Give any AI agent access to your Obsidian vault over MCP. Run it locally against your vault files, or pair it with Self-hosted LiveSync and deploy to the cloud so it works even when your machine is off.
Example: From your phone, ask your AI: "What's in my daily note for today?" — and get the full content back, with a link to open it in Obsidian.
Give any AI agent access to your Obsidian vault over MCP
2026-11-10
Звёзды
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Инструменты
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Аптайм
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How it works
The server connects to your vault in two ways:
Filesystem mode — reads .md files directly from your vault folder. No database needed.
CouchDB mode — reads from a CouchDB database, locally or in the cloud. Your vault syncs to CouchDB via Self-hosted LiveSync, the community Obsidian plugin (600k+ downloads). The MCP server reads from CouchDB directly using livesync-commonlib — the same library that powers the plugin — for proper chunk handling and E2E encryption support.
Both modes expose the same MCP tools over HTTP, so any MCP-compatible agent can connect: Claude, Copilot, custom agents, anything that speaks the Model Context Protocol.
Set COUCHDB_PASSPHRASE if you use E2E encryption in LiveSync. Set COUCHDB_OBFUSCATE_PROPERTIES=true if "Obfuscate Properties" is also enabled in your LiveSync settings. For an existing vault the server detects the actual setting from the database at startup and corrects a mismatch with a warning; only for a brand-new empty database does the value need to match your LiveSync settings. If the vault was created with LiveSync 1.0.33+ and path obfuscation, also set COUCHDB_ID_DERIVATION_KEY to your LiveSync recovery code (sls-id-v1:..., from "Show current recovery code") so the server can resolve note paths. Set BASE_URL to your public URL (required for OAuth callbacks when agents connect over HTTPS).
Your MCP endpoint is https://your-app.fly.dev/mcp (Fly.io) or https://your-server:8787/mcp (Docker behind HTTPS).
The script generates credentials, creates the database, and deploys. Save the credentials it prints.
Or with Docker Compose on any always-on server:
git clone https://github.com/es617/obsidian-sync-mcp.git
cd obsidian-sync-mcp
cat > .env <<EOF
COUCHDB_PASSWORD=changeme
MCP_AUTH_TOKEN=changeme-too
VAULT_NAME=MyVault
EOF
docker compose up -d
After deployment:
In Obsidian, install Self-hosted LiveSync and configure it with the credentials from the setup output
Your MCP endpoint is https://your-app.fly.dev/mcp (Fly.io). With Docker Compose the MCP port is published on localhost:8787 only; to reach it from other machines, put an HTTPS tunnel or reverse proxy in front (see remote access) and set BASE_URL to its public URL
The MCP_AUTH_TOKEN is the password you enter when an agent connects
Always-on server
├── CouchDB + persistent storage
└── MCP server
↑ ↑
Obsidian + LiveSync AI agents
curl -L https://fly.io/install.sh | sh
export PATH="$HOME/.fly/bin:$PATH" # add to ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc
fly auth login
Cost (Fly.io)
Applies to both Setup A and Setup B.
Component
Cost
CouchDB + MCP VM (shared, 512MB)
~$3-4/month (kept alive by LiveSync)
MCP-only VM (shared, 256MB)
~$0-2/month (suspends when idle)
1GB persistent volume
~$0.15/month
As of March 2026, Fly.io may waive charges under $5/month, which could make this effectively free with a shared IPv4. Either way, cheaper than Obsidian Sync ($4/month) and you own the data.
C. Run on your machine
Run the MCP server locally. Works with filesystem mode (reads vault files directly) or CouchDB mode (if you have LiveSync). Machine must stay on for agents to reach it.
Omit COUCHDB_PASSPHRASE if you don't use E2E encryption in LiveSync. Set COUCHDB_OBFUSCATE_PROPERTIES=true if "Obfuscate Properties" is also enabled in your LiveSync settings. For an existing vault the server detects the actual setting from the database at startup and corrects a mismatch with a warning; only for a brand-new empty database does the value need to match your LiveSync settings. If the vault was created with LiveSync 1.0.33+ and path obfuscation, also set COUCHDB_ID_DERIVATION_KEY to your LiveSync recovery code (sls-id-v1:...) so the server can resolve note paths.
Want remote access? Add a tunnel (machine must stay on):
cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8787 # free
tailscale funnel 8787 # or Tailscale
ngrok http 8787 # or ngrok
Set BASE_URL to the tunnel URL when using authentication.
