Obsidian MCP

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that gives Claude Code read/write access to your Obsidian vault.

Documentation | PyPI | GitHub

Quick Start with Claude Code

The fastest way to get up and running:

claude mcp add obsidian -- uvx obsidian-mcp

Then restart Claude Code and tell it:

"Configure obsidian vault at /path/to/your/vault"

That's it -- Claude can now read, write, and search your Obsidian notes.

Features

• Read & write notes - Create, edit, and append to markdown files
• Search - Full-text search across your vault
• Daily notes - Read or append to daily notes with configurable date format
• Browse - List files and folders in your vault
• Secure - Only accesses your configured vault directory

Installation

Via uvx (recommended -- no install needed)

If you set up via the Quick Start above, you don't need to install anything. uvx runs the package directly from PyPI in an isolated environment each time.

Via pipx (persistent install)

pipx install obsidian-mcp

Then configure Claude Code:

claude mcp add obsidian -- obsidian-mcp

Via pip

pip install obsidian-mcp

Then configure Claude Code:

claude mcp add obsidian -- python3 -m obsidian_mcp.server

From source

git clone https://github.com/bbdaniels/obsidian-mcp.git
cd obsidian-mcp
pip install -e .

Then configure Claude Code:

claude mcp add obsidian -- obsidian-mcp

First-Time Setup

Once configured, tell Claude:

"Configure obsidian vault at /path/to/your/vault"

Claude will run obsidian_configure to set up the vault path. Your configuration is stored at ~/.config/obsidian-mcp/config.json.

Available Tools

Tool	Description
obsidian_configure	Set vault path and daily notes settings
obsidian_status	Show current configuration and vault stats
obsidian_read	Read a note's contents
obsidian_write	Create or overwrite a note
obsidian_append	Append to a note (optionally under a heading)
obsidian_search	Search notes by content
obsidian_list	Browse vault structure
obsidian_daily	Read/append to daily notes

Built-in Prompts

The server includes MCP prompts that provide structured workflows for common note-taking patterns. These show up as invocable prompts in Claude Code.

Prompt	Description
session-start	Review daily notes and project context before starting work
session-end	Document accomplishments, decisions, and open questions at end of session
project-checkin	Review and update a specific project's documentation

Each prompt accepts an optional project argument to focus on a specific project folder.

Automatic Instructions

When this server is connected, Claude automatically receives guidance about when and how to use the Obsidian tools -- no CLAUDE.md configuration needed. The built-in instructions tell Claude to:

• Check for project context at the start of sessions
• Document decisions as they're made (not just at the end)
• Update daily notes with session summaries
• Search for existing notes before creating new ones

Example Usage

Once configured, you can ask Claude things like:

• "Search my notes for authentication patterns"
• "Read my project architecture note"
• "Append today's session summary to my daily note"
• "Create a new note at Projects/my-project/decisions.md"
• "List all notes in my Work folder"

Configuration

Config is stored at ~/.config/obsidian-mcp/config.json:

{
  "vault_path": "/path/to/your/vault",
  "daily_notes_folder": "Daily Notes",
  "daily_notes_format": "%Y-%m-%d"
}

Options

Option	Default	Description
vault_path	(required)	Absolute path to your Obsidian vault
daily_notes_folder	Daily Notes	Folder for daily notes
daily_notes_format	%Y-%m-%d	Date format for daily note filenames

Customizing Claude Instructions (Optional)

The server includes built-in instructions that guide Claude's note-taking behavior automatically. For additional customization, you can add to ~/.claude/CLAUDE.md:

## Obsidian Note-Taking

### Project Notes
- Vault uses project folders (e.g., MyProject/) with notes like Technical Notes.md, Overview.md
- Always update BOTH daily notes AND project-specific notes
- Include commit hashes and file references in technical notes

License

MIT