MCP Obsidian Cli vs Obsidian MCP Server

In-depth architectural comparison of the MCP Obsidian Cli and Obsidian MCP Server MCP servers. Compare execution transports, security boundaries, tool capabilities, quality scores, and ready-to-paste client installation snippets for Claude, Cursor, Windsurf, and VS Code.

Which MCP Server Should You Choose?

Choose MCP Obsidian Cli when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore MCP Obsidian Cli Details

Choose Obsidian MCP Server when:

• You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
• You prefer local stdio subprocess transport architecture.
• Your security boundary fits: No auth required (Free / Open Source).

Explore Obsidian MCP Server Details

Feature & Specification Comparison

Specification	MCP Obsidian Cli Knowledge & Memory	Obsidian MCP Server Knowledge & Memory
Summary	MCP server wrapping the Obsidian CLI — full native API access over the Model Context Protocol.	MCP server for Obsidian vaults — read, write, search, and edit notes via the Local REST API plugin.
Category & Scope	Knowledge & Memory	Knowledge & Memory

Tools & Capabilities Breakdown

Ready-to-Paste Client Configurations

Paste either (or both) of these JSON server blocks into your client config file (e.g. claude_desktop_config.json or ~/.cursor/mcp.json).

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "mcp-obsidian-cli": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "mcp-obsidian-cli"
      ]
    }
  }
}

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-mcp-server": {
      "command": "bunx",
      "args": [
        "obsidian-mcp-server@latest"
      ]
    }
  }
}

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