Obsidian MCP Server vs Smart Connections
A side-by-side look at the Obsidian MCP Server and Smart Connections MCP servers: transport, auth, tools, quality signals, and the config to install either one in Claude, Cursor, Windsurf or VS Code.
Verdict: choose Obsidian MCP Server for knowledge & memory work as a local process; choose Smart Connections for knowledge & memory. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
Which MCP server should you choose?
Choose Obsidian MCP Server when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You prefer a local stdio subprocess transport.
- You have the keys it needs:
OBSIDIAN_API_KEY, OBSIDIAN_ENABLE_COMMANDS, OBSIDIAN_READ_PATHS, OBSIDIAN_DELETE_ELICITATION. - You want tools like
obsidian_get_note, obsidian_list_notes, obsidian_list_tags.
Choose Smart Connections when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
- You have the keys it needs:
VAULT_PATH. - You want tools like
search_by_text, search_similar, search_by_embedding.
Feature & specification comparison
Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 64/100 · Good | 36/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | Not declared | Not declared |
| Pricing | Not declared | Not declared |
| Required env vars | OBSIDIAN_API_KEYOBSIDIAN_ENABLE_COMMANDSOBSIDIAN_READ_PATHSOBSIDIAN_DELETE_ELICITATION | VAULT_PATH |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 700 | 3 |
| Directory activity | 2 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 14 | 6 |
| Full listing | View Obsidian MCP Server | View Smart Connections |
Tools & capabilities
Obsidian MCP Server tools 14
obsidian_get_noteRead a note as raw content, full structured form, document map, or a single sectionobsidian_list_notesList notes and folders under a vault path, recursively, with extension and name filtersobsidian_list_tagsList vault tags with usage counts, most-used firstobsidian_search_notesSearch by text, JSONLogic, or BM25-ranked Omnisearch when that plugin is reachableobsidian_write_noteCreate a note, replace one section, or overwrite a whole file with `overwrite: trueobsidian_append_to_noteAppend to a note (creating it if missing) or to one heading, block, or frontmatter fieldobsidian_patch_noteAppend, prepend, or replace against one heading, block reference, or frontmatter fieldobsidian_replace_in_noteLiteral or regex search-replace inside one note, body-only by defaultobsidian_manage_frontmatterGet, set, or delete one frontmatter keyobsidian_manage_tagsAdd, remove, or list a note's tags in frontmatter, inline, or bothobsidian_delete_notePermanently delete a note, optionally after the user confirms (`OBSIDIAN_DELETE_ELICITATION`)obsidian_open_in_uiOpen a file in the Obsidian app, optionally in a new pane- +2 more on the listing page
Smart Connections tools 6
search_by_textSearch using freeform text (computes embedding locally)search_similarFind notes semantically similar to a given notesearch_by_embeddingSearch using a raw embedding vectorget_noteGet content of a specific note (path validated)get_model_infoGet embedding model configurationlist_indexedList all indexed notes
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 MCP Server
{
"mcpServers": {
"obsidian-mcp-server": {
"command": "bunx",
"args": [
"obsidian-mcp-server@latest"
],
"env": {
"OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY_HERE",
"OBSIDIAN_ENABLE_COMMANDS": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_ENABLE_COMMANDS_HERE",
"OBSIDIAN_READ_PATHS": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_READ_PATHS_HERE",
"OBSIDIAN_DELETE_ELICITATION": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_DELETE_ELICITATION_HERE"
}
}
}
}
Smart Connections
No confirmed install command for Smart Connections yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
Frequently asked questions
Obsidian MCP Server is categorized under Knowledge & Memory and uses a local stdio subprocess. Smart Connections belongs to Knowledge & Memory and uses an install path we have not confirmed yet. Pick Obsidian MCP Server for knowledge & memory work and Smart Connections 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. Smart Connections has no confirmed install command yet — follow its own setup instructions.
Obsidian MCP Server has no declared pricing — check the project's own site. Smart Connections 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 obsidian-mcp-server and smart-connections as separate keys in the same mcpServers object, and your assistant will call tools from either one.
On AllMCPs, Obsidian MCP Server has a quality signal of 64/100 (Good) with 2 views, 0 installs and 700 GitHub stars. Smart Connections has 36/100 (Fair) with 0 views, 0 installs and 3 GitHub stars.