Using Obsidian with Claude

Obsidian can be used with Claude Desktop via a MCP. Zen van Riel (March 2025) shows one way of setting up Obsidian and Claude Desktop using this MCP that allows for writing to the vault as well as reading it.

Claude code can be used directly with the Obsidian vault. This is an advantage of Obsidian, which uses markdown files on your computer, over applications such as Notion or Roam which store information in a proprietary format in the cloud and require MCP servers to connect. ICOR with Tom echoes this point, and also claims that using Obsidian with Claude code shifts the focus away from manual set up (which may include setting up plug-ins, deciding on a system, etc), which reduces what he calls the 'Obsidian Tax'.
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Vicky Zhao (Feb 2026) uses Claude Code with Obsidian. Her main focus in this video is using her Obsidian vault as context to her AI work, to improve the quality of her AI results. This is an interesting approach which is slightly different from either using Obsidian simply to capture the results of AI conversations, or to use AI to find / summarise notes in the vault.

Cole Medin (Jan 2026) goes a step further and uses agents with Claude Code and Obsidian, drawing on Claude Skills. His set automatically His set up automatically searches AI news and generates ideas based on the research, pulls in information from other tools such as Gmail and Calendar, and generates content.

Brad AI & Automation takes a more operational approach by treating his Obsidian vault as a structured system of record for everyday work. Notably, he uses separate Claude Code instances or specialist “AI co-workers,” allowing multiple pieces of work to run in parallel. The emphasis is less on prompting and more on structuring knowledge and tasks so that Claude can operate over them consistently and traceably.

The ability for Claude Code to interact so effectively with an Obsidian vault has led Vibes DIY to use it as a life management system, not just as a topic-based knowledge management system. Most of his notes are daily notes, health logs, meetings notes and reflections. Claude reads his recent life data, applies personal frameworks and produces strategic advice.

Note that in February 2026, Obsidian released Obsidian CLI.