Tools
Tool
Description
read_note
Read a note's markdown content by path
write_note
Create or overwrite a note (replaces entire content)
edit_note
Edit a note without rewriting it — append, prepend (after frontmatter), or replace exact text
list_folders
List all folders in the vault with note counts — use to discover folder names
list_tags
List all tags in the vault with counts — use to discover tags before filtering
list_notes
List notes with timestamps. Filter by folder, name, tag, or date. Sort by name or modified.
search_notes
Search note text for terms (OR, case-insensitive substrings); paths and frontmatter titles are searched first. Filter by folder, tag, or date. Returns paths with one context line each, never the note body, after a status line that states which CouchDB sequence the index is caught up with.
delete_note
Delete a note
move_note
Move or rename a note — works across folders, creates destination folders automatically
get_note_metadata
Get frontmatter, tags, outgoing links, backlinks, size, and timestamps — navigate the knowledge graph
Every tool response includes an Obsidian deep link (obsidian://open?vault=...&file=...) that works on Mac and iOS.
"Add a bullet point to my daily note." "Find my notes about the MCP server and fix the typo in the second one."
Authentication
Set MCP_AUTH_TOKEN to a password to enable authentication:
The server includes a self-contained OAuth 2.1 provider. When an agent connects:
A browser window opens with a password page
Enter the MCP_AUTH_TOKEN password
The agent gets an access token and refreshes it transparently
The session is shared across all your Claude interfaces (Desktop, Web, Mobile) and persists across server restarts. You'll need to re-enter the password after 14 days of inactivity (configurable via MCP_REFRESH_DAYS).
For non-OAuth clients (curl, MCP Inspector, custom agents), you can also pass the token directly as Authorization: Bearer <MCP_AUTH_TOKEN>.
Without MCP_AUTH_TOKEN, the server runs without authentication — suitable for local use or behind a private network.
Environment variables
Variable
Required
Default
Description
VAULT_PATH
Filesystem mode
—
Path to your Obsidian vault directory
COUCHDB_URL
CouchDB mode
—
CouchDB server URL
COUCHDB_USER
CouchDB mode
admin
CouchDB username
COUCHDB_PASSWORD
CouchDB mode
—
CouchDB password (required)
COUCHDB_DATABASE
CouchDB mode
obsidian
CouchDB database name. The server never creates it: if it doesn't exist, startup fails with an error
COUCHDB_PASSPHRASE
CouchDB mode
—
LiveSync E2E encryption passphrase (must match plugin setting)
COUCHDB_OBFUSCATE_PROPERTIES
CouchDB mode
false
Set to true if "Obfuscate Properties" is enabled in LiveSync (obfuscates file paths, sizes, dates in the database). For existing vaults the actual setting is auto-detected at startup; this value only decides the format for a brand-new empty database
COUCHDB_ID_DERIVATION_KEY
CouchDB mode
—
LiveSync "independent ID derivation" recovery code (sls-id-v1:...). Needed to read and write notes on vaults created with LiveSync 1.0.33+ that use path obfuscation; leave unset for older (passphrase-derived) vaults. Get it from LiveSync's "Show current recovery code"
COUCHDB_CASE_SENSITIVE
CouchDB mode
false
Set to true only if your LiveSync vault has "Handle filenames as case-sensitive" enabled. It must match the vault, or obfuscated document IDs won't resolve (the server fails to start with a clear message). Leave unset otherwise
VAULT_NAME
Both
MyVault
Vault name (used for deep links and index storage)
MCP_AUTH_TOKEN
Optional
—
Password for authentication
BASE_URL
Optional
http://localhost:PORT
Public URL (for OAuth callbacks when using a tunnel)
PORT
Optional
8787
HTTP port
HOST
Optional
0.0.0.0
Bind address (127.0.0.1 to restrict to localhost)
MCP_ALLOWED_HOSTS
Optional
—
Comma-separated extra Host values accepted in no-auth mode (e.g. 192.168.1.5,mybox.local). No-auth mode rejects any other Host to block browser DNS-rebinding; localhost is always allowed. Ignored when MCP_AUTH_TOKEN is set.
DATA_DIR
Optional
~/.obsidian-mcp
Directory for persisted data (metadata index, auth tokens)
LOG_LEVEL
Optional
—
Set to debug for verbose logging (library logs, change feed, index sync)
DISPLAY_TIMEZONE
Optional
server's zone
IANA time zone for the human-readable half of the server time in search_notes status lines (UTC is always printed beside it), e.g. Europe/Berlin. An invalid zone falls back to UTC with a warning at startup
MCP_REFRESH_DAYS
Optional
14
Days before auth session expires
READ_ONLY
Optional
false
Set to true to disable all write tools (write_note, edit_note, delete_note, move_note). Only read tools are exposed via MCP, and the vault backend rejects writes as well. Useful when sharing the server with multiple AI clients and write access should be opt-in. This protects the vault from MCP clients; it is not a database-level guarantee. To make CouchDB itself refuse writes, use CouchDB-side controls, such as a validate_doc_update function that rejects the server's CouchDB user.
