A side-by-side look at the Obsidian MCP Server and XNotepad AI 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 XNotepad AI for knowledge & memory. You can also run both side by side in one mcpServers block.
VAULT_PATH.read-note, read-multiple-notes, create-note.Rows where the two servers differ are marked.
| Spec | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Knowledge & Memory | Knowledge & Memory |
| Quality signal | 60/100 · Good | 31/100 · Emerging |
| Install command | Confirmed | Not confirmed yet |
| Transport | Local subprocess (stdio) | — |
| Auth | No auth required | Not declared |
| Pricing | Free | Not declared |
| Required env vars | VAULT_PATH | None listed |
| Verified owner | Community listing | Community listing |
| GitHub stars | 18 | 0 |
| Directory activity | 3 views 0 installs 0 upvotes | 0 views 0 installs 0 upvotes |
| Tools | 31 | Not listed |
| Full listing | View Obsidian MCP Server | View XNotepad AI |
read-noteRead note contents (supports `frontmatterOnly` for efficiency)read-multiple-notesBatch read multiple notescreate-noteCreate a new noteedit-noteReplace note contentswrite-noteWrite with modes: overwrite, append, or prependdelete-noteDelete a note (requires confirmation)move-noteMove/rename a noteduplicate-noteCopy a note to a new locationget-notes-infoGet file metadata without reading contentlist-vaultList files and directoriescreate-directoryCreate a new directorydelete-directoryDelete a directory (with recursive option)No tool names declared yet. Check the project README from the listing page.
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.
{
"mcpServers": {
"smith-and-web-obsidian-mcp-server": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"@smith-and-web/obsidian-mcp-server"
],
"env": {
"VAULT_PATH": "YOUR_VAULT_PATH_HERE"
}
}
}
}
No confirmed install command for XNotepad AI yet — follow the setup steps linked from its listing page rather than a guessed package name.