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MCPVault

Community
A safe MCP bridge to Obsidian vaults
How to install ↓ Compare GitHub source repository ↗
Category
Filesystem #8 of 24
Stars
★ 1.7k Very popular
Transport
stdio (local process)
Runtime
Node.js 18+
Credentials
No credential needed
License
MIT
Last commit
Tools
14
60FMRS · C

MCPVault is an MIT-licensed open-source MCP server for local Obsidian vaults, offering a broad set of note and file-management tools. Its strengths include frontmatter preservation, path security, confirmation for risky operations, and stdio isolation; its main risks are data exposure and unwanted changes when an AI assistant has vault access and write permissions.

Strongest · Documentation 15/20 Weakest · Reliability 9/20

Reliability
9/20
Security and permissions
13/20
Maintenance
10/20
Documentation
15/20
Setup experience
13/20
Why each score
Reliability 9/20
The README describes 14 tools, error handling, path validation, and a test command, making the happy path plausible. However, the manifest is not cached and no source files, CI workflows, or committed tests are provided, so MCP initialization/tool-list behavior, implementation parity, and edge-case failures cannot be verified. The README also claims “zero dependencies” while requiring npm-installed dependencies, and use of latest reduces controllability; points are deducted for these uncertainties.
Security and permissions 13/20
The README explicitly describes stdio transport, vault-root confinement, traversal and symlink checks, extension/directory filtering, and confirmation parameters for deletion and file moves, showing meaningful boundary and side-effect controls. However, there is no authentication or caller-authorization mechanism; a connected AI can read and modify all permitted content. The controls are not source-verifiable here, and evidence for network, OS-permission, and sensitive-data handling is limited, so this is well below full marks.
Maintenance 10/20
The repository is not archived, the MIT license is stated, and the material identifies an owning organization, a changelog link, and 13 open issues. But there is no verifiable evidence of release or commit cadence, CI, dependency-update practice, issue response, or a security-reporting channel, so sustained maintenance cannot be awarded.
Documentation 15/20
The README covers runtime prerequisites, installation, several mainstream client configurations, example parameters and responses for the 14 APIs, limits, troubleshooting, security considerations, and testing commands. It is substantially usable, but there is no source or manifest cross-check; authentication, the permission model, dependency/version pinning, cost, and some platform claims lack independent evidence. The “zero dependencies” wording is also inconsistent with the installation instructions, so points are deducted.
Setup experience 13/20
The path from installing Node.js to launching through npx, testing with Inspector, and configuring Claude and other clients is clear, short, and illustrated for multiple platforms. It still depends on npx/network retrieval of latest, client capability or subscription constraints, and local filesystem permissions, and there is no real CI/test evidence validating the connection flow. Static calibration therefore limits the score and uncertainty reduces it further.

Static review · not runListed 2026-07-29

Read the FMRS scoring method →

Fit and risk

What it can accessReads local filesWrites / deletes local files

Best for

  • Users who want to access a local Obsidian vault through multiple MCP clients.
  • Note workflows that need to preserve raw formatting for unmodified frontmatter fields.
  • Knowledge-base users who need local file operations, search, and tag management.

Not for

  • Users without an Obsidian vault or local vault directory.
  • Users seeking a remote network service, cloud-hosted service, or non-MCP integration.
  • Users who do not want an AI assistant to access or modify vault content and structure.

Required permissions

  • Requires Node.js 18 or later.
  • Requires read access to the specified vault; writing, moving, and deleting also require the corresponding write permissions.
  • The server can access allowed `.md`, `.markdown`, `.txt`, `.base`, and `.canvas` files.
  • The AI assistant can see allowed file content, directory structure, and some file metadata.

Risks and side effects

  • The server provides full read/write access within its security boundaries, so incorrect instructions can modify or delete notes.
  • Vault content, structure, and file metadata may be exposed to AI conversations with access.
  • Permanent deletion may be unrecoverable; back up the vault before write operations.
  • Path filtering does not isolate content, so sensitive data in allowed files remains readable.

