Obsidian MCP Server by Steven Stavrakis: Setup for Claude, Cursor and Other Apps

• Lists the vaults you set up

  Returns the ids of the vaults you passed on startup, without showing their folder paths.

  Try: “Which Obsidian vaults can you see?”

  Read · obsidian_list_vaults

• Searches notes by text, file name or tag

  Searches a vault for text, a file name fragment or a tag, optionally inside one folder and with exact case. Results come in pages with a snippet and line number.

  Try: “Find notes that mention "quarterly review" in the Work vault.”

  Files · obsidian_search_vault

• Reads a note

  Returns a page of a note's Markdown plus an etag (a SHA-256 fingerprint). Long notes continue with a cursor. The etag lets later edits detect a change.

  Try: “Read my note Projects/Roadmap.md.”

  Files · obsidian_read_note

• Creates a new note

  Creates a note and refuses to overwrite one that already exists.

  Try: “Create Meetings/2026-11-02.md with an agenda for the product sync.”

  Write · obsidian_create_note

• Appends, prepends or replaces note content

  Adds Markdown to the end or start of a note, or replaces exact content. An optional etag stops it from overwriting a note changed since you read it.

  Try: “Append a "Next steps" list to Projects/Roadmap.md.”

  Write · obsidian_edit_note

• Moves or renames a note and fixes links

  Moves or renames a note and rewrites backlinks that clearly point to it. Ambiguous links are reported and left alone.

  Try: “Rename Ideas/draft.md to Ideas/launch-plan.md and update links.”

  Write · obsidian_move_note

• Deletes a note, to trash by default

  Moves a note to a trash folder inside the vault, or deletes it permanently if you confirm the exact path. Backlinks stay unless you ask to mark them broken.

  Try: “Move Archive/old-plan.md to the trash.”

  Delete · obsidian_delete_note

• Creates a folder in a vault

  Creates a directory inside a vault as one transaction.

  Try: “Create a folder called Meetings/2026.”

  Write · obsidian_create_directory

• Adds tags to notes

  Adds tags to one or more notes in a single all-or-nothing change, in frontmatter or inline.

  Try: “Tag all notes in Projects/ with #active.”

  Write · obsidian_add_tags

• Removes tags from notes

  Removes exact, nested or wildcard-matched tags from notes in a single all-or-nothing change.

  Try: “Remove the #draft tag from the notes I just published.”

  Write · obsidian_remove_tags

• Renames a tag across the vault

  Renames a tag in every note of a vault as one change.

  Try: “Rename #todo to #action everywhere.”

  Write · obsidian_rename_tag

• Adds or removes tags in one tool

  Does the same as the add and remove tag tools, chosen by an action argument.

  Try: “Add the tag #reviewed to these three notes.”

  Write · obsidian_manage_tags

Watch out for

• It can edit and permanently delete your notes

  Deleting moves a note to a trash folder by default, but permanent deletion is irreversible once you confirm the exact path. Back up your vault and keep permission prompts on. github.com

• It writes its own folders inside your vault

  Trash and recovery snapshots are kept in .obsidian-mcp inside each vault, for 30 days and up to 1 GiB by default. Exclude that folder from sync if it adds noise. github.com

• Edits can be guarded against conflicts

  Reading a note returns an etag. Passing it back when editing, moving or deleting makes the server refuse if the note changed meanwhile. github.com

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