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obsidian-mcp-server

by: cyanheads

Model Context Protocol (MCP) server designed for LLMs to interact with Obsidian vaults. Provides secure, token-aware tools for seamless knowledge base management through a standardized interface.

56created 23/01/2025
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📌Overview

Purpose: The Obsidian MCP Server serves as a bridge for Large Language Models (LLMs) to navigate and interact with Obsidian vaults efficiently.

Overview: This server is built using TypeScript and implements the Model Context Protocol (MCP), allowing AI assistants to perform knowledge management tasks such as file operations, search functionalities, and property management within Obsidian vaults in a secure and effective manner.

Key Features:

  • File Operations: Facilitates atomic file and directory actions, ensuring validation and error handling for robust performance.

  • Search System: Provides full-text search capabilities along with advanced JSON logic queries to filter files and metadata, adapting to user needs effectively.

Obsidian MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol server designed for LLMs to interact with Obsidian vaults. Built with TypeScript and featuring secure API communication, efficient file operations, and comprehensive search capabilities, it enables AI assistants to seamlessly manage knowledge bases through a clean, flexible tool interface.

The Model Context Protocol (MCP) enables AI models to interact with external tools and resources through a standardized interface.

Requires the Local REST API plugin in Obsidian.

Features

File Operations

  • Atomic file/directory operations with validation
  • Resource monitoring and cleanup
  • Error handling and graceful failure

Search System

  • Full-text search with configurable context
  • Advanced JsonLogic queries for files, tags, and metadata
  • Support for glob patterns and frontmatter fields

Property Management

  • YAML frontmatter parsing and intelligent merging
  • Automatic timestamps (created by Obsidian, modified by server)
  • Custom field support

Security & Performance

  • API key authentication with rate limiting and SSL options
  • Resource monitoring and health checks
  • Graceful shutdown handling

Installation

Note: Requires Node.js

  1. Enable Local REST API plugin in Obsidian
  2. Clone and build:
git clone git@github.com:cyanheads/obsidian-mcp-server.git
cd obsidian-mcp-server
npm install
npm run build

Or install from npm:

npm install obsidian-mcp-server

Configuration

Add to your MCP client settings (e.g., claude_desktop_config.json or cline_mcp_settings.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-server": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/obsidian-mcp-server/build/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "your_api_key_here",
        "VERIFY_SSL": "false",
        "OBSIDIAN_PROTOCOL": "https",
        "OBSIDIAN_HOST": "127.0.0.1",
        "OBSIDIAN_PORT": "27124",
        "REQUEST_TIMEOUT": "5000",
        "MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH": "52428800",
        "MAX_BODY_LENGTH": "52428800",
        "RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS": "900000",
        "RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS": "200",
        "TOOL_TIMEOUT_MS": "60000"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment Variables

  • OBSIDIAN_API_KEY: API key from Obsidian's Local REST API plugin settings (required)
  • VERIFY_SSL: Enable SSL certificate verification; set to false for self-signed certificates or local runs (default: false)
  • OBSIDIAN_PROTOCOL: Protocol to use (default: "https")
  • OBSIDIAN_HOST: Host address (default: "127.0.0.1")
  • OBSIDIAN_PORT: Port number (default: 27124)

Request Limits

  • REQUEST_TIMEOUT: Request timeout in milliseconds (default: 5000)
  • MAX_CONTENT_LENGTH: Maximum response content length in bytes (default: 52428800 [50MB])
  • MAX_BODY_LENGTH: Maximum request body length in bytes (default: 52428800 [50MB])

Rate Limiting

  • RATE_LIMIT_WINDOW_MS: Rate limit window in milliseconds (default: 900000 [15 minutes])
  • RATE_LIMIT_MAX_REQUESTS: Maximum requests per window (default: 200)

Tool Execution

  • TOOL_TIMEOUT_MS: Tool execution timeout in milliseconds (default: 60000 [1 minute])

Project Structure

The project follows a modular architecture with clear separation of concerns:

src/
  ├── index.ts          # Main entry point
  ├── mcp/              # MCP server implementation
  ├── obsidian/         # Obsidian API client and types
  ├── resources/        # MCP resource implementations
  ├── tools/            # MCP tool implementations
  │   ├── files/        # File operations tools
  │   ├── search/       # Search tools
  │   └── properties/   # Property management tools
  └── utils/            # Shared utilities

Tools

File Management

// List vault contents
obsidian_list_files_in_vault: {
}

// List directory contents
obsidian_list_files_in_dir: {
  dirpath: string; // Path relative to vault root
}

// Get file contents
obsidian_get_file_contents: {
  filepath: string; // Path relative to vault root
}

Search Operations

// Text search with context
obsidian_find_in_file: {
  query: string,
  contextLength?: number  // Default: 10
}

// Advanced search with JsonLogic
obsidian_complex_search: {
  query: JsonLogicQuery
  // Examples:
  // Find by tag:
  // {"in": ["#mytag", {"var": "frontmatter.tags"}]}
  //
  // Find markdown files in a directory:
  // {"glob": ["docs/*.md", {"var": "path"}]}
  //
  // Combine conditions:
  // {"and": [
  //   {"glob": ["*.md", {"var": "path"}]},
  //   {"in": ["#mytag", {"var": "frontmatter.tags"}]}
  // ]}
}

// Get all tags in vault or directory
obsidian_get_tags: {
  path?: string  // Optional: limit to specific directory
}

Content Modification

// Append to file
obsidian_append_content: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  content: string    // Content to append
}

// Update file content
obsidian_patch_content: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  content: string    // New content (replaces existing)
}

Property Management

// Get note properties
obsidian_get_properties: {
  filepath: string  // Path relative to vault root
}

// Update note properties
obsidian_update_properties: {
  filepath: string,  // Path relative to vault root
  properties: {
    title?: string,
    author?: string,
    // Note: created/modified timestamps are managed automatically
    type?: Array<"concept" | "architecture" | "specification" |
      "protocol" | "api" | "research" | "implementation" |
      "guide" | "reference">,
    tags?: string[],  // Must start with #
    status?: Array<"draft" | "in-progress" | "review" | "complete">,
    version?: string,
    platform?: string,
    repository?: string,  // URL
    dependencies?: string[],
    sources?: string[],
    urls?: string[],      // URLs
    papers?: string[],
    custom?: Record<string, unknown>
  }
}

Best Practices

File Operations

  • Use atomic operations with validation
  • Handle errors and monitor performance

Search Implementation

  • Use appropriate search tool for the task:
    • obsidian_find_in_file for text search
    • obsidian_complex_search for metadata/tag filtering
  • Keep context size reasonable (default: 10 chars)

Property Management

  • Use appropriate types and validate updates
  • Handle arrays and custom fields properly
  • Never set timestamps (managed automatically)

Error Prevention

  • Validate inputs and handle errors gracefully
  • Monitor patterns and respect rate limits

Resources

The MCP server exposes the following resource:

obsidian://tags  # List of all tags used across the vault

Contributing

  1. Fork the repository
  2. Create a feature branch
  3. Submit a Pull Request

For bugs and feature requests, create an issue at:
https://github.com/cyanheads/obsidian-mcp-server/issues

Publishing

The package is automatically published to npm when version tags are pushed:

# Update version in package.json
npm version patch  # or minor, or major
git push --follow-tags

This triggers a GitHub Action to build and publish the package.

License

Apache License 2.0