL": "http://127.0.0.1:27123"
      }
    }
  }
}

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-tool)
  3. Write tests for new functionality
  4. Ensure all tests pass
  5. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing tool')
  6. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-tool)
  7. Open a Pull Request

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Acknowledgments

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MCP Server for Obsidian

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