obsidian-http

Obsidian HTTP MCP is a dedicated HTTP-native MCP server that translates between MCP clients (like Claude Code CLI, Claude Desktop, Codex, Gemini, and other MCP-enabled AI tools) and Obsidian's REST API. This eliminates stdio transport issues and BrokenPipeError by serving requests over HTTP and proxying them to Obsidian, so your AI can read, create, edit, move, and delete notes directly in your Obsidian vault. Your AI can connect via the MCP protocol to http://localhost:3000/mcp by default, after you start the server and configure the transport in your AI client. The server is designed to be fast (sub-200ms responses) and token-conscious, making it suitable for large vaults with thousands of notes. To use it, install the MCP server globally, start obsidian-http-mcp, and then register the MCP transport in your AI tool to point to the server’s MCP endpoint. The project supports cross-platform setups (Windows, Linux, WSL2) and can be run on the same system as Obsidian or remotely.

Prerequisites:

• Node.js v18+ installed on the machine where you will run the server
• Obsidian installed if you want to connect directly to a local vault
• Access to a terminal/command prompt

Step-by-step:

1. Install the MCP server globally via npm:

npm install -g obsidian-http-mcp

2. Start the server (default port is 3000):

obsidian-http-mcp

3. If you need to customize the port or API key, you can pass CLI options or use environment variables as described in the README (e.g., OBSIDIAN_API_KEY, OBSIDIAN_BASE_URL, PORT). The server exposes an MCP endpoint at http://<host>:3000/mcp.

4. Connect your MCP-enabled AI to the server by configuring the MCP transport to the server URL, e.g.: http://localhost:3000/mcp. On remote machines, use the appropriate IP address.

5. Optional: If you need to reconfigure, see the setup/config options described in the README and run obsidian-http-mcp --setup to save configuration to ~/.obsidian-mcp/config.json.

Tips and common issues:

• The server binds to 0.0.0.0 for cross-platform compatibility; avoid exposing it directly to the open internet without a reverse proxy and TLS.
• Default MCP port is 3000; if you encounter port conflicts, you can start the server on a different port (e.g., obsidian-http-mcp --port 3001).
• If you are using WSL2 with Obsidian on Windows, install and run the MCP server on Windows for best performance, or ensure proper networking between the WSL2 and Windows hosts.
• Ensure Obsidian's Local REST API plugin is configured and enabled with the API key accessible to the MCP server if you are using a local Obsidian REST API.
• For AI integration, remember to configure your AI’s MCP transport with the server URL and port (e.g., http://SERVER_IP:3000/mcp).
• If you run into connectivity issues from an external network, consider using a reverse proxy (nginx or Caddy) with TLS and proper firewall rules.