read_canvas
Extract and display content from Obsidian canvas files to access visual notes and diagrams stored in your vault.
Instructions
Read and display the contents of an Obsidian canvas file
Input Schema
TableJSON Schema
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| path | Yes | Relative path to the .canvas file |
Implementation Reference
- src/tools/canvas.ts:37-103 (handler)The 'read_canvas' tool handler defined in 'registerCanvasTools'. It accepts a file path, reads the canvas data, and returns a formatted text representation of the nodes and edges.
server.registerTool( "read_canvas", { description: "Read and display the contents of an Obsidian canvas file", inputSchema: { path: z.string().min(1).describe("Relative path to the .canvas file"), }, }, async ({ path: canvasPath }) => { try { const data = await readCanvasFile(vaultPath, canvasPath); const lines: string[] = []; lines.push(`Canvas: ${canvasPath}`); lines.push(`Nodes: ${data.nodes.length} | Edges: ${data.edges.length}`); lines.push(""); if (data.nodes.length > 0) { lines.push("--- Nodes ---"); for (const node of data.nodes) { const pos = `(${node.x}, ${node.y})`; const size = `${node.width}x${node.height}`; let preview = ""; if (node.type === "text" && node.text) { preview = node.text.length > 100 ? node.text.slice(0, 100) + "..." : node.text; } else if (node.type === "file" && node.file) { preview = node.file; } else if (node.type === "link" && node.url) { preview = node.url; } else if (node.type === "group" && node.label) { preview = `Group: ${node.label}`; } lines.push(` [${node.id}] type=${node.type} pos=${pos} size=${size}`); if (preview) { lines.push(` content: ${preview}`); } if (node.color) { lines.push(` color: ${node.color}`); } } lines.push(""); } if (data.edges.length > 0) { lines.push("--- Edges ---"); for (const edge of data.edges) { const label = edge.label ? ` [${edge.label}]` : ""; const sides = [ edge.fromSide ? `from-side=${edge.fromSide}` : "", edge.toSide ? `to-side=${edge.toSide}` : "", ].filter(Boolean).join(" "); const sideInfo = sides ? ` (${sides})` : ""; lines.push(` ${edge.fromNode} -> ${edge.toNode}${label}${sideInfo}`); } } return { content: [{ type: "text" as const, text: lines.join("\n") }] }; } catch (err) { console.error("Failed to read canvas:", err); return errorResult(`Error reading canvas: ${err instanceof Error ? err.message : String(err)}`); } }, ); - src/tools/canvas.ts:11-11 (registration)The 'registerCanvasTools' function where 'read_canvas' is registered to the MCP server.
export function registerCanvasTools(server: McpServer, vaultPath: string): void {