Obsidian Codex MCP

Local-first MCP server for working with an Obsidian vault.

• No Obsidian plugin required
• No API key required
• No cloud service required
• No Obsidian running in the background

This is for people who want MCP clients to work directly with markdown files on disk.

Independent open-source project. Not affiliated with Obsidian, Anthropic, OpenAI, or any MCP client.

What it does

It lets MCP clients work with your vault to:

• read and search notes
• create and update notes
• generate summaries, status reports, and release notes
• automate local knowledge workflows

All directly against your local markdown files.

Best for

• Codex users who want safe local access to an Obsidian vault
• Claude Desktop, Cline, Cursor, and other MCP clients that can run a local Python server
• Developers who prefer filesystem-based Obsidian automation over the Local REST API plugin
• Personal knowledge bases, project logs, daily notes, task notes, and markdown-first workflows

Why this exists

There are already a handful of Obsidian MCP servers. Many depend on the Obsidian Local REST API plugin or run as an Obsidian plugin. This project is intentionally simpler:

• direct filesystem access to a local vault
• no network calls
• no Obsidian API token
• Codex-friendly TOML configuration
• tolerant of real-world vaults with imperfect frontmatter
• path traversal protection so tools cannot escape the configured vault
• optional read-only mode for safer review/search workflows
• optional backup-on-write before updates and deletes

How it compares

| Need | This project | | --- | --- | | Use Obsidian with Codex | Yes, with ~/.codex/config.toml examples | | Use Obsidian with Claude Desktop | Yes, with JSON config examples | | Require an Obsidian plugin | No | | Require an API key | No | | Require Obsidian to be open | No | | Read/write markdown files directly | Yes | | Work over a remote HTTP API | No, local stdio MCP only |

Safety features

Designed to be useful without being reckless:

• read-only mode, which refuses writes
• backup-on-write mode before updates and deletes
• vault path isolation
• path traversal protection
• no external network calls

Tools

• configure_vault - set or change the vault path
• get_note - read one markdown note by vault-relative path
• create_note - create a new markdown note with optional metadata
• update_note - update note content and/or frontmatter
• delete_note - delete a markdown note
• list_notes - list notes in the vault or a folder
• search_notes - search note title, content, and tags
• get_all_tags - list unique tags from frontmatter and inline tags
• get_backlinks - find notes that link to a note
• get_note_links - extract wikilinks from a note
• create_folder - create a folder inside the vault
• get_folder_structure - return the vault folder tree

Demo

Short launch clip:

Obsidian + MCP + Codex demo

Useful follow-up demos to record:

• AI edits a note in the vault, then Obsidian shows the result
• read-only and backup-on-write behavior

Quick start

Install

Requirements:

• Python 3.10 or newer recommended
• An Obsidian vault stored as local markdown files

git clone https://github.com/dot-RealityTest/obsidian-codex-mcp.git
cd obsidian-codex-mcp
python3 -m venv .venv
.venv/bin/python -m pip install --upgrade pip
.venv/bin/python -m pip install -r requirements.txt

Verify against your vault:

OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" .venv/bin/python test_server.py

Codex configuration

Add this to ~/.codex/config.toml and restart Codex:

[mcp_servers.obsidian]
command = "/absolute/path/to/obsidian-codex-mcp/.venv/bin/python"
args = ["/absolute/path/to/obsidian-codex-mcp/server.py"]
enabled = true

[mcp_servers.obsidian.env]
OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH = "/absolute/path/to/your/obsidian-vault"
OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY = "false"
OBSIDIAN_BACKUP_ON_WRITE = "true"

For a safer read/search-only setup:

OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY = "true"

Claude Desktop configuration

Add this to claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian": {
      "command": "/absolute/path/to/obsidian-codex-mcp/.venv/bin/python",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/obsidian-codex-mcp/server.py"],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH": "/absolute/path/to/your/obsidian-vault",
        "OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY": "false",
        "OBSIDIAN_BACKUP_ON_WRITE": "true"
      }
    }
  }
}

Environment

| Variable | Required | Default | Description | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH | yes | none | Absolute path to the vault folder. | | OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY | no | false | When true, create/update/delete/folder creation tools refuse writes. | | OBSIDIAN_BACKUP_ON_WRITE | no | false | When true, copies existing notes into .obsidian-mcp-backups/ before update/delete. |

Safety model

• All note paths are resolved relative to OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH.
• Absolute paths and ../ path traversal are rejected.
• Writes can be disabled with OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY=true.
• Existing notes can be copied to .obsidian-mcp-backups/ before update/delete with OBSIDIAN_BACKUP_ON_WRITE=true.
• Only markdown notes can be deleted.
• The server makes no external network calls.
• Broken YAML frontmatter does not break listing/search; the note is still readable with empty metadata.

Development

Run the local test script:

OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" .venv/bin/python test_server.py

Start the MCP server:

OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" .venv/bin/python server.py

Optional automation

Generate a daily project status report from your vault:

OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" .venv/bin/python scripts/daily_status_report.py --folder "Projects"

Write the report back into Obsidian:

OBSIDIAN_VAULT_PATH="/absolute/path/to/your/vault" .venv/bin/python scripts/daily_status_report.py \
  --folder "Projects" \
  --write "Codex/Daily Project Status.md"

The script reports recent notes, markdown checkbox tasks, and top tags. It uses backup-on-write when updating an existing report note.

Common workflows

See docs/common-workflows.md for practical examples:

• safe vault exploration
• project catch-up
• daily status reports
• release notes after shipping
• vault triage
• index note creation
• finding underlinked notes
• safe editing checklist

Templates

Copyable Obsidian note templates live in docs/templates:

• Codex work log for daily project status and workstream summaries
• Project session log for per-project session notes, decisions, links, and next moves
• Weekly review for accomplishments, open loops, and next-week priorities

Optional skill

This repo includes lightweight agent workflow skills:

skills/obsidian-vault-workflow/SKILL.md
skills/release-note-captain/SKILL.md

Use them as guidance for agents that work with this MCP server. They cover safe vault exploration, editing discipline, daily status reports, vault triage, project catch-up prompts, and release-note capture after a project ships.

FAQ

Is this an Obsidian MCP server?

Yes. It is a local MCP server for Obsidian vaults. It exposes tools for notes, tags, backlinks, wikilinks, folders, search, and optional writes.

Does it work with Codex?

Yes. The main setup path is Codex-first and uses ~/.codex/config.toml.

Does it need the Obsidian Local REST API plugin?

No. It reads and writes markdown files directly from the vault folder.

Does Obsidian need to be running?

No. Because this server works on local files, Obsidian does not need to be open.

Can I make it read-only?

Yes. Set OBSIDIAN_READ_ONLY=true to allow search and inspection while refusing create, update, delete, and folder creation tools.

Current limitations

• Search is simple substring search, not semantic or indexed search.
• No Obsidian command palette or plugin API access.
• No conflict resolution for simultaneous edits.
• No template expansion.
• No sync-provider awareness.

License

MIT