Obsidian MCP Server

MCP Server

Integrate Obsidian with LLMs via Local REST API

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About

A lightweight MCP server that exposes common Obsidian operations—listing files, reading and writing notes, searching content, and managing vault items—through a Local REST API plugin for seamless LLM interaction.

Capabilities

Resources

Access data sources

Tools

Execute functions

Prompts

Pre-built templates

Sampling

AI model interactions

Overview

The MCP server for Obsidian bridges Claude and other AI assistants with a local Obsidian vault through the community Obsidian Local REST API plugin. It resolves a common pain point for knowledge‑base developers: programmatic access to the full file tree, content, and search capabilities of a personal vault without leaving the AI workflow. By exposing a set of intuitive tools—listing files, reading and writing notes, searching text, and managing vault structure—the server lets assistants act as a natural extension of the user's note‑taking environment.

What it does and why it matters

Seamless vault interaction: The server turns a local Obsidian instance into a first‑class data source. Developers can build assistants that read, modify, and organize notes in real time, turning static markdown into a dynamic knowledge‑base.
Low friction integration: Once the REST API plugin is running, no extra networking or authentication steps are required beyond setting an environment variable. The server exposes a clean MCP interface, so developers can focus on prompt design rather than API plumbing.
Rich toolset: Each tool maps directly to a common vault operation—listing files, fetching content, searching for terms, patching or appending to notes, and deleting items. This breadth allows assistants to perform complex editorial tasks: summarise recent meetings, pull in references for a research draft, or automatically archive outdated notes.

Key features explained

Feature	Plain‑language description
list_files_in_vault	Returns a hierarchical view of every file and folder in the root of the vault.
list_files_in_dir	Filters that view to a specific directory, useful for narrowing context.
get_file_contents	Retrieves the raw markdown of a chosen file, enabling content extraction or transformation.
search	Full‑text search across all notes; returns file paths and snippets where the query appears.
patch_content	Inserts new text at a specific heading, block reference, or frontmatter field, letting assistants add comments or updates without overwriting existing content.
append_content	Adds new material to the end of an existing file or creates a fresh note if it does not exist.
delete_file	Removes a file or directory, useful for cleanup or archiving workflows.

Use cases and real‑world scenarios

Meeting notes automation: Summarise a recent meeting note, append the summary to a new file, and tag it for later review—all in one prompt.
Research assistance: Search the vault for mentions of a technology, pull relevant excerpts, and compile them into a literature‑review document.
Knowledge‑base maintenance: Identify orphaned notes, delete duplicates, or reorganise files by adding metadata via patching.
Personal productivity: Let an assistant pull the next task from a to‑do list, add progress updates directly into the note, and mark it complete.

Integration with AI workflows

Developers can embed the server into a Claude‑based workflow by simply instructing the assistant to “use Obsidian.” The MCP tooling automatically routes relevant actions, so prompts can remain conversational while the assistant performs file‑system operations under the hood. The server’s straightforward configuration (environment variables or a JSON config) means it can be dropped into existing MCP‑enabled projects with minimal friction.

Unique advantages

Local, no‑cost access: All interactions happen on the user’s machine; no cloud API fees or latency concerns.
Full control over data: Because the vault remains local, privacy‑conscious users can keep sensitive notes out of external services.
Extensible through MCP: The server’s toolset can be expanded or wrapped with additional prompts, allowing developers to create highly specialised assistants for niche domains.

Overall, the MCP server for Obsidian turns a personal markdown vault into an interactive knowledge base that AI assistants can read, edit, and organize—enabling powerful, context‑aware productivity tools without sacrificing control or privacy.