claude-obsidian MCP

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects Claude Desktop to your Obsidian vault — making Obsidian the single source of truth for all your PM work: PRDs, processes, Jira notes, meeting notes, and ideas.

What This Enables

Once installed, you can talk to Claude naturally and it will automatically manage your Obsidian notes:

Related MCP server: Obsidian Nexus

Prerequisites

1. Obsidian + Local REST API Plugin

1. Open Obsidian

2. Go to Settings → Community plugins → Browse

3. Search for "Local REST API" and install it

4. Enable it, then go to Settings → Local REST API

5. Copy the API Key shown there — you'll need it in Step 3 below

6. Leave Obsidian open while using Claude (the plugin serves on localhost:27124)

Note: Your vault is at /Users/harunzeybek/Documents

2. Node.js

Requires Node.js 18 or later. Check with:

node --version

Installation

Step 1 — Clone & Build

git clone https://github.com/harunzybk/claude-obsidian.git
cd claude-obsidian
npm install
npm run build

Step 2 — Note the full path to the built server

pwd
# e.g. /Users/harunzeybek/Repositories/claude-obsidian

The server binary is at: <that path>/dist/index.js

Step 3 — Configure Claude Desktop

Open your Claude Desktop config file:

open ~/Library/Application\ Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

Add the following inside the "mcpServers" object (replace YOUR_API_KEY with the key from Step 1):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/Users/harunzeybek/Repositories/claude-obsidian/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_API_KEY",
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH": "/Users/harunzeybek/Documents",
        "OBSIDIAN_USE_HTTPS": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

If the file doesn't exist yet, create it with the full content above.

Step 4 — Restart Claude Desktop

Quit and reopen Claude Desktop. You should see "obsidian" listed as a connected MCP server (look for the 🔌 icon or check Settings → Developer).

Step 5 — Initialize Your Vault Structure

In Claude Desktop, say:

"Set up my Obsidian vault structure"

Claude will create all folders and index notes automatically.

Available Tools

Note Operations

Search

Vault Management

PM Templates

Vault Folder Structure

Your Vault (Documents/)
├── Home.md               ← Start here — links to everything
├── PRDs/                 ← Product Requirements Documents
├── Processes/            ← SOPs and process documentation
├── Jira/                 ← Jira ticket context notes
├── Meetings/             ← Meeting notes (YYYY-MM-DD-title.md)
├── Ideas/                ← Quick thoughts and brain dumps
├── Projects/             ← Project tracking notes
└── Resources/            ← Reference materials

Troubleshooting

Claude says it can't connect to Obsidian

• Make sure Obsidian is open

• Check that "Local REST API" plugin is enabled in Obsidian

• Verify the API key in your claude_desktop_config.json is correct

"Cannot find module" error

• Run npm run build again in the project folder

• Make sure the path in claude_desktop_config.json points to dist/index.js, not src/index.ts

HTTPS certificate error

• Set "OBSIDIAN_USE_HTTPS": "false" in your config (HTTP mode)

Development

npm run dev      # Watch mode — recompiles on change
npm run build    # Production build
npm start        # Run the compiled server

License

MIT © harunzybk