Setup

Before you start

Runtime：Node.js 18+

Install Node.js 18 or later. Run npx @bitbonsai/mcpvault@latest /path/to/your/vault, then add the supplied JSON configuration to a compatible MCP client, replacing the path with the actual Obsidian vault path. The path may be omitted to use the current working directory. Restart the client and test by listing files or reading a note.

claude_desktop_config.json 
{"mcpServers":{"obsidian":{"command":"npx","args":["@bitbonsai/mcpvault@latest","/path/to/your/vault"]}}}

Shown for Claude Desktop. Other clients may use a different file or key (VS Code uses "servers") — the configurator below converts it.

.vscode/mcp.json
{
  "servers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "@bitbonsai/mcpvault@latest",
        "/path/to/your/vault"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Goes in your project's .vscode/mcp.json (VS Code uses a "servers" key).

Terminal
claude mcp add obsidian -- npx @bitbonsai/mcpvault@latest /path/to/your/vault

Run it in a terminal; replace any <…> placeholders with your own values first.

Generate and validate client config

Check that it works

After configuring the client, ask the AI to list the files in your Obsidian vault; a returned file listing (and tools like read_note and write_note appearing in the client) confirms the connection works.

Troubleshooting

  1. Confirm that Node.js 18 or later is installed and `npx` is available.
  2. Verify the vault path and the user's read/write permissions.
  3. Ensure all paths are relative to the vault root and do not use path traversal to reach external files.
  4. Check the client's configuration path and JSON syntax, then restart the client.
  5. If `.obsidian` files appear, check the client display; the server is designed to filter `.obsidian`, `.git`, `node_modules`, and system files.

Things to try

Once connected, you can ask your AI assistant things like:

  • List all files in my Obsidian vault
  • Read my note called project-ideas.md
  • Append today's journal entry to my daily-log.md note
  • Add the tags machine-learning and ai to research-notes.md

Tools 14

read_note read-only
Reads a note and parses its frontmatter.
write_note writes
Writes a note in overwrite, append, or prepend mode.
patch_note writes
Replaces an exact string inside a note.
delete_note destructive
Deletes a note with path confirmation and optional vault or system trash handling.
move_note writes
Moves or renames a note.
move_file writes
Moves or renames a file using binary-safe operations; source and destination confirmation are required.
list_directory read-only
Lists files and directories in the vault while filtering system paths.
read_multiple_notes read-only
Reads up to 10 notes in a batch.
Show 6 more tools
search_notes read-only
Searches note content or frontmatter with multi-word matching and BM25 relevance reranking.
get_frontmatter read-only
Extracts only a note's frontmatter.
update_frontmatter writes
Updates frontmatter without changing note content.
get_notes_info read-only
Returns note metadata including size, modification time, and frontmatter status.
get_vault_stats read-only
Returns vault note count, folder count, total size, and recent items.
manage_tags writes
Adds, removes, or lists tags in frontmatter and detects inline tags.

Use cases

List, read, and search Obsidian notes through an AI assistant.
Create, append, prepend, or precisely edit note content.
Read notes in batches and inspect vault statistics.
Maintain frontmatter and tags.
Move, rename, or confirmed-delete notes and files.

Supported clients

Claude Desktop
Claude Code
OpenCode
Goose Desktop
ChatGPTPartial support
IntelliJ IDEA 2025.1+
Cursor
Windsurf IDE
Ontheia
Microsoft Copilot Studio
Codex

Listed from the project's documentation, not tested by this site.

Overview

MCPVault is a lightweight MCP server that provides safe read/write access to an Obsidian vault. It supports notes, directories, search, batch reads, metadata, and tag management, with path validation, file filtering, and YAML frontmatter validation to reduce unsafe operations. The server runs within the specified vault root over stdio.

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Source revision 09f28bdb5d0b Data synced 2026-10-19 Read the FMRS scoring method