Obsidian Brain vs MCP Obsidian
A side-by-side look at the Obsidian Brain and MCP Obsidian MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Obsidian Brain for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose MCP Obsidian 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 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.
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.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 47/100 · Fair | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Confirmed |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | VAULT_PATH | OBSIDIAN_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 13 | 4,490 |
| Directory activity | 4 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 7 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Obsidian Brain | View MCP Obsidian |
Tools & capabilities
Obsidian Brain tools
No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
MCP Obsidian 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.
Obsidian Brain
{
"mcpServers": {
"obsidian-brain": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"cache"
],
"env": {
"VAULT_PATH": "YOUR_VAULT_PATH_HERE"
}
}
}
}
MCP Obsidian
{
"mcpServers": {
"markuspfundstein-mcp-obsidian": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-obsidian"
],
"env": {
"OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}