Obsidian Local REST API MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides LLM tool calls to interact with an Obsidian vault through a local REST API. This server acts as a bridge between MCP clients (like Claude Desktop, VS Code, etc.) and the Obsidian Local REST API.

Prerequisites

Node.js 18+ or Bun runtime
Obsidian Local REST API running locally (default: http://localhost:8000)

Installation

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd obsidian-local-rest-api-mcp

# Install dependencies with bun
bun install

# Build the project
bun run build

Configuration

Set environment variables for API connection:

export OBSIDIAN_API_URL="http://localhost:8000"  # Default URL
export OBSIDIAN_API_KEY="your-api-key"          # Optional bearer token

Usage

Running the Server

# Development mode with auto-reload
bun run dev

# Production mode
bun run start

# Or run directly
node build/index.js

MCP Client Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-vault": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/obsidian-local-rest-api-mcp/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_URL": "http://localhost:8000",
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "your-api-key-if-needed"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code with MCP Extension

Use the included .vscode/mcp.json configuration file.

Available Tools

File Operations

list_files - List all files in the vault
get_file - Get content of a specific file
create_file - Create a new file or directory
update_file - Update file content
delete_file - Delete a file

Note Operations

list_notes - List notes with metadata
get_note - Get note with frontmatter
create_note - Create note with optional frontmatter
update_note - Update note content/frontmatter
delete_note - Delete a note
search_notes - Search notes by content

Metadata Operations

get_metadata_keys - List all frontmatter keys
get_metadata_values - Get unique values for a key

Development

# Watch mode for development
bun run dev

# Build TypeScript
bun run build

# Type checking
bun run tsc --noEmit

Architecture

ObsidianApiClient - HTTP client wrapper for REST API endpoints
ObsidianMcpServer - MCP server implementation with tool handlers
Configuration - Environment-based configuration with validation

Error Handling

The server includes comprehensive error handling:

API connection failures
Invalid tool parameters
Network timeouts
Authentication errors

Errors are returned as MCP tool call responses with descriptive messages.

Debugging

Enable debug logging by setting environment variables:

export DEBUG=1
export NODE_ENV=development

Server logs are written to stderr to avoid interfering with MCP protocol communication on stdout.

Contributing

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch
Make changes with proper TypeScript types
Test with your Obsidian vault
Submit a pull request

License

MIT

Install Server

HTTP connection URL

security – no known vulnerabilities

license - permissive license

quality - confirmed to work

How are these scores calculated?

Tools

View all tools

A bridge server that allows LLM tools to interact with an Obsidian vault through a local REST API, enabling file operations, note management, and metadata access through natural language.

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