io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli

Official registry Productivity

Save chat notes from Claude Desktop to your vault — MCP on Obsidian CLI. Keep what matters.

What can you do with io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli?

Backlinks and full-text search across your resolved link graph and search index (the augment half).
Templater templates and typed frontmatter properties when creating or updating notes.
Daily notes, task queries, and tag counts.
80+ commands through the generic pass-through. No API keys, no REST plugin. Just the official Obsidian CLI.

Install

Add this to your client's MCP configuration (Claude Desktop: claude_desktop_config.json; Cursor: .cursor/mcp.json; VS Code and others use the same "mcpServers" shape).

NPM package mcp-obsidian-cli

Claude Code

claude mcp add mcp-obsidian-cli -e 'OBSIDIAN_VAULT=<OBSIDIAN_VAULT>' -e 'OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH=obsidian-cli' -e 'OBSIDIAN_TIMEOUT_MS=15000' -- npx -y mcp-obsidian-cli@2.1.0

JSON configuration (Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code)

{
    "mcpServers": {
        "mcp-obsidian-cli": {
            "command": "npx",
            "args": [
                "-y",
                "mcp-obsidian-cli@2.1.0"
            ],
            "env": {
                "OBSIDIAN_VAULT": "<OBSIDIAN_VAULT>",
                "OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH": "obsidian-cli",
                "OBSIDIAN_TIMEOUT_MS": "15000"
            }
        }
    }
}

Environment variables

OBSIDIAN_VAULT Target vault name. If unset or unknown, the server prompts the caller on first tool use, listing the vaults Obsidian knows about.
OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH Path to the obsidian-cli binary. Auto-discovered on macOS; set explicitly on Linux/Windows or if the binary is non-standard.
OBSIDIAN_TIMEOUT_MS Per-command timeout in milliseconds.

Documentation

From the project's README on GitHub, refreshed weekly. Links open on GitHub.

Contents

mcp-obsidian-cli
Install
Requirements
How it works
What it can do
Environment variables
Config file
Bugs / requests
License

mcp-obsidian-cli

Your thinking starts in Claude Desktop, not in Obsidian. You research, draft, argue with the model, and when something's worth keeping you say "save this to my vault." It lands in the right place: your template, your properties, today's daily note, wired into your link graph. No tab-switch, no copy-paste.

Installing this? Start at Install. One prompt in Claude Code handles the whole setup.

Two halves:

Capture — turn a conversation into a real note, filed where it belongs.
Augment — pull what's already in the vault (backlinks, full-text search) back into the chat to inform or update a note.

Needs Obsidian running. It can sit minimized, so you never switch to it.

Using this from Claude Code? The native obsidian-cli skill fits better there: direct CLI, no MCP layer. Installing is separate. The prompt below runs in Claude Code.

Install

Run the prompt below in Claude Code. It checks Node, enables the Obsidian CLI, writes your Claude Desktop config, and verifies the connection. Only hand-edit the config if that path fails.

Fetch https://raw.githubusercontent.com/stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli/master/docs/INSTALL.md
and follow it end to end to install the mcp-obsidian-cli MCP server for my Claude Desktop.
Ask me for my Obsidian vault name and folder path, then handle everything else — check Node,
enable the Obsidian CLI, edit my Claude Desktop config, and verify it works.

Full walkthrough, including failure modes: docs/INSTALL.md.

Run the server directly. This starts the server in your terminal and installs nothing:

npx mcp-obsidian-cli

Requirements

The install prompt checks each of these. Listed here for reference:

Obsidian running with its command line interface enabled (Settings → General → Advanced → Command line interface). The CLI ships built into Obsidian — nothing extra to install.
obsidian-cli reachable. macOS auto-detects it inside the Obsidian app bundle, so there is nothing to configure. Linux and Windows have no auto-detection: point OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH at the binary yourself.
Node.js >= 18

How it works

The server exposes Obsidian CLI commands as MCP tools. A generic pass-through tool handles the full CLI surface (80+ commands), plus typed convenience tools for common operations:

