Obsidian Semantic Search MCP

A read-only semantic retrieval MCP server for Obsidian vaults that enables agents to find relevant notes using hybrid semantic and keyword search. It utilizes local Ollama embeddings and SQLite FTS5 indexing without requiring the Obsidian application to be running or exposing write capabilities.

Package and access

Local package with source-attributed installation metadata. Koskamo does not execute packages during review.

Community listingLocal stdioSource reviewed; not executedPublished by DalecB

You need:Requirements: Node.js >= 24 Ollama An Obsidian vault An MCP client such as Codex, Claude Desktop, Cursor, or another stdio MCP client

Vendor documentation

What you can do with it

Perform hybrid semantic and keyword search over Markdown notes
Retrieve file-level matches with headings, snippets, and line ranges
Index local Obsidian vaults for agent-friendly retrieval

Source and maintenance

Community listingRegistry 0.2.1

mcp-registry: io.github.DalecB/obsidian-semantic-mcp@0.2.1 Source repository

Maintenance checked: Oct 31, 2026, 10:59 PM UTC

Packages and installation

Source-provided package data. Koskamo has not executed or live-probed this package.

@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp 0.2.1

npm

@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp package definition

{
  "version": "0.2.1",
  "transport": "stdio",
  "identifier": "@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp",
  "registryType": "npm",
  "environmentVariables": [
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT",
      "format": "string",
      "isRequired": true,
      "description": "Absolute path to the local Obsidian vault."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Directory for the external SQLite index, logs, and cache."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Ollama embedding model name. Defaults to bge-m3."
    },
    {
      "name": "OLLAMA_BASE_URL",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Ollama API base URL. Defaults to http://localhost:11434."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Set to true to run incremental indexing when the server starts."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Set to true to allow include_sensitive tool calls."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Comma- or newline-separated folders to always exclude from indexing, search, and read."
    },
    {
      "name": "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS",
      "format": "string",
      "description": "Comma- or newline-separated folders treated as sensitive (blocked unless unlocked). Defaults to 08_PersonalInfo/."
    }
  ]
}

Tools

Reported by the attributed source; not independently observed by Koskamo.

No tool definitions available.

Connect from your client

Each snippet configures the same source-provided package; replace placeholders before use.

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Cursor

Merge this local stdio configuration, replace every placeholder environment value, and restart Cursor. Koskamo has not executed this package.

Cursor configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-semantic-search-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp@0.2.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME>",
        "OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL>",
        "OLLAMA_BASE_URL": "<YOUR_OLLAMA_BASE_URL>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Cline

Merge this local stdio configuration, replace every placeholder environment value, and restart Cline. Koskamo has not executed this package.

Cline configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-semantic-search-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp@0.2.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME>",
        "OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL>",
        "OLLAMA_BASE_URL": "<YOUR_OLLAMA_BASE_URL>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS>"
      }
    }
  }
}

VS Code

Merge this local stdio configuration, replace every placeholder environment value, and restart VS Code. Koskamo has not executed this package.

VS Code configuration

{
  "servers": {
    "obsidian-semantic-search-mcp": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp@0.2.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME>",
        "OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL>",
        "OLLAMA_BASE_URL": "<YOUR_OLLAMA_BASE_URL>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS>"
      }
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop

Merge this local stdio configuration, replace every placeholder environment value, and restart Claude Desktop. Koskamo has not executed this package.

Claude Desktop configuration

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "obsidian-semantic-search-mcp": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "@dalecb/obsidian-semantic-mcp@0.2.1"
      ],
      "env": {
        "OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_VAULT_ROOT>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_MCP_HOME>",
        "OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_EMBED_MODEL>",
        "OLLAMA_BASE_URL": "<YOUR_OLLAMA_BASE_URL>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_STARTUP_INDEX>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_ALLOW_SENSITIVE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_EXCLUDE>",
        "OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS": "<YOUR_OBSIDIAN_SEMANTIC_SENSITIVE_PATHS>"
      }
    }
  }
}

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