obsidian-mcp-server/CHANGELOG.md

Changelog

All notable changes to the Obsidian MCP Server plugin will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

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[Unreleased]

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[1.1.0] - 2025-10-30

Added

• Word Count: create_note, update_note, and update_sections now automatically return word count for the note content
  • Excludes YAML frontmatter and Obsidian comments (%% ... %%) from word count
  • Includes all other content (code blocks, inline code, headings, lists, etc.)
• Link Validation: create_note, update_note, and update_sections now automatically validate all wikilinks and embeds
  • Validates basic wikilinks ([[Note]]), heading links ([[Note#Heading]]), and embeds (![[file.ext]])
  • Categorizes links as: valid, broken notes (note doesn't exist), or broken headings (note exists but heading missing)
  • Returns detailed broken link information including line number and context snippet
  • Provides human-readable summary (e.g., "15 links: 12 valid, 2 broken notes, 1 broken heading")
  • Can be disabled via validateLinks: false parameter for performance-critical operations
• Word Count for Read Operations: Extended word count support to read operations
  • read_note now automatically includes wordCount when returning content (with withContent or parseFrontmatter options)
  • stat supports optional includeWordCount parameter to compute word count (with performance warning)
  • list supports optional includeWordCount parameter to compute word count for all files (with performance warning)
  • All read operations use the same word counting rules as write operations (excludes frontmatter and Obsidian comments)
  • Best-effort error handling: unreadable files are skipped in batch operations without failing the entire request

Changed

• create_note, update_note, and update_sections response format now includes wordCount and optional linkValidation fields
• updateNote now returns structured JSON response instead of simple success message (includes success, path, versionId, modified, wordCount, linkValidation)
• read_note response now includes wordCount field when returning content
• stat response includes optional wordCount field in metadata when includeWordCount: true
• list response includes optional wordCount field for each file when includeWordCount: true
• Type definitions updated: ParsedNote and FileMetadata interfaces now include optional wordCount?: number field

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[1.0.1] - 2025-10-28

Fixed

• Updated config path examples from .obsidian/** to templates/** in tool descriptions to avoid implying hardcoded configuration directory paths
• Removed "MCP Server" from command display names per Obsidian plugin guidelines (commands now show as "Start server", "Stop server", etc.)
• Replaced deprecated vault.delete() with app.fileManager.trashFile() to respect user's trash preferences configured in Obsidian settings
• Extracted all inline JavaScript styles to semantic CSS classes with mcp-* namespace for better maintainability and Obsidian plugin compliance
• Applied CSS extraction to notification history modal for consistency

Changed

• Command palette entries now display shorter names without redundant plugin name prefix
• File deletion operations now respect user's configured trash location (system trash or .trash/ folder)
• Settings panel and notification history UI now use centralized CSS classes instead of inline styles

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[1.0.0] - 2025-10-26

🎉 Initial Public Release

The Obsidian MCP Server plugin is now publicly available! This plugin exposes your Obsidian vault via the Model Context Protocol (MCP) over HTTP, enabling AI assistants and other MCP clients to interact with your vault programmatically.

Core Features

MCP Server

• HTTP server implementing MCP protocol version 2024-11-05
• JSON-RPC 2.0 message handling
• Localhost-only binding (127.0.0.1) for security
• Configurable port (default: 3000)
• Auto-start option

Note Operations

• read_note - Read note content with optional frontmatter parsing
• create_note - Create notes with conflict handling (error/overwrite/rename)
• update_note - Update existing notes with concurrency control
• delete_note - Delete notes (soft delete to .trash or permanent)
• update_frontmatter - Update frontmatter fields without modifying content
• update_sections - Update specific sections by line range
• rename_file - Rename or move files with automatic wikilink updates
• read_excalidraw - Read Excalidraw drawing files with metadata

Vault Operations

• search - Advanced search with regex, glob filtering, and snippets
• search_waypoints - Find Waypoint plugin markers
• list - List files/directories with filtering and pagination
• stat - Get detailed file/folder metadata
• exists - Quick existence check
• get_vault_info - Vault metadata and statistics

Waypoint Integration

• get_folder_waypoint - Extract Waypoint blocks from folder notes
• is_folder_note - Detect folder notes
• Automatic waypoint edit protection

Link Management

• validate_wikilinks - Validate all links in a note
• resolve_wikilink - Resolve single wikilink to target path
• backlinks - Get backlinks with optional unlinked mentions

Security

• Mandatory Bearer token authentication
• Auto-generated, cryptographically secure API keys (32 characters)
• API keys encrypted using system keychain (macOS Keychain, Windows Credential Manager, Linux Secret Service)
• Host header validation (DNS rebinding protection)
• CORS policy fixed to localhost-only origins
• Desktop-only (requires Node.js HTTP server)

User Interface

• Settings panel with full configuration
• Status bar indicator showing server state
• Ribbon icon for quick server toggle
• Start/Stop/Restart commands
• Real-time connection information
• Copy API key and configuration snippets
• Notification system for tool calls (optional)
• Notification history viewer

Developer Experience

• Cross-platform path handling (Windows/macOS/Linux)
• Comprehensive error messages with troubleshooting tips
• Path validation and normalization utilities
• Concurrency control via ETag-based versioning
• Type-safe TypeScript implementation
• Extensive test coverage
• Well-documented codebase

Technical Details

Dependencies

• express: ^4.18.2
• cors: ^2.8.5
• obsidian: latest

Build

• TypeScript 4.7.4
• esbuild 0.17.3
• Jest 30.2.0 for testing

Compatibility

• Obsidian minimum version: 0.15.0
• Desktop only (not available on mobile)
• Protocol: MCP 2024-11-05

Known Limitations

• Desktop only (requires Node.js HTTP server)
• Single vault per server instance
• HTTP only (no WebSocket support)
• Localhost-only (no SSL/TLS)
• Excalidraw support limited to uncompressed format (compressed format planned)

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Future Roadmap

Planned Features

Resources API

• Expose notes as MCP resources
• Real-time resource updates

Prompts API

• Templated prompts for common operations
• Custom prompt registration

Batch Operations

• Multiple operations in single request
• Transactional batching

WebSocket Transport

• Real-time updates and notifications
• Bidirectional communication

Enhanced Graph API

• Graph visualization data
• Advanced graph traversal

Tag & Canvas APIs

• Query and manage tags
• Manipulate canvas files

Dataview Integration

• Query vault using Dataview syntax
• Advanced data queries

Performance Enhancements

• Indexing for faster searches
• Caching for frequently accessed notes
• Streaming for large files

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Support

For issues, questions, or contributions:

• GitHub Issues: [Report bugs and request features]
• Documentation: See README.md and CLAUDE.md
• Include version number (1.0.0) in bug reports

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Credits

• MCP Protocol: https://modelcontextprotocol.io
• Obsidian API: https://github.com/obsidianmd/obsidian-api
• Built with TypeScript, Express.js, and dedication to quality