obsidian-playwright-mcp

MCP server that lets AI assistants "see" and interact with the Obsidian app itself — not just read vault files.

Why This Exists

Obsidian plugins are debugged by AI today by reading source files, but that's blind. This server connects to Obsidian's Electron process via Chrome DevTools Protocol (CDP), letting Claude/any agent:

• Screenshot the app to see what's actually rendering
• Execute JavaScript in the running app context to query plugin state, trigger commands, inspect the DOM
• Capture console logs to see errors in real time
• Automate UI actions for testing plugins or validating layouts

Perfect for debugging why a plugin isn't rendering, testing UI state changes, or verifying behavior end-to-end.

Gotchas

• Obsidian must launch with --remote-debugging-port=8315 — standard startup doesn't enable CDP
• Single connection at a time — only one agent can connect per Obsidian instance
• Console logs captured only after connect — startup logs are missed
• Requires Node.js v18+ and Windows (Obsidian.exe path is hardcoded)

Quick Start

1. Launch Obsidian with debug port:

   Start-Process "C:\Users\patri\AppData\Local\Programs\Obsidian\Obsidian.exe" -ArgumentList "--remote-debugging-port=8315"
   

2. Configure MCP (.claude/mcp_config.json):

   {
     "mcpServers": {
       "obsidian-automation": {
         "command": "node",
         "args": ["C:/Projects/02-Dormant-or-Ideas/obsidian-playwright-mcp/obsidian-mcp-server.js"]
       }
     }
   }
   

Tools

Tool	Purpose
connect_to_obsidian	Establish CDP connection (run first)
execute_in_renderer	Run JavaScript: app.commands.executeCommandById('...'), app.vault.read(...), app.plugins.plugins[...]
take_screenshot	Capture current window state
get_console_logs	Fetch console output (filter by type: "error", "warning", etc.)
get_page_info	Get vault name, active file, window title
disconnect	Close connection

Example: Debug a Plugin

// Connect
connect_to_obsidian()
// Returns: { success: true, title: "Home - MyVault - Obsidian v1.x" }

// Is the plugin loaded?
execute_in_renderer({ code: `!!app.plugins.plugins['my-plugin']` })
// Returns: { success: true, result: true }

// What's in the console?
get_console_logs({ filter: "error", limit: 5 })
// Returns: { logs: [{ type: "error", text: "Plugin init failed: ..." }] }

// Screenshot the error state
take_screenshot({ filename: "error-state.png" })

Tech Stack

• Node.js + Playwright (CDP connectivity)
• @modelcontextprotocol/sdk (MCP protocol)

Status: Dormant (Jan 2026). See SKILL.md for detailed examples.

Screenshots

TODO (Patrik): add screenshots here.