MCP Obsidian vs Obsidian Brain
A side-by-side look at the MCP Obsidian and Obsidian Brain MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose MCP Obsidian for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Obsidian Brain for knowledge & memory as a local process. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose MCP Obsidian when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- Its auth model fits you: API key required.
- You have the keys it needs:
OBSIDIAN_API_KEY.
Choose Obsidian Brain when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
VAULT_PATH.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 48/100 · Fair | 47/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | API key required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | OBSIDIAN_API_KEY | VAULT_PATH |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 4,490 | 13 |
| Directory activity | 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View MCP Obsidian | View Obsidian Brain |
Tools & capabilities
MCP Obsidian tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Obsidian Brain tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
Ready-to-paste client configs
Paste either block (or both) into your client config, e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json. We only show a config when the install command is confirmed.
MCP Obsidian
{
"mcpServers": {
"markuspfundstein-mcp-obsidian": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-obsidian"
],
"env": {
"OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Obsidian Brain
{
"mcpServers": {
"obsidian-brain": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"cache"
],
"env": {
"VAULT_PATH": "YOUR_VAULT_PATH_HERE"
}
}
}
}