WRITE_FOLDERS
Optional
—
Comma-separated list of vault-relative folders where writes are allowed (e.g. MCP,Inbox). When set, the whole vault stays readable but write_note, edit_note, delete_note, and move_note refuse paths outside these folders (move_note requires both source and destination to be writable). Enforced server-side, unlike MCP_INSTRUCTIONS. Matching is case-sensitive and folder-boundary-aware (MCP matches MCP/note.md but not MCP-private/note.md). Ignored when READ_ONLY=true; unset means the whole vault is writable.
MCP_INSTRUCTIONS
Optional
—
Extra text appended to the server's MCP instructions (the string clients inject into the system prompt). Use this to bake vault-specific conventions into the server — e.g. folder structure, naming rules, folders to avoid — so they apply across every MCP client without per-client config. Best-effort: not all clients respect instructions.
MCP_INSTRUCTIONS_FILE
Optional
—
Path to a file (e.g. markdown) whose contents are appended to the MCP instructions. Easier than MCP_INSTRUCTIONS for multi-line conventions. If both are set, the file wins and MCP_INSTRUCTIONS is ignored (with a startup warning). Missing/unreadable file or files larger than 32 KB are fatal startup errors. Store this file somewhere only the service user can write (e.g. chmod 600) — its contents land in every MCP session's system prompt, so write access to it = prompt-injection access to every client.
Set VAULT_PATH for filesystem mode or COUCHDB_URL for CouchDB mode.
Try without an agent
Test the server interactively using the MCP Inspector:
Set transport to Streamable HTTP, enter http://localhost:8787/mcp, and connect.
How to update
How you run it
How to update
npx obsidian-sync-mcp
Automatic — npx pulls latest
Fly.io
From the same directory where you ran setup: fly deploy. If you lost the fly.toml, run fly config save --app your-app-name to restore it.
Docker
docker pull ghcr.io/es617/obsidian-sync-mcp:latest and restart. The image runs as the unprivileged node user (uid 1000). If your data volume was created by an older image that ran as root, make it writable once: docker run --rm -v mcp-data:/data alpine chown -R 1000:1000 /data (for a bind mount, chown -R 1000:1000 the host directory)
Known limitations
Single vault per instance. Each server connects to one vault. For multiple vaults, run multiple instances on different ports.
Single machine on Fly.io. Auth state is in-memory, so multiple machines break the OAuth flow. The setup script enforces this automatically.
No conflict resolution. If an agent and Obsidian edit the same note simultaneously, last write wins.
Text only. Binary attachments are not exposed through MCP tools.
Deep links depend on the client. Obsidian obsidian:// deep links are included in every tool response. They work on Claude Mobile and in browsers, but some clients (Claude Desktop) may not render them as clickable links.
Node 22+ required.
Setup script requires bash. The deploy/setup.sh script works on macOS and Linux. On Windows, use WSL or Git Bash.
Safety
This server gives an AI agent read/write access to your Obsidian vault.
Agents can modify and delete notes. Keep backups. Use tool approval deliberately.
Authentication is optional. Always set MCP_AUTH_TOKEN when exposing to the internet.
Use HTTPS in production. Use a tunnel or deploy behind a reverse proxy.
Don't leave LOG_LEVEL=debug on in production. Debug logging records every tool call's arguments, including note contents, and full error stacks. Credentials embedded in COUCHDB_URL are redacted from logs at every level.
This software is provided as-is under the MIT license. You are responsible for what agents do with your vault.
Development
git clone --recursive https://github.com/es617/obsidian-sync-mcp.git
cd obsidian-sync-mcp
npm install && npm run build
npm test # unit tests
npm run test:e2e # integration tests
Списка инструментов пока нет. У удалённых серверов он появляется после первой проверки состояния.
FAQ
Вопросы
Как установить Obsidian Sync?
Скопируйте на этой странице конфигурацию stdio для Cursor, Claude Desktop, Claude Code или VS Code. Она использует установку издателя, а не прокси PlugMCP.
Нужен ли API-ключ для Obsidian Sync?
В этой записи не указано обязательных переменных окружения.
Какой транспорт использует Obsidian Sync?
Obsidian Sync работает локально через stdio.
Когда Obsidian Sync проверялся в последний раз?
Последняя проверка: 2026-11-10. Give any AI agent access to your Obsidian vault over MCP