Obsidian Notes vs MCP Obsidian
A side-by-side look at the Obsidian Notes 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 Notes for knowledge & memory work; 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 Notes when
- You need dedicated capabilities in the Knowledge & Memory domain.
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 | 33/100 · Emerging | 48/100 · Fair |
| Install command | Not confirmed yet | Confirmed |
| Transport | — | Local subprocess (stdio) |
| Auth | Not declared | API key required |
| Pricing | Not declared | Free |
| Required env vars | None listed | OBSIDIAN_API_KEY |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 0 | 4,490 |
| Directory activity | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 8 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | Not listed | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Obsidian Notes | View MCP Obsidian |
Tools & capabilities
Obsidian Notes 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 Notes
No confirmed install command for Obsidian Notes yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.
MCP Obsidian
{
"mcpServers": {
"markuspfundstein-mcp-obsidian": {
"command": "uvx",
"args": [
"mcp-obsidian"
],
"env": {
"OBSIDIAN_API_KEY": "YOUR_OBSIDIAN_API_KEY_HERE"
}
}
}
}