Obsidian MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server designed for LLMs to interact with Obsidian vaults. Built with TypeScript and featuring secure API communication, efficient file operations, and comprehensive search capabilities, it enables AI assistants to seamlessly manage knowledge bases through a clean, flexible tool interface.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI models to interact with external tools and resources through a standardized interface.

Requires the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian.

Features

File Operations

Atomic file/directory operations with validation
Resource monitoring and cleanup
Error handling and graceful failure

Search System

Full-text search with configurable context
Advanced JsonLogic queries for files, tags, and metadata
Support for glob patterns and frontmatter fields

Property Management

YAML frontmatter parsing and intelligent merging
Automatic timestamps (created by Obsidian, modified by server)
Custom field support

Security & Performance

API key auth with rate limiting and SSL options
Resource monitoring and health checks
Graceful shutdown handling

Installation

Note: Requires Node.js

Enable Local REST API plugin in Obsidian
Clone and build:

git clone git@github.com:cyanheads/obsidian-mcp-server.git
cd obsidian-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Or install from npm:

npm install obsidian-mcp-server

Configuration

Add to your MCP client settings (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or cline_mcp_settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/obsidian-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "VERIFY_SSL": "false",
        "OBSIDIAN_PROTOCOL": "https",
        "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "27124",
        "REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "5000",
        "MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH": "52428800",
        "MAX_BODY_LENGTH": "52428800",
        "RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS": "900000",
        "RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS": "200",
        "TOOL_TIMEOUT_MS": "60000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables:

Required:

OBSIDIAN_API_KEY: Your API key from Obsidian's Local REST API plugin settings

Connection Settings:

VERIFY_SSL: Enable SSL certificate verification (default: false) # This must be set to false for self-signed certificates. If you are running locally or don't understand what this means, this should be set to false.
OBSIDIAN_PROTOCOL: Protocol to use (default: "https")
OBSIDIAN_HOST: Host address (default: "127.0.0.1")
OBSIDIAN_PORT: Port number (default: 27124)

Request Limits:

REQUEST_TIMEOUT: Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000)
MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH: Maximum response content length in bytes (default: 52428800 [50MB])
MAX_BODY_LENGTH: Maximum request body length in bytes (default: 52428800 [50MB])

Rate Limiting:

RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS: Rate limit window in milliseconds (default: 900000 [15 minutes])
RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS: Maximum requests per window (default: 200)

Tool Execution:

TOOL_TIMEOUT_MS: Tool execution timeout in milliseconds (default: 60000 [1 minute])

Project Structure

The project follows a modular architecture with clear separation of concerns:

src/
  ├── index.ts          # Main entry point
  ├── mcp/              # MCP server implementation
  ├── obsidian/         # Obsidian API client and types
  ├── resources/        # MCP resource implementations
  ├── tools/            # MCP tool implementations
  │   ├── files/        # File operations tools
  │   ├── search/       # Search tools
  │   └── properties/   # Property management tools
  └── utils/            # Shared utilities

Tools

File Management

// List vault contents
obsidian_list_files_in_vault: {
}

// List directory contents
obsidian_list_files_in_dir: {
  dirpath: string; // Path relative to vault root
}

// Get file contents
obsidian_get_file_contents: {
  filepath: string; // Path relative to vault root
}

Search Operations

// Text search with context
obsidian_find_in_file: {
  query: string,
  contextLength?: number  // Default: 10
}

// Advanced search with JsonLogic
obsidian_complex_search: {
  query: JsonLogicQuery
  // Examples:
  // Find by tag:
  // {"in": ["#mytag", {"var": "frontmatter.tags"}]}
  //
  // Find markdown files in a directory:
  // {"glob": ["docs/*.md", {"var": "path"}]}
  //
  // Combine conditions:
  // {"and": [
  //   {"glob": ["*.md", {"var": "path"}]},
  //   {"in": ["#mytag", {"var": "frontmatter.tags"}]}
  // ]}
}

// Get all tags in vault or directory
obsidian_get_tags: {
  path?: string  // Optional: limit to specific directory
}

Content Modification

// Append to file
obsidian_append_content: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  content: string    // Content to append
}

// Update file content
obsidian_patch_content: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  content: string    // New content (replaces existing)
}

Property Management

// Get note properties
obsidian_get_properties: {
  filepath: string  // Path relative to vault root
}

// Update note properties
obsidian_update_properties: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  properties: {
    title?: string,
    author?: string,
    // Note: created/modified timestamps are managed automatically
    type?: Array<"concept" | "architecture" | "specification" |
      "protocol" | "api" | "research" | "implementation" |
      "guide" | "reference">,
    tags?: string[],  // Must start with #
    status?: Array<"draft" | "in-progress" | "review" | "complete">,
    version?: string,
    platform?: string,
    repository?: string,  // URL
    dependencies?: string[],
    sources?: string[],
    urls?: string[],      // URLs
    papers?: string[],
    custom?: Record<string, unknown>
  }
}

Best Practices

File Operations

Use atomic operations with validation
Handle errors and monitor performance

Search Implementation

Use appropriate search tool for the task:
- obsidian_find_in_file for text search
- obsidian_complex_search for metadata/tag filtering
Keep context size reasonable (default: 10 chars)

Property Management

Use appropriate types and validate updates
Handle arrays and custom fields properly
Never set timestamps (managed automatically)

Error Prevention

Validate inputs and handle errors gracefully
Monitor patterns and respect rate limits

Resources

The MCP server exposes the following resources:

obsidian://tags  # List of all tags used across the vault

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Submit a Pull Request

For bugs and features, create an issue at https://github.com/cyanheads/obsidian-mcp-server/issues.

Publishing

The package is automatically published to npm when version tags are pushed:

# Update version in package.json
npm version patch  # or minor, or major
git push --follow-tags

This will trigger the GitHub Action to build and publish the package.

License

Apache License 2.0

Obsidian MCP Server

Integrations

Obsidian MCP Server

Features

File Operations

Search System

Property Management

Security & Performance

Installation

Configuration

Project Structure

Tools

File Management

Search Operations

Content Modification

Property Management

Best Practices

File Operations

Search Implementation

Property Management

Error Prevention

Resources

Contributing

Publishing

License

Related Resources