obsidian_list_files_in_dir

List files and directories in a specific Obsidian vault folder to discover content structure and locate documents.

Instructions

Lists all files and directories that exist in a specific Obsidian directory.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`dirpath`	Yes	Path to list files from (relative to your vault root). Note that empty directories will not be returned.

Implementation Reference

src/mcp_obsidian_advanced/tools.py:68-80 (handler)

The run_tool method implements the core tool logic: it validates the 'dirpath' argument, calls the Obsidian API to list files in the directory, and returns the results as JSON-formatted text content.

def run_tool(self, args: dict) -> Sequence[TextContent | ImageContent | EmbeddedResource]:

    if "dirpath" not in args:
        raise RuntimeError("dirpath argument missing in arguments")

    files = api.list_files_in_dir(args["dirpath"])

    return [
        TextContent(
            type="text",
            text=json.dumps(files, indent=2)
        )
    ]

src/mcp_obsidian_advanced/tools.py:52-66 (schema)

Defines the tool's schema, including the name 'obsidian_list_files_in_dir', description, and input schema requiring a 'dirpath' string parameter.

def get_tool_description(self):
    return Tool(
        name=self.name,
        description="Lists all files and directories that exist in a specific Obsidian directory.",
        inputSchema={
            "type": "object",
            "properties": {
                "dirpath": {
                    "type": "string",
                    "description": "Path to list files from (relative to your vault root). Note that empty directories will not be returned."
                },
            },
            "required": ["dirpath"]
        }
    )

src/mcp_obsidian_advanced/server.py:26-43 (registration)

TOOL_MAPPING dictionary maps the tool name constant TOOL_LIST_FILES_IN_DIR ("obsidian_list_files_in_dir") to the ListFilesInDirToolHandler class. This mapping is used in register_tools() to instantiate and register the handler with the MCP server.

TOOL_MAPPING = {
    tools.TOOL_LIST_FILES_IN_DIR: tools.ListFilesInDirToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_SIMPLE_SEARCH: tools.SearchToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_PATCH_CONTENT: tools.PatchContentToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_PUT_CONTENT: tools.PutContentToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_APPEND_CONTENT: tools.AppendContentToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_DELETE_FILE: tools.DeleteFileToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_COMPLEX_SEARCH: tools.ComplexSearchToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_BATCH_GET_FILES: tools.BatchGetFilesToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_PERIODIC_NOTES: tools.PeriodicNotesToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_RECENT_PERIODIC_NOTES: tools.RecentPeriodicNotesToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_RECENT_CHANGES: tools.RecentChangesToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_UNDERSTAND_VAULT: tools.UnderstandVaultToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_GET_ACTIVE_NOTE: tools.GetActiveNoteToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_OPEN_FILES: tools.OpenFilesToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_LIST_COMMANDS: tools.ListCommandsToolHandler,
    tools.TOOL_EXECUTE_COMMANDS: tools.ExecuteCommandsToolHandler,
}

src/mcp_obsidian_advanced/server.py:95-108 (registration)

register_tools() function instantiates handler classes from TOOL_MAPPING for selected tools (including obsidian_list_files_in_dir if not filtered out) and adds them to the tool_handlers dictionary used by list_tools() and call_tool(). Called at startup.

def register_tools():
    """Register the selected tools with the server."""
    tools_to_include = parse_include_tools()
    
    registered_count = 0
    for tool_name in tools_to_include:
        if tool_name in TOOL_MAPPING:
            handler_class = TOOL_MAPPING[tool_name]
            handler_instance = handler_class()
            add_tool_handler(handler_instance)
            registered_count += 1
            logger.debug(f"Registered tool: {tool_name}")
    
    logger.info(f"Successfully registered {registered_count} tools")

src/mcp_obsidian_advanced/tools.py:21-21 (helper)
Constant defining the exact tool name string "obsidian_list_files_in_dir" used throughout for registration and identification.
```
TOOL_LIST_FILES_IN_DIR = "obsidian_list_files_in_dir"
```

Advanced Obsidian MCP Server