brain-mcp is an MCP server for managing an Obsidian knowledge base vault, providing tools to navigate, search, create, and organize notes.
Search & Discovery
brain_search_notes: Full-text search across the vault with context snippets, optionally scoped to a folder
brain_list_notes: Browse notes in a folder, filterable by frontmatter type (moc, project, area, resource, archive)
brain_find_backlinks: Discover all notes linking to a given note via [[wikilinks]]
brain_get_structure: High-level vault overview including folder stats and MOC-Home content
brain_list_folders: List subdirectories with note counts to explore the vault hierarchy
Note Management
brain_read_note: Retrieve full markdown content and metadata (frontmatter, wikilinks) by path or title
brain_create_note: Create a new note with title and content, defaulting to the Notes/ inbox folder
brain_update_note: Replace a note's full content with automatic frontmatter date stamping
brain_move_note: Move/promote notes between folders (e.g., inbox → Projects or APIs)
Workflow Prompts
Includes prompt-driven workflows: vault_review (inbox triage), kb_update (knowledge base updates), daily_capture (fleeting notes), project_status (project overviews), and find_related (content mapping).
Provides tools for navigating, searching, and managing notes within an Obsidian vault, including capabilities for full-text search, note creation and updates, backlink discovery, and folder structure management.
Click on "Install Server".
Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state.
In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@brain-mcp search my vault for notes about artificial intelligence"
That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed.
Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.
MCP server for the Brain Obsidian knowledge base. Provides tools for navigating, searching, creating, and updating notes.
uv syncRelated MCP server: mcp-obsidian
uv run brain-mcpclaude mcp add brain -- uv run --directory /path/to/brain-mcp brain-mcpOr add to ~/.claude.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"brain": {
"command": "uv",
"args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/brain-mcp", "brain-mcp"],
"env": {
"BRAIN_VAULT_PATH": "/path/to/your/obsidian/vault"
}
}
}
}Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"brain": {
"command": "uv",
"args": ["run", "--directory", "/path/to/brain-mcp", "brain-mcp"],
"env": {
"BRAIN_VAULT_PATH": "/path/to/your/obsidian/vault"
}
}
}
}Variable | Description | Default |
| Absolute path to the Obsidian vault |
|
Tool | Description |
| Full-text search across notes with context snippets |
| List notes in a folder, filterable by frontmatter type |
| Read a note by path or title |
| Create a new note (defaults to Notes/ per workflow) |
| Replace content of an existing note |
| Move/promote a note between folders |
| Find all notes linking to a given note via wikilinks |
| Vault overview with folder stats and MOC - Home |
| List subdirectories with note counts |
Prompt | Description |
| Review inbox notes for promotion readiness |
| Generate a KB Update note from a work session |
| Quick-capture a fleeting note |
| Status overview of all active projects |
| Map all Brain content related to a topic |
The server expects an Obsidian vault with these canonical folders:
Brain/
├── Notes/ ← Inbox: fleeting notes, KB Updates
├── APIs/ ← External API references
├── Infrastructure/ ← Servers, databases, networking
├── Personal/ ← Personal notes
├── Projects/ ← Active project trackers
├── Repositories/ ← Code repository references
├── Tooling/ ← AI tool configuration
├── Workflows/ ← Standards and processes
└── _Templates/ ← Note templates# Install with dev dependencies
uv sync --group dev
# Run tests
uv run pytest
# Lint & format
uv run ruff check .
uv run ruff format .MIT
Unclaimed servers have limited discoverability.
If you are the server author, to access and configure the admin panel.
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