Obsidian Readonly MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| OBSIDIAN_READONLY_VAULT | Yes | The name of the Obsidian vault (not the filesystem path). Required to identify which vault to query. |
Instructions
Guidance the server publishes about itself, which clients place ahead of the tool catalog so the model reads it before choosing anything.
This server publishes no instructions, or was last inspected before Glama recorded them.
Capabilities
Features and capabilities supported by this server
Protocol revision2025-11-25
| Capability | Details |
|---|---|
| tools | {} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| searchC | Read-only Obsidian keyword search. |
| search_contextC | Read-only Obsidian search with surrounding line context. |
| readC | Read a note. |
| daily_readC | Read the daily note. |
| daily_pathB | Return the daily note path. |
| backlinksC | List backlinks to a note. |
| linksC | List outgoing links from a note. |
| outlineC | Return note headings / outline. |
| aliasesC | List aliases. |
| tagsC | List tags. |
| tagC | Get tag info. |
| unresolvedC | List unresolved links. |
| propertiesD | List properties. |
| property_readC | Read a property value from a note. |
| fileC | Show file info. |
| filesD | List files. |
| folderC | Show folder info. |
| foldersD | List folders. |
| wordcountC | Count words and characters. |
| deadendsB | List files with no outgoing links. |
| orphansC | List files with no incoming links. |
| basesC | List base files. |
| base_queryD | Query a base view. |
| base_viewsB | List views in the current base file. |
| bookmarksC | List bookmarks. |
| templatesC | List templates. |
| template_readD | Read a template. |
| random_readB | Read a random note without opening it. |
| tasksD | List tasks. |
| diffC | List or diff local/sync versions. |
| historyC | List file history versions. |
| history_listC | List files with history. |
| history_readC | Read a file history version. |
| hotkeyC | Get hotkey for a command. |
| hotkeysC | List hotkeys. |
| pluginsC | List installed plugins. |
| pluginC | Get plugin info. |
| plugins_enabledC | List enabled plugins. |
| themeC | Show active theme or theme info. |
| themesC | List installed themes. |
| vaultC | Show vault info. |
| vaultsC | List known vaults. |
| versionA | Show Obsidian version. |
| recentsC | List recently opened files. |
| snippetsC | List installed CSS snippets. |
| snippets_enabledA | List enabled CSS snippets. |
| tabsC | List open tabs. |
| workspaceC | Show workspace tree. |
| workspacesC | List saved workspaces. |
| commandsC | List available commands. |
| helpA | Show Obsidian CLI help. |
| dev_consoleC | Show captured console messages. |
| dev_errorsC | Show captured errors. |
| dev_cssC | Inspect CSS with source locations. |
| dev_domC | Query DOM elements. |
Prompts
Interactive templates invoked by user choice
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No prompts | |
Resources
Contextual data attached and managed by the client
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
No resources | |
TDQS
Scored across 55 tools
Most tools have distinct purposes, but there is minor overlap (e.g., search and search_context, history variants). Overall, an agent can differentiate between them with careful reading.
Naming uses lowercase snake_case and a mix of verb+noun and noun-only patterns. Some inconsistencies (e.g., singular vs plural) but generally predictable.
55 tools is high for a readonly server, but the coverage is broad. It may overwhelm agents, yet each tool has a clear role within the Obsidian domain.
The tool surface covers nearly all observable aspects of Obsidian: files, notes, properties, tags, links, history, search, templates, plugins, themes, etc. No major gaps for a readonly use case.