MCP Obsidian vs Obsidian Turbocharged

A side-by-side look at the MCP Obsidian and Obsidian Turbocharged MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.

MCP Obsidian logoMCP ObsidianKnowledge & Memory · Local subprocess (stdio)MCP server that interacts with Obsidian via the Obsidian rest API community plugin48FairAuth: api key requiredObsidian Turbocharged logoObsidian TurbochargedKnowledge & Memory · Local subprocess (stdio)Model-agnostic, agent-ready Obsidian MCP server with RBAC, SLSA provenance, and native search.49FairAuth: not declared

Verdict: choose MCP Obsidian for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Obsidian Turbocharged 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?

MCP Obsidian logoChoose 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.
Explore MCP Obsidian

Obsidian Turbocharged logoChoose Obsidian Turbocharged when

  • You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
  • You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
  • You have the keys it needs: OBSIDIAN_TC_CONFIG.
Explore Obsidian Turbocharged

Feature & specification comparison

Rows where the two servers differ are marked.

SpecMCP Obsidian logoMCP ObsidianObsidian Turbocharged logoObsidian Turbocharged
CategoryKnowledge & MemoryKnowledge & Memory
Quality signal48/100 · Fair49/100 · Fair
Install commandConfirmedConfirmed
TransportLocal subprocess (stdio)Local subprocess (stdio)
AuthAPI key requiredNot declared
PricingFreeNot declared
Required env varsOBSIDIAN_API_KEYOBSIDIAN_TC_CONFIG
Verified ownerCommunity listingCommunity listing
GitHub stars4,49010
Directory activity 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes 6 views 0 installs 0 upvotes
ToolsNot listedNot listed

Tools & capabilities

MCP Obsidian tools

No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.

Obsidian Turbocharged 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 (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markuspfundstein-mcp-obsidian": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-obsidian"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Obsidian Turbocharged

mcpServers (Claude Desktop / Cursor)
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-turbocharged": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "obsidian-tc"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_TC_CONFIG": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_TC_CONFIG_HERE"
      }
    }
  }
}

Frequently asked questions

MCP Obsidian is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Obsidian Turbocharged belongs to Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Pick MCP Obsidian for knowledge & memory work and Obsidian Turbocharged for knowledge & memory.

Copy the mcpServers block from the config section on this page into your client's config (for example claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json), then fully restart the client.

MCP Obsidian is listed as free. Auth: api key required. Obsidian Turbocharged has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. If a server needs environment variables such as API keys, define them under the env key in your client's MCP config.

Yes. MCP clients support multiple servers: add markuspfundstein-mcp-obsidian and obsidian-turbocharged as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.

On AllMCPs, MCP Obsidian has a quality signal of 48/100 (Fair) with 7 views, 0 installs and 4,490 GitHub stars. Obsidian Turbocharged has 49/100 (Fair) with 6 views, 0 installs and 10 GitHub stars.