Obsidian Second Brain MCP
Server Configuration
Describes the environment variables required to run the server.
| Name | Required | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|---|
| OBSIDIAN_BIN | No | Absolute path or executable name for the Obsidian CLI. | obsidian |
| OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ID | No | Registered Obsidian vault ID to pass on every command. If not provided, the server auto-detects the most recently opened vault. | |
| OBSIDIAN_MCP_AUDIT_LOG | No | JSONL mutation audit path. | ~/Library/Application Support/obsidian-mcp/audit.jsonl |
| OBSIDIAN_MCP_TIMEOUT_MS | No | Per-command timeout in milliseconds. Invalid/non-positive values use 30 seconds. | 30000 |
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 | {
"listChanged": true
} |
Tools
Functions exposed to the LLM to take actions
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| vault_overviewB | Summarize vault size, structure, tags, properties, link health, and tasks. |
| search_notesA | Search the vault with optional matching-line context and folder filtering. |
| read_noteA | Read a note plus file metadata, outline, properties, outgoing links, and backlinks. |
| create_noteA | Create a note from content or an Obsidian template and optionally set properties. |
| update_noteA | Append/prepend content, change properties, or update a task in a note. |
| organize_noteA | Move, rename, or send a note to Obsidian trash. Permanent deletion is never used. |
| daily_noteB | Read, open, append to, or prepend to the active daily note. |
| manage_tasksB | List tasks or change a task's completion/custom status. |
| suggest_use_casesA | Analyze native graph and organization signals, then rank contextual second-brain workflows. |
| run_obsidian_commandA | Run broad Obsidian CLI or plugin commands using an argument array. Permanent delete, eval, and dev controls are blocked. |
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 10 tools
Most tools target distinct resources and actions: read/create/update/organize for notes, daily_note for the daily note, manage_tasks for tasks, and vault_overview/search for broader queries. Slight overlap exists between update_note's task-updating feature and manage_tasks, but descriptions clarify the intended use.
The majority follow a verb_noun pattern (read_note, create_note, update_note, organize_note, manage_tasks, suggest_use_cases, run_obsidian_command, search_notes). Two exceptions, daily_note and vault_overview, use noun-based naming, creating minor but tolerable inconsistency.
Ten tools is well within the ideal 3-15 range and each tool covers a meaningful aspect of vault interaction without redundancy. The count feels appropriately scoped for a second-brain management server.
The server covers note CRUD (including trash), daily notes, task management, search, and vault-level analytics, covering primary workflow needs. Minor gaps exist such as no explicit list-all-notes operation (search compensates) and no permanent deletion by design, but the surface is largely complete.