Obsidian MCP Tools — Use Cases, Install & Live Demo

Why use it

Key features

Local Obsidian plugin + MCP bridge
Semantic search via Smart Connections integration
Templater prompt execution from Claude
Full file CRUD: read, write, append, link, frontmatter
Daily-note + journal-aware
Vault data never leaves your machine

Live Demo

What it looks like in practice

obsidian-mcp-tools.replay ▶ ready

0/0

Install

Pick your client

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json · Windows: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config. Restart after saving.

~/.cursor/mcp.json · .cursor/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Cursor uses the same mcpServers schema as Claude Desktop. Project config wins over global.

VS Code → Cline → MCP Servers → Edit

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Click the MCP Servers icon in the Cline sidebar, then "Edit Configuration".

~/.codeium/windsurf/mcp_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-tools": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-tools"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Same shape as Claude Desktop. Restart Windsurf to pick up changes.

~/.continue/config.json

{
  "mcpServers": [
    {
      "name": "obsidian-mcp-tools",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-mcp-tools"
      ]
    }
  ]
}

Continue uses an array of server objects rather than a map.

~/.config/zed/settings.json

{
  "context_servers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-tools": {
      "command": {
        "path": "npx",
        "args": [
          "-y",
          "obsidian-mcp-tools"
        ]
      }
    }
  }
}

Add to context_servers. Zed hot-reloads on save.

claude mcp add obsidian-mcp-tools -- npx -y obsidian-mcp-tools

One-liner. Verify with claude mcp list. Remove with claude mcp remove.

Use Cases

Real-world ways to use Obsidian MCP Tools

How to actually query your second brain instead of grepping it

👤 Obsidian PKM users with 1k+ notes ⏱ ~20 min intermediate

When to use: You know you wrote about something months ago but search by keyword keeps missing it.

Prerequisites

Obsidian + this plugin + Smart Connections plugin — Install both from Community Plugins; Smart Connections will index on first run

Flow

Index check

Verify Smart Connections has finished embedding my vault. Report total notes indexed.✓ Copied

→ Number of indexed notes; embedding model in use
Semantic recall

Find notes related to 'why I left my last job' even if those exact words aren't in any note.✓ Copied

→ 5 notes ranked by semantic match, with snippets
Compose

Synthesize those into a short reflection note. Save under /Reflections/ with a wikilink to each source.✓ Copied

→ New note created; backlinks resolve

Outcome: A second-brain that answers in concepts, not keywords.

Pitfalls

Semantic recall surfaces sensitive personal notes — Use Obsidian's excludedFolders setting in Smart Connections to skip private dirs

Combine with: humanizer-skill

Run a Templater template from Claude with prompts auto-filled

👤 Power Obsidian users with templates ⏱ ~10 min intermediate

When to use: You have a 'project kickoff' Templater template that asks 5 prompts; you'd rather Claude orchestrate it.

Prerequisites

Templater installed with templates set up — Standard community plugin

Flow

List templates

What Templater templates are available?✓ Copied

→ Template list with prompt descriptions
Run with auto-fill

Run 'project_kickoff' for a project called 'Q3 onboarding overhaul'. Auto-answer the prompts based on context.✓ Copied

→ New note created using template; prompts filled

Outcome: Templates run from a chat instead of a modal.

Pitfalls

Some Templater commands are async and need time — MCP tool waits for completion — but don't chain too many in one call

Auto-build a daily note from yesterday's calendar + tasks

👤 Productivity-focused Obsidian users ⏱ ~15 min intermediate

When to use: You start every day editing the same 'Daily' template — automate it.

Flow

Pull today's data

Read yesterday's daily note. Carry forward incomplete tasks. Pull today's calendar via google-calendar MCP.✓ Copied

→ Carried-forward tasks + today's events identified
Write daily

Create today's daily note in /Daily/$(date +%F).md with the standard sections.✓ Copied

→ Note created and opened

Outcome: Daily note ready in 5 seconds.

Pitfalls

Carrying-forward duplicates tasks if the same task is in 2 days — Dedupe by line text before writing

Combine with: google-calendar

Combinations

Pair with other MCPs for X10 leverage

obsidian-mcp-tools + google-calendar

Build daily notes that include the day's events

Make today's daily note. Include calendar events under '## Today'.✓ Copied

obsidian-mcp-tools + github

Mirror a project board into a vault note

Sync GitHub project XYZ tasks to /Projects/XYZ.md as a checklist.✓ Copied

Tools

What this MCP exposes

Tool	Inputs	When to call	Cost
search_semantic	query, k?	Concept-level recall	1 Smart Connections query
read_note	path	Pull a single note	free
write_note	path, content, mode: 'create'\|'append'\|'overwrite'	Create or update a note	free
list_templates	(none)	Discover what's executable	free
run_templater	template_name, prompt_answers: {}	Execute a templated workflow	free

Cost & Limits

What this costs to run

API quota: Local — bound by Smart Connections embedding service if cloud-based
Tokens per call: 100–1500 per note
Monetary: Free (the plugin); Smart Connections has free local + paid cloud options
Tip: Use the local embedding option in Smart Connections to avoid per-query cost

Security

Permissions, secrets, blast radius

Credential storage: Local plugin only; no remote storage

Data egress: Local — except if Smart Connections is configured to use cloud embeddings

Don't grant Claude write access to vault unless you trust your prompt; use exclusion folders for sensitive areas

Troubleshooting

Common errors and fixes

MCP tools not showing up

Confirm the Obsidian plugin is enabled and the MCP bridge process is running

Verify: Check plugin status bar; restart Obsidian

search_semantic returns nothing

Smart Connections embedding job may not be done yet — check its progress

Verify: Open the Smart Connections sidebar

write_note fails with 'path outside vault'

Paths are relative to vault root; don't use absolute paths

Alternatives

Obsidian MCP Tools vs others

Alternative	When to use it instead	Tradeoff
ergut/mcp-logseq	You're on Logseq instead of Obsidian	Different ecosystem; same idea
AgriciDaniel/claude-obsidian (skill)	You want a skill-shaped workflow on top of file IO	Skill is higher-level; this MCP is the building blocks

More

Resources

📖 Read the official README on GitHub

🐙 Browse open issues

🔍 Browse all 400+ MCP servers and Skills