Tool	Description
`obsidian`	Generic pass-through — run any CLI command (ships intent→verb cheatsheet, pre-call manifest validation, reload detection)
`obsidian_help`	Manifest-backed help — list verbs by category, or look up a single verb / doc topic
`obsidian_daily_read`	Read today's daily note
`obsidian_daily_append`	Append to daily note
`obsidian_read`	Read a note by name or path
`obsidian_search`	Full-text search with context
`obsidian_tags`	List tags with counts
`obsidian_tasks`	Query tasks (daily, todo, done)
`obsidian_properties`	Read frontmatter properties
`obsidian_create`	Create a new plain note (no Templater expansion)
`obsidian_create_from_template`	Create a note from a Templater template (expands `<% ... %>` placeholders)
`obsidian_property_set`	Set a frontmatter property
`obsidian_backlinks`	List backlinks to a note
`obsidian_files`	List vault files
`obsidian_recents`	Recently opened files

The generic obsidian tool means the MCP server never falls behind the CLI — new CLI commands work immediately without a server update.

What it can do

It talks to the running Obsidian instance, so it works with your vault the way Obsidian sees it:

Backlinks and full-text search across your resolved link graph and search index (the augment half).
Templater templates and typed frontmatter properties when creating or updating notes.
Daily notes, task queries, and tag counts.
80+ commands through the generic pass-through. No API keys, no REST plugin. Just the official Obsidian CLI.

Manual config (if you're not using Claude Code)

Automated installers should use the prompt under Install, which handles vault name, CLI path, and verification. This block is the hand-edit fallback.

Add to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-obsidian-cli"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT": "my-vault"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Description
`OBSIDIAN_VAULT`	(none)	Target vault by name
`OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH`	`obsidian-cli`	Path to CLI binary
`OBSIDIAN_TIMEOUT_MS`	`15000`	Command timeout
`XDG_CONFIG_HOME`	`~/.config`	Base path for config file

Config file

The server can read settings from a YAML config file:

Default: ~/.config/mcp-obsidian-cli/config.yaml
With XDG_CONFIG_HOME: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mcp-obsidian-cli/config.yaml

Config file format:

vault: "my-vault"
cliPath: "obsidian-cli"
timeoutMs: 15000

Config precedence: env vars > config file > hardcoded defaults

Bugs / requests

File an issue: https://github.com/stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli/issues/new/choose. Bug template asks for version, MCP client, tool call, and response — quick to fill, fast to act on.

License

MIT

Maintained by @stonematt Licensed under the MIT License

Trademark Notice: "Obsidian" is a trademark of Obsidian Publishing, Inc. This project is not affiliated with or endorsed by Obsidian Publishing.

Frequently asked questions

What is io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli?

Save chat notes from Claude Desktop to your vault — MCP on Obsidian CLI. Keep what matters.

How do I install io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli?

It runs on your machine. In Claude Code: claude mcp add mcp-obsidian-cli -e 'OBSIDIAN_VAULT=<OBSIDIAN_VAULT>' -e 'OBSIDIAN_CLI_PATH=obsidian-cli' -e 'OBSIDIAN_TIMEOUT_MS=15000' -- npx -y mcp-obsidian-cli@2.1.0. For other clients, paste the JSON configuration from this page into their MCP settings.

Does io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli need an API key?

Its registry entry lists no required key or secret. Some features may still need an account with the service it connects to.

Is io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli open source?

Yes. Its code is on GitHub under the MIT license.

Who maintains io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli?

It is published by stonematt. AI.tn lists it but does not maintain or endorse it.

From the official MCP Registry. Listing is not an endorsement: review a server's code and permissions before giving it access to your data.

Server details

Listed in: Official MCP Registry
Publisher: stonematt
Category: Productivity
Runs: Local
GitHub stars: ★ 2
License: MIT
Language: JavaScript
Last commit: Oct 12, 2026
Open issues: 7
Version: 2.1.0
Published: Sep 8, 2026

io.github.stonematt/mcp-obsidian-cli

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